At a news conference 10 a.m. on August 28, shortly after Katrina was upgraded to a Category 5 storm, New Orleans mayor C. Ray Nagin, calling Katrina "a storm that most of us have long feared", ordered the first ever mandatory evacuation of the city. He established several "refuges of last resort" for citizens who could not leave the city, including the massive Louisiana Superdome, which housed over 9,000 people (A National Guard official said on Thursday Sept. 1 that as many as 60,000 people had gathered at the Superdome for evacuation along with 550 National Guard troops as Katrina came ashore. (from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina)
Its the aftermath of a disaster that is disheartening. The numerous amount of people rendered homeless, the life they would have to rebuild, the threads they would have to again pickup... For some its easy, provided that they have already planned for such circumstances, but for others who live life king size, its going to take a lot of effort and pain.
What saddens even more is the circumstances the children would be a witness off. They would be pulled out from familiar and comforting surroundings and pushed into a state of chaos. It would toughen some, but it would also break some !!
As is seen everytime, the aftermath also brings out the latent survival instincts in man. He suddenly forgets his civilized upbringing and resorts to the easiest way known to him to attain something. Looting !! With the avenues suddenly open, I guess everyone is susceptible, but nevertheless it is disgusting, that man cannot keep his greed in check even during such tragic circumstances !!!
It seems to be a jinxed year we are living in. It has been a succession of disasters one after the other. The new year was heralded by the tsunami, the destruction and lives laid waste by it pushing the new year celebrations into the background.
Following this was a series of earthquakes in various parts of the world, each bringing with it a fear of a tsunami. Everyone was on tenterhooks, though thankfully the disaster did not repeat itself.
Then came the floods in Mumbai.(also check thislink) The floods in Mumbai brought in its aftermath, water borne diseases. That some relief workers succumbed to this only added to the somber tone.
The list is not over yet, but I really don't wish to continue in this vein. Wonder what more does this year have in store for us......
1 comment:
Natural disasters always remind us that we are not as powerful as we would like to believe...
Just wanted to let you know Rainer Maria Rilke is a German poet. His work is marked by introspection and vivid imagery.
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