A Disaster in New Zealand

Earthquakes seem to be in fashion as another devastating earthquake hits a different part of the world - New Zealand. With a sure number of 65 dead and an estimate prediction of about 1000 fatalities, we see another devastating sight. What was shocking about this particular earthquake was that New Zealand was a modern city. It's buildings were built to stand earthquakes and other disasters, and yet they still experienced damage.

Going on a slight tangent, something that I find rather ironic and very sad are the voices, the quotes of people involved in that situation. I read newspaper articles and journals and every time, the things citizens say all seem so generic: "We have got tens of thousands of people who are very scared," Mayor Bob Parker, or "two buses crushed by falling buildings" or "There is no water, no resources, no electricity. People are living in destitute." Reading these words, sometimes I feel like the meaning isn't properly conveyed. That these words remain only that: words.

It's as if readers who do not experience the same fate do not grasp the meaning behind these words. Something we've learned in AP Spanish is that people are unconcerned with the world around them. We read an short story called La Tortilla which talked of a woman making tortillas for breakfast, very calmly and absorbed in her own world. Juxtaposing this scene was violence on the TV, gossip on the radio, and finally the big event: the announcement of World War III. Now, in the story the woman exclaims for a moment, startled by the news, but then returns to her work. Now this story can be slightly controversial. One may argue that "well yes. I'm making breakfast for my family. It's important that I get things done at that moment and I'm not just going to drop everything just because something comes on the news. There's a time and place for everything. I'll acknowledge that something needs to be done and then later go and try to make a difference, but not right then during breakfast time." But when is that "time"? I feel the author is using breakfast as a representation for ALL aspects of life. Maybe we don't drop breakfast and pick up a pickette sign to rebel against the war, maybe we don't disrupt family time to engage in politics. But then when do we get involved in our society? When do we concern ourselves in the world around us?

My point is that many people remain absorbed in their own little world, which is perfectly fine and dandy, but in the end, when disaster strikes at HOME where it directly impacts that individual, people all of a sudden are extremely passionate about a cause. And they say the same generic things: "The situation here is dreadful" or "There simply aren't enough resources, the buildings are completely destroyed and people are dying." And all of a sudden, words that seem to hold so much meaning to that individual at that moment, is not taken seriously by the reader/listener. The individual, crying out in passion, is unheard by the rest of the world.

Brrr. Baby It's Cold Outside

Throughout the Midwest, states have experienced an icy blast that pierces to the very core. Snow and rain and rain and snow with periodic moments of chilly sunshine has been the situation of the Western Hemisphere. Oklahoma and Arkansas recently gained 3 feet of snow. Cities like Tulsa had major shortages with their snow supplies, spending over $2 million to hire contracts to create 68 pieces of equipment to help clear the snow. The situation in Oregon was so out of control, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) declared Oregon in a state of emergency, allocating federal funds to buy the necessary equipment.

But even with this wallop, the recent weather is not at its worst. Here are the top 5 snow storms in the past decade.

1. In January 25, 2000, the city of Raleigh witnessed a drowning Christmas. Receiving on an average of 7 inches of snow per year, Christmas arrived with a drastic 2 feet of snow, completely incapacitating the city.

2. December 4, 2004: The Ohio Valley received about 40 inches of snow in just 30 hours, yielding a snow rate of almost 4 inches per hour! Businesses lost approximately 80% of their Christmas sales.

3. February 2007: A cold wave in New England barricaded eastern United States in a snow frenzy. Empty airplanes froze on the tracks, 900 flights were cancelled in Chicago's O'Hare airport, even the National Guard had to be called to save motorists stuck on a 50-mile iced over highway. In addition, a total of 300,000 homes lost power and the losses businesses felt is uncountable.

4. February 2010: As we all remember, the infamous DuPont Circle snow ball fight. With nearly 3 feet of snow in the nation's capital and a category 1 Hurricane bringing more, seasonal snowfall records were definitely broken. However, there was minimal damage, due to a well tracked snow system - all of Washington DC stopped in order to prepare for this blizzard.

5. Christmas 2010: And finally, we Californians finally get the brunt of the storms. With almost 17 feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada region, the Pacific weather system indicated an astonishing 20 inches of rain in areas of California in about a week. Although we all wistfully looked for snow, the storm moved on, establishing windy drifts that affected 70 million Americans. The storm cancelled 4,000 flights and even dropped some "thundersnow" - something I really want to see - flashes of lightening among the heavy snow fall.

Source: The Christian Science Monitor