Yesterday, I wrote about Cyclone Yasi, an enormous storm that was approaching Australia, causing the residents of Queensland to flee from their homes and get out of the immediate area. Today, Cyclone Yasi finally came down on Australia, destroying houses and causing the power to go out in at least 170,000 homes. In many cities, only 30% or less of homes have electricity while some cities and towns are entirely without power. It can take as long as weeks to repair the damage caused by Cyclone Yasi, which was labeled as a category 5 storm, the highest on Australia's classification system.
Check out some videos of the cyclone and the great wind:
Luckily, most people were able to leave before the cyclone hit, but some who didn't heed the warning are currently in a dangerous situation. Hopefully the authorities will be able to rescue these people; wishing everyone in Australia safety for the next few days.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Lisa Smith, a victim of Cyclone Yasi, said to the Washington Times representatives, "I just hope we don't get forgotten." As of Friday, she is out of a house and has not received any help from state or federal officials.
While it is easy to sympathize with the victims of both natural and unnatural causes, very few of us actually act on that sympathy. It doesn't take much to say that we hope that everyone is alright and that things will be okay; rather, it takes much more effort to actually get things done. For example, people who survived Hurricane Katrina are STILL suffering from that disaster. I hope (I might sound like a hypocrite here) that the victims of Cyclone Yasi are not succumb to that sort of misfortune, seeing as how they have more than enough on their hands to deal with right now. At least it can be said that a food supply ship and 4,000 troops were sent to help those who were affected. But I really think it's going to take more than just weeks to repair all of the damage. I mean, 170,000 homes were destroyed. People are shocked. It's going to take time to get everyone and everything together.
In any case, I think it would be a really good idea for one or more of the clubs at school to hold some sort of relief fund for the people in Australia.
Post a Comment