Perspective
The lifetime natural disaster of my parents' generation was the '37 flood that destoyed property and took many lives along the Ohio River Valley. I've seen pictures of the high water in my hometown in Kentucky. The river had to rise 30 plus feet to have water that high. And of course, the second World War was a defining tragedy of their lifetime.
My generation is marked by the Vietnam War and then 9/11. As for natural disasters, I thought I would never see anything as devastating as the South Asia tsunami. But, the storm of a lifetime has just skirted my area and brought unspeakable misery to Louisiana and Mississippi.
In the two days since Katrina made landfall the news got worse by the hour. In the days and weeks ahead the news will worsen by the hour. The horror puts all of our local problems in perspective.
In my part of the Gulf Coast we have certainly had multiple hits by tropical storms and hurricanes in the last year. Navarre Beach, to the west of Fort Walton Beach, is particularly vulnerable to beach erosion and flooding. Our beaches are critically eroded and beach property owners have lost houses (many of them rentals or second homes) or are threatened to lose their foundations. Our roads are quagmires and death traps. Local gas prices are regularly higher than the national average. Bureaucrats give developers every exemption, amendment, and variance they ask for. Quality of life seems to be getting worse rather than better.
When I see the chaos, destruction, and struggle for survival going on in New Orleans right now I can't imagine a worse scenario. But, it will get worse. Already, a news anchor is saying that there is a growing consensus that this is the worst natural disaster in US history.
I wish I had Red Cross disaster preparedness and recovery training so that I could help some way as a volunteer. A small donation and heart-felt prayers are going out for those poor souls, my neighbors to the west.
My generation is marked by the Vietnam War and then 9/11. As for natural disasters, I thought I would never see anything as devastating as the South Asia tsunami. But, the storm of a lifetime has just skirted my area and brought unspeakable misery to Louisiana and Mississippi.
In the two days since Katrina made landfall the news got worse by the hour. In the days and weeks ahead the news will worsen by the hour. The horror puts all of our local problems in perspective.
In my part of the Gulf Coast we have certainly had multiple hits by tropical storms and hurricanes in the last year. Navarre Beach, to the west of Fort Walton Beach, is particularly vulnerable to beach erosion and flooding. Our beaches are critically eroded and beach property owners have lost houses (many of them rentals or second homes) or are threatened to lose their foundations. Our roads are quagmires and death traps. Local gas prices are regularly higher than the national average. Bureaucrats give developers every exemption, amendment, and variance they ask for. Quality of life seems to be getting worse rather than better.
When I see the chaos, destruction, and struggle for survival going on in New Orleans right now I can't imagine a worse scenario. But, it will get worse. Already, a news anchor is saying that there is a growing consensus that this is the worst natural disaster in US history.
I wish I had Red Cross disaster preparedness and recovery training so that I could help some way as a volunteer. A small donation and heart-felt prayers are going out for those poor souls, my neighbors to the west.
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