Water Main Break Causes Malibu Highway To Shut Down

On November 27, part of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu was shut down after a water main break caused a sinkhole to appear on the thoroughfare as well as causing flooding in the surrounding area. The break occurred near the…

I-15 Bridge Collapse Caused by Fire

The Ranchero Interchange section of Interstate 15 near Hesperia, California is closed following a fire on a bridge section of the roadway. I-15 is a major U.S. highway that connects Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Both lanes of traffic on…

Sinkhole Devours Home In Florida

It is suspected that there is a possible sinkhole in Pinellas County, Florida. On Thursday, many people were forced to evacuate their homes in Dunedin after a hole allegedly appeared in the backyard of a family home. The sinkhole appeared…

Tsunami Debris Still Headed to US, Just No Island

UPDATE: Nicholas Mallos, Ocean Conservancy’s marine debris specialist, said this with regard to clarifications from the NOAA about the reports of a “Texas-sized” island: “Following the 2011 tsunami that hit Japan a tremendous quantity of debris washed into the Pacific…

Oil Mislabeled in Canadian Train Disaster

Earlier this year, a freight train carrying North Dakota crude oil derailed and exploded in Canada. Now it seems the oil was mislabeled as a less dangerous type of crude oil, according to Canadian Transportation Safety Board (TSB) officials. The…

19 Firefighters Killed in Arizona

Nineteen firefighters have been killed battling wildfires in central Arizona near the town of Yarnell. All 19 were part of an elite “hot shot” crew, a group of firefighters who hike miles into the wilderness to clear vegetation and dig…

Second Sinkhole Appears in Tampa Bay Area

It appears that the Earth may be attempting to swallow Tampa Bay, Florida. Less than one week after a sinkhole reported to be 30 feet across pulled a man named Jeffrey Bush to his death, Reuters is reporting that a…

Hurricane Sandy (Frankenstorm) Gets Google Crisis Response Maps

Google’s Crisis Response team has put together a Hurricane Sandy map with location tracking, public alerts, radar/cloud imagery, evacuation information, shelters and storm footage. “Already responsible for a reported 41 deaths across the Caribbean, late-season Hurricane Sandy is expected to…

Google Offers Resources, Person Finder For Flood In Philippines

Flooding from a monsoon has terrorized the Philippines, and Google has set up a crisis response site with related resources. This includes a person finder, emergency contact information, maps showing shelters, donation centers and the flood extent, and news and…

Hungry Children Being Fed Thanks To StumbleUpon Users

StumbleUpon is helping feed hungry Somalis at a refugee camp in Kenya. Martin Penner with the World Food Programme spoke in the following video, telling StumbleUpon users, “My colleagues at headquarters have told me that thanks to Stumblers like you,…

Christchurch, New Zealand Earthquake – People Finder Tool Released by Google

Google has launched a people search tool to help people affected by the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. With the tool, users have to options:

– I’m looking for someone
– I have information about someone

The tool can be accessed here

Google allows people to embed the tool on their own sites as such:

Using Social Media To Help Those In Need

One of the greatest aspects of social media is how it’s been adapted to helping charitable causes and non-profits.

From reacting to the Haiti disaster to raising funds for a kids school in Tanzania, social media continues to show just how much we can make a change where before we may have thought there was nothing we could do.

AT&T Prepares for Tropical Storm Bonnie

AT&T made an announcement, saying that it is prepared to respond quickly to Tropical Storm Bonnie, with an "arsenal of disaster response equipment and personnel."

Twitter Arranges for Free SMS Tweets in Haiti

Twitter is offering free SMS tweets for Digicel Haiti customers. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone credits Director of Mobile Business Development Kevin Thau and the Twitter mobile team for arranging this service.