As an avid tropical weather tracker, I feel the need to respond to the frequent comparisons of the recent Haitian earthquake to Hurricane Katrina (2005).
I spend quite some time tracking tropical cyclones over my summers, and I stayed up many late nights waiting for NHC advisories on Hurricane Katrina five years ago. A lot can be said about the meterological and political history surrounding the hurricane, but I don’t want to digress too far from the point of this post. To summarize what we all know, Katrina was the costliest hurricane on record, and one of the most catastrophic disasters in modern US history.
But please, folks, don’t compare it with what recently happened in Haiti.
I’ve always felt uneasy with the precarious location of Haiti – the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Hispaniola is frequently struck by hurricanes and tropical storms (last year I believe they had around 6) and quite frankly, I think they deserve a better fate.
The 7.0 Moment Magnitude earthquake just outside of Port-au-Prince is reported to have killed anywhere between 50,000 and 100,000 people, but that could be an extremely conservative estimate. From the pictures, the streets are littered with festering corpses. People of all ages are desparate for food, water, and medical aid. Same situation as Katrina… but keep in mind that this earthquake happened in a matter of seconds with no warning. Everybody carried out their routines as they normally did.
Yes, New Orleans was 80% underwater as a result of the levee failures and the subsequent pouring of water from the River, Gulf, and Lake. But the city did not represent the entire country as a whole.
This earthquake destroyed the National Palace, the National Assembly, and the Port-au-Prince cathedral. It has forced the country’s president to relocate. It’s a disaster for a NATION.. and Haiti was never really a self-supporting country. They are in even worse shape now…..
I don’t wish to offend anyone affected by Katrina, but there is simply no comparison.
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With that said, I really (REALLY) wish I could go there and do something right now. I don’t know much about earthquakes and tsunamis, but simply based on the fact that they are perhaps more damaging and certainly more unpredictable than hurricanes (something I do know about), I know that the desparate sense of urgency is not simply a media hype.
Whether it’s distributing supplies, or helping the search-and-rescue efforts, I really want to contribute. I’m glad to see so many nations already out there, and though I’m sure some of them are doing it simply for political reasons, they are helping nonetheless. I would like to express optimism in a recovery, even though I know that the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season is very likely to bring more trouble. There’s nothing we can do about storms and earthquakes… Based on meteorological history and current trends, I know that Haiti will likely get its fair share of tropical storms and hurricanes this season.. but this we can’t do anything about. This is nature at its worst. But what’s always fascinated me about natural disasters is this feeling of unity.. it’s like a wake up call reminding us that we are all fundamentally human.. and we will recover from this together.
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I want to show you a video I was very, very touched by. These guys have been stripped of everything they have, and yet they still manage to keep this up. Check it out.
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Please also take a look (if you haven’t already) at Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti and contribute to the aid effort.
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- Edward.