India: The Rising Elephant

Over the past few months, natural calamities of alarming proportions have struck two Indian states - Orissa and Bihar. The flood in the River Kosi has led to massive death and destruction in and around Darbhanga in Bihar (affected people estimated to be four million), and questions remain as to whether this is a "truly natural" calamity. Dr. Dinesh Kumar Mishra, an Indian scientist, recently published a work that seeks to look at whether or not this crisis was avoidable. He concludes that the human element in causing the crisis cannot be overlooked.
What is more worrying is the level of media attention that this is (not) getting. While the scale of the affected is astounding, and a lot of good relief work is being done in trying to help people, the media is not focusing enough on the impact and help needed.