While the news media, new agers and christian evangelicals are talking in
dark apocalyptic tones in the aftermath of the New Orleans (actually
3-state) hurricane disaster, how many Americans can remember mostly Third
World cyclone/typhoon/tropical storm disasters that left hundreds,
thousands, tens or even hundreds of thousands dead, and destruction over
vast land areas?
Can Americans even remember more recent American hurricanes, such as
Hurricane David in 1978 that left 1,100 dead along the Eastern seaboard?
Or Hugo that left over 500 dead in the Caribbean in 1989? Why haven't
these two destructive, deadly storms been referenced by the mainstream
corporate media during the around-the-clock blanket coverage of Katrina's
destructive aftermath? (It would, of course, take some of the
audience-share ratings steam out of their "Hurricane Headquarters" and
"Hurricane Headlines" -- CNN's crazy *****).
I would guess that few would remember Third Word disasters, other than the
fairly recent Indian Ocean tsunami. None of these past water-and-wind
disasters brought about anything extraordinary in the future, just more
similar events varying in their death toll and destructiveness. Certainly,
none brought on the end of their civilizations, the return of their
messiahs, the "fulfillment of prophecies," etc.
The 1991 Bangladesh cyclone left 139,000 dead and dozens of cities in
ruin. It took years for them to rebuild, weeks to find the dead and bury
(or burn) them.
In 1970, another cyclone left 300,000 dead and similar widespread ruin in
Bangladesh.
And when you consider all the geophysical disasters, the torrential
floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, tornadoes, fires, et
al, AND consider the disease epidemics, heat waves, blizzards, et al,
there are so many heavy life losses that most of us can't remember hardly
any or have any knowledge of them.
For example --
3,700,000 Flood China 1931
255,000 Earthquake China 1976
143,000 Earthquake Japan 1923
120,000+* Tsunami South Asia 2004 (probably twice that figure now)
100,000 Tsunami Japan 1703
70,000 Tsunami Portugal 1755
50,000 Earthquake Iran 1990
31,000 Earthquake Iran 2003
*As of Dec. 31, 2004
Sources: World Almanac, U.S. Geological Survey, Associated Press
Are we to assume that because the earth is more heavily populated, and
therefore the death toll would be higher from a land strike, that a
150-mph hurricane in modern times is any more powerful than the ones that
hit long before humans were present? There's no reason to believe
hurricanes weren't here before humanity arrived, or that these modern
events today are any stronger.
We're talking about the loss of human lives and injuries here, but are we
to think that the earth is getting more "violent" in an era when many more
people are here to be their possible victims, or that man-made structures
are now here to be destroyed? And, that people are being "punished" by
natural disasters that were raking the planet's surface long before
humanity arrived?
I've about had all I can take of this silly ***** about God punishing
Mankind, or that the natural forces of the earth are even more violent
than they've ever been in this planet's eons of existence. Bullfeathers!!!
Out of the thousands (or more) hurricanes that have swirled around the US,
this particular one hit dead on into a major city area -- and that would
be in keeping with the statistical odds over a very, very long period of
hurricane history. There are a lot of port cities or towns near the
coasts. Where could they hit and not run into at least a fairly high
concentration of humans? Sooner or later, one of 'em is going to strike a
major city dead center. Statistically, that's pretty rare, and that's
about all that can be said rationally about it.
I'm not expecting that Jesus or the Antichrist are soon to appear because
of these types of events. Or, that God has turned a scornful face to
Mankind, giving it signs that he's really fed up with what he created --
as fed up as he supposedly was during the Old Testament days.
God can throw one temperamental fit after another about the shortcomings
of his creation, but, really, isn't it God's responsibility to have made a
more satisfying creature than we humans have been, and are now? I think
this dissatisfied, angry God has basically two choices: either remake homo
sapiens' DNA, or destroy the species and make another one.
God is getting no where with producing a sea change in our behavior with
these tantrums of his. History proves it.
