The Fury of Nature

Stormy skies

Hurricanes in the Atlantic,
Earthquakes in Italy,
Floods in New Orleans

   Here on the East Coast of the U.S., we have just been spared from Hurricane Hermine, which thankfully has been downgraded to a Tropical Storm. We will still experience some wind and rain and rip tides and flooding and erosion, but not to the extent it could have been.
   I have recently spoken and written about how we were experiencing some drought, with very little or  no rain, and how hurricanes usually follow a drought period. Also it has been 4 years since Hurricane Sandy hit here, and 11 years since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005.
   Both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans seem very active right now, with multiple storms in a procession, one after the other. And the hurricane season does not officially end until November 30th, so we could still experience more storms. Although in the Pacific and Indian Oceans the storms are referred to as cyclones or typhoons.
   But I thought about the fury of nature, and despite all of our modern technology and evolution, we are still subject to nature. We need to live and dress according to the season and temperature, and take an umbrella when needed, and to shovel snow or melt ice, and be wary of storms. We think we are the masters of our own universe, but Mother Nature still has the power to humble us and remind us who we are. I hope this does not mean that someday society will make us live in temperature controlled glass domes, for then it seems we would no longer be human.
   For me, I think the key is to always respect nature, and as I have often said, try to live within the cycles of nature. The seasons, the months, days and nights, cycles of the Moon, movement of planets and the existence of stars and other galaxies, the flora, the fauna and people like ourselves. It is all part of being human.
   The winds are picking up now, but the Sun is still shining. Animals seem to scurry for cover, the ospreys have already gathered fish for their nests in the trees. Where do birds go in storms? Hiding for cover in trees? Rabbits burrow underground. Fish go deeper into the sea?

The angry sea

   I remember Hurricane Donna in the 1960's, and Hurricane Gloria, and Hurricane Sandy. For Donna, the tide came right up to our driveway, but did not damage the little house built into the hill. My grandmother wanted to stay in the house alone in the storm. I will never understand why she wanted to do that. Maybe it made her feel close to nature. I don't know.
   By the time Gloria came, my parents had a power generator, so I went to stay with them. The storm raged on and on, and we had a few lights and the refrigerator to keep my grandmother's insulin cold. We went out the next day to get more food and were amazed at the piles of trees along the way that looked like match sticks lying on the ground. We went to a deli to beg for a chunk of bologna for my grandmother to have some protein, but the man would not sell it to us because he couldn't figure out what it would really cost. I was stunned.
   Hurricane Sandy was 4 years ago, but some families still don't have their houses rebuilt yet and many have been demolished. No power or heat for 14 days. No gasoline. And once Sandy left us in her wake, it was very cold, and it snowed a day later. It was Halloween when it snowed, and the children in the neighborhood never went out for their candy, because there was no power and no candy.
   But I was lucky because up here on the cliffs there was no water damage, just the wind. The roof peeled like an onion and I had a blue tarp on my roof for 6 months, but many people lost their entire homes, and their oil tanks in their basements floated down the street. Water, fire, floods, wind. Devastation.

   I remember during the height of the storm I had only 1 station on my little battery operated radio. It was broadcasting in Staten Island. And the announcer said oh no, here comes the high tide, and Staten Island was swamped. Shortly after, the wind seemed to dissipate. The house had been shaking for about 5 hours. In the  morning, when it was finally light, a neighbor came and knocked on my door and said don't worry I will remove your fallen tree for you. There was debris everywhere. Two fences torn down, and another tree. The wind had whipped through the back yard like a wind tunnel. Many neighborhoods looked like multiple tornadoes had gone through.
   But still this is nothing in comparison to what some people have gone through. In the Midwest tornadoes are a regular occurrence. And what about the recent earthquake in Italy?
   My sister travels to Italy quite regularly, but to the town of Torino. She knows better than me the land and the people and the skies and the Mediterranean Sea. I went to Italy only once, while we were in Nice, my family and I took the train to Ventimiglia to a market, and we had lunch.
   So no I do not know Italy so well, but can still have concern for those who suffered from the recent earthquake in central Italy. I did not know until now that the Apennines in central Italy is an active zone for seismic activity, and there have been many earthquakes. And there were over 1800 aftershocks that were felt as far as Rome, Florence and Bologna. They were medieval towns, so how many lives were lost in those ancient buildings that can never really be replaced? And what about the little dog, who was saved 9 days after the earthquake? In the midst of devastation, can miracles still occur?
   And why do people live in active zones. Is is because they have always lived there for generations and generations? Why did people first settle here? Was there something about the land, the  mountains, maybe even the energy in the land, as it is active geologically.
   It is curious, because I ask myself why I live where I do, and it is embaressing to think it is mostly because I was born in this area. I did travel to some places, but for now this is my home base. So why do people live where they live? And why do some people move, even across continents or oceans? What are they seeking? A new life, a new place, a new adventure, or do they simply want to leave their past behind.
   And lastly, New Orleans. Epic floods, people losing their homes, streets filled with water so that boats are needed. It is a very low country, and flat, and close to the sea. It is ironic perhaps that New Orleans was hit by Hurricane Katrina 11 years ago. Another cycle of water and destruction. It makes you think. It makes you appreciate and value what you have.
   I remember the week of Hurricane Katrina. I was at a family reunion is South Carolina, and driving my little car afterwards to Florida, while Katrina was making its initial cross over South Florida. It went into the Gulf of Mexico and proceeded to gain strength until it became the epic storm that ravaged New Orleans and other states like Alabama and Mississippi. We did not know it would be like this, perhaps we were too complacent. So Mother Nature teaches us never to underestimate the power of nature.
   Wishing you all a safe year and years to come.

Maery