I am addicted to world news, particularly the wonderful television stations of BBC and CNN. However, the news lately has been dominated by up to the minute reports about the Hurrican Katrina Evacution, and I am sorry to say it, I am tired of watching it. It's not that I don't symphathize, or I am not astounded, it's just that I know there has to be other things happening in the world that are equally as bad.
Anyway, while looking for something else to watch today, I stumbled across the a special weather program on Japan's weather, particularly Typhoon 14, which is currently covering the entire nation of Japan with its rain and winds. The weatherman put up two pictures on the screen - one of Hurricane Katrina and one of Typhoon 14 - just to compare. Guess what? They are approximately the same size, with the same wind strength, and the same rainfall.
What is the difference, then, between the effects of such a storm on the US and the effects in Japan? Let me give you an example. Massive amounts of rain flooded parts of Tokyo yesterday night as the drainage canals overflowed. Entire streets were flooded up to waist level and many houses were filled almost to the second story. This morning? The water is gone, taken away by efficient storm drains, fire departments with pumps on the scene as soon as the rain stopped, and neighbors helping eachother empty houses bucket by bucket.
Yes, Japan is quite familiar with typhoons and natural disasters in general, so they know how to be prepared. Maybe the US should consider sending some people over here to learn how it's done.
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3 comments:
I agree that Japan is probably WAY more prepared for a lot of things. This is a country where they herd people in to subway cars with sticks and charge the family for lost revenue when someone commits suicide by using a speeding train.
They were also clearing out their capital city. We have to remember that this hurricane struck New Orleans and rural Mississippi (as well as some other places to a lesser extent). This was not New York. This was not DC. This was not Chicago or LA. The problem here is that our rescue teams have been trained (most recently) to deal with other kinds of threats (terrorism) focused mainly on large cities on the East and West Coasts. There weren't any plans for evacuating those without the means to get themselves out--they were all just told to leave. And the levees, which were clearly a threat noted by the Army Corps of Engineers, were essentially ignored when the city was initially ok. So a couple of days after the Hurricane, the levees broke and created an even bigger mess. A mess that could have potentially been avoided if our officials had paid attention.
So basically, I agree that it's somewhat annoying that that's the only story on the news (except we now have our esteemed president appointing people to positions of power when the poor soul who died in that position hasn't even been buried--not until Wednesday). However, I am glad it is on the news because at least the fact that is was mishandled will be more prominent in the public's mind. There are hundreds of thousands of people displaced. Some with means to survive elsewhere, some without and dependent on our pathetic response.
Sorry for the rant. It's just on my mind. I can't wait for Laura to come visit me. We will eat lots of cheese and beer. Maybe even beer cheese.
Maybe next time you go to Japan you should get a goat so that you can make your own cheese. (Just make sure you get a girl goat--it could get ugly otherwise.)
Thanks for the rant, Chrystina. I know that all you say is true. I do not deny it. For some reason lately, however, I have become aggressively critical of the US. Anytime anyone asks me about something about the US and always end up telling them about how bad it is. Why? I don't know.
For example, someone asked me how my experience studying abroad changed my views on my own country. I went off on a rant about how I now see that the US is a selfish, self-serving, money-grubbing, racist, energy-hogging, hypocritical place. Great for the image, huh?
I am at the point now where I am frustrated to be an American living in a foreign country. When people ask me where I'm from I feel the need to apologize for the fact that I am from the US. "Yes, I'm American. I'm really sorry my country's actions have spread terrorism across the globe, and my President thinks he can disregard peoples' cultures and turn them all into happy little democratic voters."
I don't know what I'm saying. Like I said, I've become bitter without a really good reason.
Please don't take this as me being less critical of the US. I think that we absolutely failed. My only disagreement with what you said is that I'm GLAD that it's all over TV/Radio/Print Media. It raises awareness of the fact that we're not up to the task and that our current administration is not up to the task of actually solving anything. Maybe the attention to this will convince the American public that we're going the wrong direction.
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