Beyond Good And Evil

I feel immobilized...too tired to do anything and too tired to care. But that other part of me is pissed at myself for just not getting things done. Well, the day is not quite over yet. Perhaps I can kick my own butt out of this melancholy and attend to some things. But I really care not to exert myself at all right now. I just want to sit here in the dark and quiet of my 3rd floor, 2 bedroom apartment and BLOG. I need some rest to build the strength I will need to make all the changes that are coming.

But I should feel lucky. Look at all the suffering in the world within the last year...

The 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake/Tsunami

Known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake, was an undersea earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC (07:58:53 local time) on December 26, 2004. The tsunami generated by the earthquake killed approximately 275,000 people, making it one of the deadliest disasters in modern history. The disaster is also known as the Boxing Day Tsunami.

Various values were given for the magnitude of the earthquake, a Rare great earthquake, ranging from 9.0 to 9.3 (which would make it the second largest earthquake ever recorded on a seismograph), though authoritative estimates now put the magnitude at 9.15.

In May 2005, scientists reported that the earthquake itself lasted nearly ten minutes when most major earthquakes last no more than a few seconds; it caused the entire planet to vibrate at least a few centimetres. (CNN) It also triggered earthquakes elsewhere, as far away as Alaska (Science).

The earthquake originated in the Indian Ocean just north of Simeulue island, off the western coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The resulting tsunami devastated the shores of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, South India, Thailand and other countries with waves up to 30 m (100 ft). It caused serious damage and deaths as far as the east coast of Africa, with the furthest recorded death due to the tsunami occurring at Port Elizabeth in South Africa, 8,000 km (5,000 mi) away from the epicentre *.

Approximately 170,000–275,000 thought to have died as a result of the tsunami, and the count is not yet complete. In Indonesia in particular, 500 bodies a day were still being found in February 2005 and the count was expected to continue past June (CNN, February 10, 2005, [2]). The true final toll may never be known due to bodies having been swept out to sea, but current estimates use conservative methodologies. Relief agencies warn of the possibility of more deaths to come as a result of epidemics caused by poor sanitation, but the threat of starvation seems now to have been largely averted (BBC News, January 9, 2005, [3]). The plight of the many affected people and countries prompted a widespread humanitarian response.
From Wikipedia

Tsunami came into English at the end of the 19th century. It is a Japanese word from two elements, tsu "harbor" and nami "waves." A tsunami is series of great ocean waves created by submarine earth movements caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, or landslides beneath the ocean. A tsunami may also be caused by an asteroid striking the earth. The most destructive tsunami before the one on December 26, 2004 occurred following the eruption of the volcano Krakatoa in the East Indies on August 27, 1883, when over 36,000 people were killed.


Hurricane Katrina

Was the eleventh named tropical storm, fourth hurricane, third major hurricane, and first Category 5 hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It first made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane just north of Miami, Florida on August 25, 2005, then again on August 29 along the Central Gulf Coast near New Orleans, Louisiana, as a Category 4 storm. Katrina resulted in breaches of the levee system that protected New Orleans from Lake Pontchartrain, and most of the city was subsequently flooded by the lake's waters. This and other major damage to the coastal regions of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama made Katrina the most destructive and costliest natural disaster in the history of the United States.

The official death toll now stands at 1,242 and the damage higher than $200 billion, topping Hurricane Andrew as the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history. Over a million people were displaced — a humanitarian crisis on a scale unseen in the U.S. since the Great Depression.

In Louisiana, the hurricane's eye made landfall at 6:10am CDT on Monday, August 29. After 11:00am CDT, several sections of the levee system in New Orleans collapsed. Mandatory evacuation of New Orleans had been ordered by mayor Ray Nagin before the hurricane struck, on August 28. The order was repeated on August 31. By early September, people were being forcibly evacuated, mostly by bus to neighboring states.

Federal disaster declarations blanketed 90,000 square miles (233,000 km²) of the United States, an area almost as large as the United Kingdom. The hurricane left an estimated five million people without power, and it may take up to two months for all power to be restored. On September 3, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff described the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina as "probably the worst catastrophe, or set of catastrophes" in the country's history, referring to the hurricane itself plus the flooding of New Orleans. From Wikipedia.

And now, more recently,

The 2005 Kashmir earthquake

Occurred at 8:50:38 a.m. West Asia Standard Time (Pakistan Standard Time) and 9:20:38 a.m. (India Standard Time) (03:50:38 UTC), on October 8, 2005 with the epicenter in the Pakistan-administered region of the disputed territory of Kashmir. It registered 7.6 on the Moment magnitude scale making it a major earthquake similar in intensity to the famous 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

Initially, official Pakistani estimates were that the earthquake has killed over 42,000 people and injured over 65,000. [1] However, as most of the affected areas are in mountainous regions and have been rendered inaccessible by landslides that have blocked the roads, the death toll is estimated to be much higher. At least 2.5 million people have been left homeless. The UN reports that 4 million people have been affected [2]

$200,467,920,091

Sometimes I wonder, though, how I can be the healer when I have not been able to heal all of my own wounds. Perhaps due to the depths of my own suffering, I am better able to understand and see it in others. Maybe there will come a time when I will need the knowledge I have gained through this pain. Probably.