Worse than September 11th.

[TIGERassault]

Yes, I am of course talking about the Bangladesh cyclone, which has affected over 1 million families and has left at least 3,100 people, and counting.
BBC had a good article about it here.

What I feel particularly annoyed about is that nobody else here even mentioned it yet! Just because they're not rich people or people being discriminated against, they're not important enough to be reported about? I don't know what it is with you lot...

[roid]

i'm still not sure what the name of the Cyclone is. Every report i heard it was always \"A Cyclone\" or \"The Cyclone\".

The thing broomed out a nation WHAT IS IT'S NAME.

I think this makes it easier to ignore in the media, because it's not like KATRINA who had the name KATRINA and in the news it was always KATRINA that hammered Southern USA it was the KATRINA tragedy and every American can empathise with what KATRINA is.

This cyclone needs to have it's name reported more, it needs to be compared to KATRINA over and over.

[Cuda68]

Tip: If the media reports something, it is most likely wrong.

[Ford Prefect]

Cyclone Sidr

[roid]

Cyclone Sidr

THANKYOU!

(did you notice it wasn't mentioned once in that news article? unimportant they must recon.... pff)

[Money!]

Yea I'm not gonna lie I hadn't heard about this until now. That's pretty sad.

[Flabby Chick]

Yes, it is pretty sad, terrible in fact.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ba ... l_cyclones

The problem is it's boring. 3000 people is nothing compared with some of the disasters they have, it's same ol', same ol', in in a world where the drinking habits of a second rate pop star merit more inches on the news stands.

[Testiculese]

Nobody here batted an eye when 250,000 died a few years ago. Nobody knew of this until you posted it (me either, but I don't watch TV). Nobody in this country cares as long as the shopping malls are still open.

[Duper]

Nobody here batted an eye when 250,000 died a few years ago. Nobody knew of this until you posted it (me either, but I don't watch TV). Nobody in this country cares as long as the shopping malls are still open.

I think you're throwing rocks at the wrong group Test. The media controls what we see and how much and the WAY we see it. It nearly Christmas time and the economy needs people to be in a "cheerful" mood with the threat of recession so they will buy. So naturally, we aren't going to something catastrophic blown up in our faces to "do something about" or get way concerned about. It isn't popular right now and there is the War to monger over.

No, I don't think this is right. I've seen a good deal of coverage here on our local news, but not on the scale that tsunami got or many other things.

I say throw the rocks at the Associated Press.

[roid]

Even Coverage? The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami killed around 75x the amount of people.

Cyclone Sidr (ie: THE CYCLONE / A CYCLONE) seems to be on the news a lot down here on SBS Worldnews, i see no shy media.
(I just rarely hear the name \"Sidr\")

interesting point about christmas

[Nirvana]

It doesn't even compare to 9-11. It's a tragedy, no doubt, but it was caused by a NATURAL DISASTER. 9-11 was a fanatic militant monkey tossing airplanes at buildings with people in them. Big difference.

And obviously we're going to hear more about something that happens in our very own country

[woodchip]

Just another sad case of people living in a flood prone area that, lemming like, keep returning there after the storm has passed. Same applies here in america where the homeowner expects the insurance company or uncle sugar to bear the cost so they can move right back to the same spot. Why again are we to care about their problems?

[Spaceboy]

according to wiki, at least 30,000 people were killed every 50 years or so, on the subject of a lack of pattern recognition.

[Ford Prefect]

And what exactly do you think the people of Bangladesh have as options?
Do you know even the basics about that country? Tell me who is going to pay for flood control? Who is going to pay for dikes, pumps the power to run them? This is one of the poorest nations on earth with people that own nothing living on land that is barely above sea level. It is the only land they have access to unless you are going to invite them into your backyard.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh

Why again are we to care about their problems?

You don't have to. It is a human failing to be concerned about the plight of the weak.

Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?
-E.Scrooge

[woodchip]

It is a human problem to overpopulate and reduce resources to zero. If memory serves, Bangladesh was set up as a separate country as the people there wanted to secede from India. So they got their wish and are now one of the poorest countries on earth. Does their plight induce sorrow over there condition? Yes. But you know what, they are India's and China's problem as they are the closest country's to give aide.
Don't expect me to wring my hands in sorrow as there are bad things going on all over the world. Sudan, Eritrea, D.R.Congo, Peru etc. all have huge human misery problems. Guess what? I for one cannot be worried about every catastrophe and its resulting human tragedy. Burn out I suppose.

[Flabby Chick]

I think the post was pointing out the distinction between air time within the media, with respect to different disasters. It's a global thing not a US thing BTW.

[Ford Prefect]

I understand the attitude of burn out to the continuing deteriorating state of the world. As climate change gets worse we will hear more and more of this kind of problem. The deaths and displacement of tens of thousands will be come commonplace.
What I object to is the attitude shown here that these people have options and that somehow they are the author of their problems. The death toll from this cyclone was less than that from previous because there have been a large number of raised concrete community centres built in the last decade to act as shelters for the locals when the inevitable floods come. They are trying, with very limited resources, to make changes.
And by the way there was a good reason that Bangladesh separated from Pakistan (not India)

In 1970, a massive cyclone devastated the coast of East Pakistan, and the central government responded poorly. The Bengali population's anger was compounded when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, whose Awami League won a majority in Parliament in the 1970 elections, was blocked from taking office. After staging compromise talks with Mujib, President Yahya Khan arrested him on the night of March 25, 1971, and launched Operation Searchlight, a sustained military assault on East Pakistan. Yahya's methods were extremely bloody, and the violence of the war resulted in many civilian deaths. Chief targets included intellectuals and Hindus, and about ten million refugees fled to neighbouring India. Estimates of those massacred range from three hundred thousand to 3 million.
Source-Wikipedia