From i09s Disaster Zone

Want to know where you should live if you are hoping to avoid the next catastrophic earthquake, flood, megavolcano, or storm? Consult our map of disaster hot zones of the world.

Most of the disasters we’ve highlighted here are caused by nature, and only occasionally helped along by humans. Arguably some of the storms are likely to be bigger due to climate changes that humans have had a hand in causing, and of course you wouldn’t get famine without humans.

How did we decide where disaster hot zones were? By looking at previous incidents of disaster in a given region, as well as places where fault lines and giant gobs of magma wait under the Earth for the perfect time to spew. Of course these kinds of forward-looking statements are subject to change. We may start geoengineering the planet to be megavolcano resistant, or slow climate change and thus prevent megahurricanes. Humans may start building structures that can maintain structural integrity during most earthquakes, thus minimizing property damage and the loss of life.

Or we might just ignore the signs of impending disaster, toss this map aside, and hope for the best.

Click the map to embiggen

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Filed under: Uncategorized by William on November 30, 2010
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Dr. Glenn Geelhoed is leading TR to the Sudan in early 2011 to deliver on his medical peace initiative between the Dinka and the Murle tribes. A documentary about his medical peace initiative called We Are The Ones is set to be released soon.

During the Second Sudanese Civil War, nearly two million people were killed in what proved to be one of the longest and deadliest wars of the 20th century. In the aftermath of the brutality, the population of South Sudan was left with a shattered infrastructure: a struggling government, few schools, and a health system in crisis.

We are the Ones is a documentary film that tells the stories of Sudanese medical professionals who are trying to re-establish medical care for their people. They fight to prevent illness and mend wounds with limited resources while simultaneously struggling with tribal conflicts that permeate the region. These men remain inspired to make positive changes in their communities, and in the process, perhaps, begin to heal their nation.

From We Are The Ones journal:

Werkok, South Sudan
1/12/2010

Dr. Geelhoed’s medical team has been working to build the capacity of the already capable staff here in Werkok. One session involved training in hand signals to use during surgery so that the right instruments can be handed to the surgeon no matter what languages are spoken in the operating room. Dr. Geelhoed worked with Dr. Ajak on techniques to use in hernia surgeries. We then saw Dr. Ajak training other members of his staff on those techniques the next day. The knowledge Dr. Geelhoed’s team has brought with them is making a tangible difference in the actions and capabilities of the staff here in Werkok.

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Filed under: In The Media, News, Sudan by William on November 30, 2010
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Filed under: In The Media, Photos by William on November 30, 2010
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Matt Pelak and William McNulty relax and wait for TR's meeting with JLL leadership.

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Filed under: Photos by teamrubicon on November 23, 2010
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Download now or preview on posterous

CD blurb FLATTENED (1).pdf (18814 KB)

If you've been with Team Rubicon from the beginning, then you know that Brother Jim Boynton, a Jesuit brother, was instrumental in the formation and success of Team Rubicon.  Brother Jim is still in Haiti, making a difference in the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of Haitians every single day.  He is working tirelessly to rebuild schools and homes and lives.

A man of many talents, Brother Jim has recorded himself playing his guitar and singing (on his iPhone!); and the songs have been put on a CD.  Proceeds from the sales will go to helping Brother Jim continue his noble work in Haiti.  

Contact Janet O'Keefe for details (okeefejanet@aol.com)

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Filed under: Haiti, Request for Help by teamrubicon on November 20, 2010
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A Shaky Peace: The scars and hopes of a boy named Logocho mirror his land.

National Geographic
By Matthew Teague
Photograph by George Steinmetz

One day some years ago, before the latest civil war began in earnest, a Sudanese boy named Logocho peeked into the entry of his family’s grass hut. His father sprang out and grabbed him, and then, with an older boy, pinned him in the dirt.

A strange boy, Logocho. Above him, his father’s shoulders and chest rippled with welted tribal scars. A Morse code of dots and dashes crossed the father’s face and forehead, signaling to any potential cattle raiders—the Dinka, the Nuer—that he, as a Murle, would defend his stock with spear, knife, fists, and teeth.

But his son showed no interest in the old ways. When other children, including his own brother, underwent an early Murle rite of passage, he ran and hid in the grass. Now his body, smooth as a calf’s, trembled and arched in the dust. Nothing marked him as Murle.
(more…)

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Filed under: Sudan by William on November 14, 2010
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Click here to take you to Huff-Po

Every time the United States military deploys to provide emergency assistance in the wake of natural disasters, it stretches the already overburdened American forces even further. Yet, each year nearly 150,000 individuals separate from the military, many of whom retain their desire to provide service to people in need anywhere around the world.

These veterans represent a tremendous untapped resource for non-government relief organizations which, fully staffed and properly deployed, can absorb the burden being borne by the armed forces. The disaster relief group called Team Rubicon continues to demonstrate the strength and versatility of these former members of the military.

Team Rubicon was formed in the immediate aftermath of the massive earthquake in Haiti. It joined the resources and experience of trained veterans with the skills and knowledge of medical first-responders. Together, the members of Team Rubicon went into the most underserved areas of Port-au-Prince to save lives and to bring stability amidst the chaos.

After Haiti, Team Rubicon deployed to southern Chile when it was struck by devastating earthquakes and tsunamis. Later, Team Rubicon sent its veterans and first-responders to the Thai-Burma border where they set up a school of basic medicine to train displaced persons how to care for their fellow camp residents. But the latest deployment had the potential to be the most wrenching for Team Rubicon’s combat veterans: they went to Pakistan. (more…)

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Filed under: Burma, Chile, Haiti, In The Media, News, Pakistan by William on November 12, 2010
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Filed under: Burma, Chile, Haiti, Pakistan, Request for Help by Sarah on November 12, 2010
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TEDxSanDiego Recap Slideshow from Denise Lee Yohn on Vimeo.

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Filed under: Conferences, Photos, Video by William on November 11, 2010
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These two journal entries were posted because they uniquely describe Dr Geelhoed’s medical peace initiative and what’s at stake in South Sudan. We encourage you to read them in their entirety.

10-JAN-A-15

I AM STARTING OFF ALOFT, IN TYPING FROM THE AIM AIR CARAVAN WHICH IS CARRYING ME AND THE EMISSARIES OF A PEACE OVERTURE OUT OF WERKOK AND INTO PIBOR FOR A DISCUSSIONWITH THE MURLE ABOUT A MEDIATED PEACE ACCORD TO ENABLE OUR MEDICAL MISSION TO BRANCH OUT INTO THE OPPONENT CATTLE RAIDERS—WITH AJAK, DESPITE ALL THE OTHER ISSUES IN TURMOIL IN IS LIFE—IN EQUANIMITY AND GRACE UNDER PRESSURE AT THE “EDGE OF THE WEDGE” IN OUR NEGOTIATIONS TO STOP THE FRATRICIDE AND PURSUE BOTH MEDICAL MISSIONS AND PEACE; WE DEPART AT WERKOK BEFORE THE LONG, WEARISOME, AND EXPENSIVE FLIGHTS FROM WERKOK TO LOKI TO NAIROBI AND CHECK IN AT MAYFIELD FOR A PRE-DAWN DEPARTURE “ON SAFARI”
(more…)

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Filed under: Personal Reflections, Sudan by William on November 9, 2010
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