Blasphemously yours (and condemned to Lightwing's Purgatory Circus),
Doc ;))
Furious "whirl winds" in relatively recent history --
1976, May 20 Typhoon Olga, floods, Phillipines 215
1977, Jul 25,31 Typhoon Thelma (without Louise), Typhoon Vera,
Taiwan 39
1978, Oct 27 Typhoon Rita, Philippines 500
1978, Aug 30-Sep 7 Hurricane David, Caribbean, eastern US 1 100
1980, Aug 4-11 Huricane Allen, Caribbean, Texas 272
1981, Nov 25 Typhoon Irma, Luzon Island, Philippines 176
1983, June Monsoon, India 900
1984, Sep 2 Typhoon Ike, southern Philippines 1 363
1985, May 25 Cyclone, Bangladesh 10 000
1985, Oct 26-Nov 6 Hurricane Juan, southeast US 97
1987, Nov 25 Typhoon Nina, Philippines 650
1988, Sep 10-17 Hurricane Gilbert, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico 260
1989, Sep 16-22 Hurricane Hugo, Caribbean, southeast US 504
1990, May 6-11 Cyclones, southeast India 450
1991, Apr 30 Cyclone, Bangladesh 139 000
1991, Nov 5 Tropical storm, Philippines 7 000+
1992, Aug 24-26 Hurricane Andrew, southern Florida, Louisiana 14
1993, Mar 13-14 Blizzard, eastern US 200
1993, June Monsoon, Bangladesh 2 000
1994, Nov 8-18 Storm Gordon, Caribbean, Florida 830
1995, Sep 4-6 Hurricane Luis, Caribbean 14
1995, Sep 13-22 Hurricane Marilyn, Virgin Islands, Caribbean 13
1995, Oct 2-4 Hurricane Opal, southern Mexico, Florida, Alabama 59
1995, Nov 2-3 Typhoon Angela, Philippines 600+
1996, Jan 7-8 Blizzard, northeastern US 100
1996, Jul 8-13 Huricane Bertha, Caribbean, eastern US 15
1996, Aug 22 Blizzard, Himalayas, northern India 239
1996, Aug 29-Sep 6 Hurricane Fran, North Carolina, Virgina, West
Virginia 28
1996, Sep 9-10 Hurricane Hortense, Caribbean 24
1996, Sep 9 Typhoon Sally, southern China 114
1996, Nov 6 Cyclone, Andhra Pradesh, India 1 000+
1996, Nov 24-25 Ice storms, Texas to Missouri 26
1996, Dec 25 Tropical Storm, eastern Malaysia 100+
1997, May 19 Cyclone, Bangladesh 108
1997, May 26 Rain storm, Philippines 29
1997, Jul 2 Storms, southeastern Michigan 16
1997, Aug 18 Typhoon, Taiwan 24
1997, Sep 27 Cyclone, southern Bangladesh 35
1997, Oct 8-10 Hurricane Pauline, southwest Mexico 230
1997, Oct 13 Cyclone, Tongi, Bangladesh 15+
1998, January Ice storm, eastern Canada, northeast US 37
1998, Feb 4-6 Blizzard, Kentucky, West Virginia 10+
1998, Jun 9 Cyclone, Gujarat, India 1 320
1998, August Monsoon, Bangladesh 326
1998, Sep 21-23 Hurricane Georges, Caribbean, Florida Keys, US Gulf
Coast 600+
1998, Oct 27-29 Hurricane Mitch, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El
Salvador 10 866+
1999, Sep 4-17 Hurricane Floyd, Bahamas, eastern US seaboard 69+
1999, Oct 29 Cyclone, Eastern India 9 392
1999, Dec 26-29 Gales, France, switzerland, Germany 120
2000, Aug 22-23 Typhoon Billis, Taiwan 11
2000, Sep 11 Typhoon Saomai, Japan 7
2000, Dec 27 Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas 40+
2001, Jun 6-17 Tropical storm Allison, SE USA 47
2001, Jul 30 Typhoon, Taiwan 200
2001, Oct 8-9 Hurricane Iris, Belize 22
2001, Nov 2-5 Hurricane Michelle, Cuba, Jamaica 17
2001, Nov 6-12 Typhoon Lingling, S Philippines, central Vietnam 220+
2002, Jul 1-11 Typhoon Chata'an, Micronesia, Philippines, Japan 70+
2002, Aug-Sep Typhoon Rusa, South and North Korea 115+
2003, Feb 16-17 Blizzrd, E seaboard USA 59
2003, Sep 2 Typhoon Dujuan, southern China 32
2003, Sep 12 Typhoon Maemi, South Korea 100+
2003, Sep 7-19 Hurricane Isabel, North Carolina, Virgina, Maryland,
E seaboard USA 40+
2003, Dec 17 Cyclone, southern India 50
2004, Jan 26-Feb 4 Cyclone Elita, Madagascar 29
2004, Mar 7-19 Cyclone Gafilo, Madagascar 198
2004, Apr 8 Cyclone 22P, Fiji 22
2004, May 18 Typhoon Nida, Philippines 19+
2004, May 19 Cyclone, Myanmar 220
2004, Aug 12-15 Typhoon Rananim, east China 164
2004, Aug 13-14 Huriccane Charley, west & central Florida, South
Carolina, USA 36
2004, Aug 24-Spe 10 Typhoon Aere, China, Taiwan, Philippines 67
2004, Sep 5-6 Hurricane Frances, Bahamas, Florida 35
2004, Sep 7-16 Hurricane Ivan, Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, Cuba, US
Gulf Coast 115
2004, Sep 16-26 Hurricane Jeanne, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Florida
1 500+
http://www.factophile.com/show.content?action=view&pageid=139
Last updated:
2005-01-23
Copyright © 2004 Blackdog Media
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