Cyclone hits

by Pat Ross

A catagory three cyclone with winds of a hundred and ninety kilometres per hour ripped through the capitol of Myanmar,Yangon, this past Saturday. A U.S. diplomat in Myanmar has claimed that up to 100,000 people may have died in the massive storm. Cyclone Nargis, as it was named, ravaged city streets with overturned cars, fallen trees and scattered debri. Military authorities have now labeled 5 states in the country as complete disaster zones.
International aid has taken some time to arrive, but slowly it has progressed with Thailand being one of the first to fly over thousands of different supplies. The United States is waiting for the approval by Myanmar authorities to provide assitance. Fortuanatly, 14 other nations have already pledged to help out. Back in Myanmar, villages everywhere have been totally destroyed and anihalated; water and food is scarce, as well any electrical power. Residents on the streets have joined together to attempt to gather the little amount of water they can, and only a few food stores have opened. However food and water is not the only concerns of Myanmar citizens, there is a serious risk of outbreaks in diseases as a result of unclean water, food, and homes.
Cyclone Nargis is the deadliest cyclone to hit the North Indian Ocean Basin and currently the 12th deadliest cyclone of all time. Over the past few years, natural disasters seem to be occuring all over the globe. With Hurricane Katrina, the Tsunami that struck thailand, and now this, it seems mother nature is beginning to take her anger and wrath out on us. These kinds of storms and tragedies may be things that we can not control and prevent, but we can prepare for them and protect ourselves and others. Last time I remembered, the job of a weatherman and forcaster is to tell us what the hecks going on above and around us. It's nice knowing that it's going to be sunny out with a high of 80, but if theres a catastrophic storm building out in the middle of the ocean, well, I wouldn't mind hearing about that too before it kills thousands. There are probably people out there in charge of cyclone, earthequake, and tsunami tracking, but i don't hear them stepping up and telling the world what is about to happen. If it looks like it could be deadly on a dopplar radar, well then it probably is, and im sure the people of Myanmar would have liked to known so they could at least try to prepare themselves. We should all keep a good watch on what our world is telling us, because it doesn't seem to be anything good.