The devastating impact of superstorm Sandy on America’s eastern seaboard after it wrought havoc in the Caribbean shows how utterly helpless man still remains against the fury Mother Nature unleashes periodically.
Massive flooding, power outages, fires, high winds, rail and road systems paralysed, deaths and billions of dollars in damage to both private and public property were unforgiving consequences as the tropical storm ran headlong into a descending cold front from Canada.
The powerlessness of New York, one of the world’s great cities, to withstand the storm shows how all nations must worry more about preparedness in the face of such natural phenomena, now predicted quite accurately with satellite data. Keeping the water out as far as possible, evacuating the most vulnerable and maintaining effective storm shelters are the least administrations everywhere can do to lessen people’s
suffering and save lives.
While attention is now focused on the eastern United States, the devastation Sandy caused in the Caribbean, particularly Haiti (52 deaths), Cuba and Jamaica was perhaps more life-changing for a more indigent people. Mankind is largely helpless even in this age, which is extremely worrying as India’s eastern seaboard too is now threatened by another tropical storm, Nilamp. Truth to tell, nature’s might is taking greater toll in tsunamis, hurricanes, floods and earthquakes. Whether the rising intensity of such phenomena is due to global warming is a point to ponder. The irony is that Sandy might even influence the result in America’s November 6 election, now less than a week away.