Year 2017 marks another terrible year of hurricanes- with
its attendant destruction, displacement and woes. First it was a historic
Hurricane Harvey that lashed out on the good people of Texas, driving unrelenting
rains and floods down on thousands of people of Louisiana and driving them out
of their homes and the comfort of clear sunny days. The news and pictures I saw
left me sad as many helpless souls became lost to the disaster. I lighted a votive candle for Yeye to beg for
peace to the storm.
As if the destruction of Texas was just a prelude, a far
harsher Hurricane Irma erupted from the heart of Atlantic and reared its ugly
head towards Cuba to cause destruction and displacement. This sinister storm
also lashed out on Mexico before facing Florida to cause untold mayhem and
destruction. Over 6 million inhabitants of Florida and parts of Miami were
evacuated to safety while the nasty hurricane had a field day destroying
properties and things found along its rabid way. Adjoining islands and colonies
of US sited near the Atlantic Ocean also had the destructive Hurricane Irma pay
them an unsolicited visit.
The total value of the destruction both hurricanes left in
their wake would almost crash a calculator, in fiscal, physical and psychological
terms. Since natural disasters are acts of God, the bulk of cost of repairing
the damage will fall squarely on tax payers. But as a way to lessen the burden
of paying for the destruction hurricanes cause, my question is did we as humans
contribute to the occurrence and virulence of the hurricanes by the effects of
global warming? Can we as humans and the sufferer of natural disaster like
hurricanes and flooding do something to reduce their occurrence and minimize their
virulence? Is Climate Change the reason for these close calling hurricanes from
the oceans?
Answering these questions faithfully and acting positively
in response to its answers can offer succor to us as inhabitants of planet
Earth against all these angry sea storms or unrelenting rainfall that overflows
the dam. If we don't rise up to action today, tomorrow the storms might be deadlier.
Today I saw on CNN another one named Hurricane Maria is gathering its
speed and moving inland from the Atlantic Ocean. May God speak peace to these
unrelenting storms and bring back sunny days to the cerulean sky.
Stay green and positive.
WSO
