Tragedies like that of tropical typhoon Ondoy (international name Ketsana) only come once every few decades. In fact, this particular storm beat a record that has been there for 40 years already. I am hoping that the next time such a storm comes to the country, it will be after a very long time.
And so, it is but natural that news of tragedies of this magnitude has spread to international media. With 80% of the city covered in flood, at least 300 people dead, hundreds of thousands of people more left missing, and a city economy paralyzed, I would be surprised if it does not make it to one international media outlet at the very least.
But Ondoy reached not only CNN, or BBC, or any of your traditional media outlets. Filipinos have been instrumental in putting photos, videos, and text updates regarding the tragedy over social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, and video-sharing sites like YouTube, which is probably the reason why it got even more attention.
I just visited the Google Blog and learned that Google has set up a special page dedicated to giving help to the victims of Ondoy. From links to news articles and interactive maps courtesy of Google Maps and Google Earth to lists of donation centers, both in the Philippines and the rest of the world, what Google has here is an all-in-one center that collates as much information as possible about the storm. Now that is something I really appreciate from the Big G.
Hopefully, in the coming years, since I am sure that more tragedies will come (that has been the case in human history), similar efforts will be created, whether it be in the Philippines or anywhere in the world. Information is a precious resource, and it is--well--nice to know that we have a bit of that here with us now.
