I Think the Earth is Angry
What a crazy week it's been in the Southern Hemisphere - tsunamis in Samoa, an earthquake that killed more people than the tsunami did in Indonesia, aftershocks in both countries and then an earthquake in Peru. Not to mention the hurricane in the Philippines last week that has left thousands and thousands homeless and killed hundreds.
I think the earth is angry!
Growing up in rural Pennsylvania there really weren't too many natural disasters that could harm you. The occasional heatwave . . . okay, get into the air conditioning. A flood - yes, there were a few of those that were quite major. Drought - - yeah, not the best of natural disasters when your family operates a Christmas Tree farm.
Living in New Zealand this week, however, has brought a whole new reality to what natural disasters can really be like. The day after we came home from our beach house in Matarangi following a long weekend, our friends went up to stay for the school holidays. That morning, Rod and I were watching the news as a tsunami warning was issued for our coast following the Samoan earthquake.
My first thought was for our guests at our house. I texted and phoned and no reply, which made me a bit anxious. They finally phoned back and said they were just fine and heading to the cafe for a morning coffee.
Ten minutes later, my friend leaves me a voicemail message on my mobile . . . . a loud alarm was going off in the background while she said, "Heather, do you hear that? We are being evacuated to higher ground!" They were herded off with a hundred or so other villagers in their cars to a nearby mountaintop, where they stayed until the tsunami warning was called off.
Thank goodness all was fine. There was a fleeting moment that I thought, "I'll finally get those beach house renovations we can't afford!" Then, wondered if our insurance covers 'acts of God' (I must check that out...).
We did get a small surge on the coastline a bit later in the day, but it was virtually unnoticeable. The TV news did catch the wave coming into a harbour and nearly capsizing a few boats due to the momentum of the water.
Yes, momentum! My husband (with the physics degree) gave me a little tutorial the morning of the tsunami about momentum. It's not the size of the wave but the weight of the volume of water moving at 1000 kilmetres per hour by the time it his NZ shores! (See, I could practically teach high school science now . . . )
If the earth is angry, I hope it has cooled off a bit after this week and got it out of its system. It needs to take a chill pill, take a time out, sit in the naughty chair and think about what it's done for a few decades . . . Maybe if we loved it just a little bit more . . . .
I think the earth is angry!
Growing up in rural Pennsylvania there really weren't too many natural disasters that could harm you. The occasional heatwave . . . okay, get into the air conditioning. A flood - yes, there were a few of those that were quite major. Drought - - yeah, not the best of natural disasters when your family operates a Christmas Tree farm.
Living in New Zealand this week, however, has brought a whole new reality to what natural disasters can really be like. The day after we came home from our beach house in Matarangi following a long weekend, our friends went up to stay for the school holidays. That morning, Rod and I were watching the news as a tsunami warning was issued for our coast following the Samoan earthquake.
My first thought was for our guests at our house. I texted and phoned and no reply, which made me a bit anxious. They finally phoned back and said they were just fine and heading to the cafe for a morning coffee.
Ten minutes later, my friend leaves me a voicemail message on my mobile . . . . a loud alarm was going off in the background while she said, "Heather, do you hear that? We are being evacuated to higher ground!" They were herded off with a hundred or so other villagers in their cars to a nearby mountaintop, where they stayed until the tsunami warning was called off.
Thank goodness all was fine. There was a fleeting moment that I thought, "I'll finally get those beach house renovations we can't afford!" Then, wondered if our insurance covers 'acts of God' (I must check that out...).
We did get a small surge on the coastline a bit later in the day, but it was virtually unnoticeable. The TV news did catch the wave coming into a harbour and nearly capsizing a few boats due to the momentum of the water.
Yes, momentum! My husband (with the physics degree) gave me a little tutorial the morning of the tsunami about momentum. It's not the size of the wave but the weight of the volume of water moving at 1000 kilmetres per hour by the time it his NZ shores! (See, I could practically teach high school science now . . . )
If the earth is angry, I hope it has cooled off a bit after this week and got it out of its system. It needs to take a chill pill, take a time out, sit in the naughty chair and think about what it's done for a few decades . . . Maybe if we loved it just a little bit more . . . .
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