Hurricane Sandy: Five ways to spot a fake photograph

Think you may have shared a fake picture of Hurricane Sandy? Here are five rules to check whether you have been duped and to ensure it doesn't happen again.

As Hurricane Sandy hit the Eastern Seaboard extraordinary scenes of the devastation were broadcast around the world. At the same time, social media went into overdrive with Facebook and Twitter suddenly deluged with harrowing stories and images of what was happening in New York and beyond. Pictures showed Ground Zero being flooded by sea water, a fairground carousel – seemingly still with its lights on – bobbing in the middle of the rising waters, the Statue of Liberty being pummeled by a gigantic wave and even sharks circling in the floods waters of New Jersey.

All were quickly emailed, shared and retweeted. But, as the hurricane passed, some people began to realise they had been duped. The picture of Ground Zero? Real. The picture of the fairground? Also real. But the shot of the Statue of Liberty and the sharks, along with others that showed everything from the storm building across Manhattan to soldiers bravely keeping guard at Arlington Cemetary’s Tomb of the Unknowns in the driving rain were fake…or at least were not what they purported to be.

So, how do you know whether the image you’re about to send to your friends, colleagues or followers is real or not? Chances are you’re not a photo forensics expert or that you don’t know how to tell the difference between a hurricane and a supercell thunderstorm. Tensions are high, conditions are dangerous, and many of the fake images aren’t even as scary as the real ones.

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No report of Malaysians affected by superstorm

There has been no report of Malaysians being adversely affected by superstorm Sandy in the United States, Wisma Putra has confirmed.

A spokesman said this was confirmed by various agencies such as the Public Service Department, Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara), the education authorities and police.

“Strong winds are still hampering power restoration efforts. It was reported that wind gusts in areas like Maine, New Jersey and Maryland were between 60mph and 80 mph.”

Wisma Putra said that based on latest reports from the Malaysian Embassy in Washington DC, eight million people were without electricity as a result of the superstorm.

“Heavy snow was also reported in parts of West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina and sections of Virginia,'' said Wisma Putra in a status report released yesterday.

Separately, Bernama reported that local travel agencies did not foresee any major impact on their business.

Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents (Matta) Outbound vice-president Jeffri Sulaiman said the US was not a major destination for its members, hence the impact of the superstorm would be minimal.

“So far, we haven't been notified by our members of any cancellation or postponement of trips to New York or vice-versa,” he said.

Source: TheStar

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US region hit by Sandy slowly resumes daily life

NEW YORK: People along the battered U.S. East Coast took the first cautious steps to reclaim their daily routines Wednesday, even as about 20,000 people remained trapped at home in a single New Jersey city and the search for victims continued. The superstorm’s death toll rose to at least 72.

The New York Stock Exchange came back to life, and two major New York airports reopened to begin the long process of moving stranded travelers around the world. 

President Barack Obama landed in New Jersey, which was hardest hit by Monday’s hurricane-driven storm, and he took a helicopter tour of the devastation with Gov. Chris Christie. “We’re going to be here for the long haul,” Obama told people at one emergency shelter.

For the first time since the storm pummeled the heavily populated Northeast, doing billions of dollars in damage, brilliant sunshine washed over New York City, for a while.

At the stock exchange, running on generator power, Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave a thumbs-up and rang the opening bell to whoops from traders. Trading resumed after the first two-day weather shutdown since a blizzard in 1888.

New York’s three major airports were expected to be open Thursday morning with limited flights. Limited service on the subway, which suffered the worst damage in its 108-year history, would resume Thursday.

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Malaysian students safe, says embassy official

KUALA LUMPUR: HURRICANE Sandy, reclassified as super storm Sandy by the US National Hurricane Center, made landfall as a post-tropical cyclone on the southern coast of New Jersey around 8pm (US time) last night with sustained winds of 129kph.

A Malaysian Embassy spokesman in Washington said as of 11pm (US time), wind gusts were reported to be at 105kph and were expected to increase to over 120kph overnight.

"Blizzard conditions and heavy snowfall have been reported in some areas in the state of West Virginia and Maryland, apart from heavy downpour and wind."

He added widespread power outages have been reported in all states affected by the super storm and according to local reports, about 3.1 million people were left without electricity in New Jersey,
Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland and Washington, DC.
A total of 134,000 cases of power outage have been recorded so far.

"The Federal Government offices in Washington will continue to be closed until further notice. Public transport authorities have suspended Metro rail and bus services as well. Schools and universities remain closed for the second day."

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