The sad series of recent calamities prompted a sequel of sorts to the previous article. Read on to discover some more devastating events of the past few days.
Coorg Floods
Just when help and relief began pouring in from various sources for the Kerala flood victims, little did anyone imagine that a similar rescue and relief operation would have to be conducted in another part of South India. Coorg or Kodagu in Karnataka was hit by the usual heavy monsoon showers last week but what was not usual were the landslides, the mudslides and the washout of the houses, rendering the people of the region homeless.
Sensible officials, having recognised that the situation is not as bad as that of Kerala, requested that relief materials be sent there, as well. However, they expressed serious concern over how people would rebuild their shattered lives.
A villager, who observed that part of a mountain was dislodged during the floods, said that illegal construction was the cause of such a curse to be cast upon the place, amid reports stating that the disaster could have been completely avoided. We can only wonder in horror, at the time which Kodagu may need for its rehabilitation.
Indonesian Quakes
The Indonesian island of Lombok has been reeling from a series of earthquakes lately. A 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck Lombok on the night of the 19th of August, just weeks after another devastating quake killed 490 people there.
What is truly shocking is that this earthquake was the second one suffered that day, with another one hitting the island that same afternoon. The magnitude of that one was 6.5.
The people are, not surprisingly, shaken and defeated. These recent quakes caused landslides on the Mount Rinjani volcano, which has been closed to visitors after an earthquake in July killed 16. In the wake of this calamity, people have been forced to abandon their homes; a few have taken to living in their cars.
Californian Wildfire
A massive wildfire, named The Ferguson Fire, has since been blazing in the Yosemite National Park of California. Nearly 97000 acres of land have perished in the wrath of the flame since July 13th. Nearly 19000 firefighters battled the disaster, which claimed the lives of two of them and injured 19 others.
The Ferguson Fire has, unfortunately, not been the first one to ravage California in recent weeks.
The situation, however, has been brought under control, partly thanks to the calm winds which have begun blowing. The loss to green cover is undeniable and irreplaceable.
Scientists the world over have realised that the world has recently been grappling with a 2012-like situation, due to a plethora of natural disasters. And the reasons have all been some form of human activity or other. Will the Mayans’ prediction of an Armageddon come true (albeit, six years later than predicted), or will we recover and begin treating nature with care?