Hurricane Sandy ripped through Cuba and the Caribbean at the end of the week and at the time this blog was written it was moving up the Eastern seaboard of the United States. Meteorologists are warning that it has the potential to be the worst storm in a century with more than 60 million people affected. And then it will move into Atlantic Canada to wreak havoc. It could cause billions of dollars in damage.
Maybe the dire warnings of a Frankenstorm will go unrealized. Let's pray this is the case. Or maybe the post mortem of the storm will be another reminder that global weather patterns are changing. It's not as though there haven't been fierce Autumn storms in the past. Once again I remind you that I was born at the tail end of Hurricane Hazel back in 1954. It's crazy that the photo of a car in Havana from a couple of days ago could have been taken in the 1950's!
We left Halifax just before Hurricane Juan smashed into Nova Scotia, although our daughter Jocelyn was still there. That storm caught battle hardened Bluenosers by surprise because of its ferocity. And that's the thing. Now storms are less predictable and more violent, and the climate experts say this will increase. The challenge is that these are weather events, but we are still trying to figure out if they signal climate change.
We are being warned that these are Acts of Humanity rather than Acts of God and we better get used to them if weather events become climate patterns.If so, a scary Halloween will take on a whole new meaning.
Are you spooked?
I am. In a battle with my husband to be prepared for possible power outages. He thinks I'm paranoid and easy prey to the media's fear-mongering and I think that I don't care what he thinks, because I want to have food and water if it actually plays out the way they are warning. Am very mindful of how fortunate we are to not have to worry about these storms on a regular basis, like they do in so many other parts of the world. Stay safe and dry!
ReplyDeleteMy sister is moving out of its path as I type this, and I give the Obama administration full marks for its handling of this. (Contrast it with Katrina in 2005, and you couldn't make a more polar comparison.)
ReplyDeleteStay safe folks!