In the Wake of Katrina: The Wrath of Mother Nature
When natural disaster hits there are usually more questions than
answers. Why did this happen? Can something like this be
prevented from happening again? What does this all mean? In the
wake of Hurricane Katrina, people are asking these and many
other questions. As people come to grips with what has occurred
it is natural for there to be curiosity about previous natural
disasters in our planet's past.
There are a number of audio books that deal with the subject of
natural disasters and can help give people context and
understanding during tragic times. Often the best way to prevent
future disaster is to understand what happened in the past and
take action to prevent mistakes that might have led to the event
or increased its impact. Here are some resources that you may
want to consider listening to.
"Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded" is the incredible story
of the 1883 eruption of the volcano and the subsequent tsunami
that killed almost 40,000 people. Simon Winchester narrates this
tale of disaster and the ramifications of it on the surrounding
area. On the other side of the world, a less catastrophic but
more recent disaster is detailed in "Fire on the Mountain", the
tale of a forest fire in Colorado on July 3, 1994. This fire
claimed the lives of 14 firefighters and ranks as one of the
deadliest days in the history of firefighting.
Blizzards and snowstorms are often tragic causes of death.
"Blizzard! The Storm That Changed America" recounts the blizzard
of 1888 that hit the Eastern Coast of the United States. This
blizzard resulted in the death of 400 people, the sinking of 200
ships and snowdrifts that reached 50 feet in height. Climbers
that challenge the world's highest peaks often come face to face
with Mother Nature as well. Iconic climber Anatoli Boukreev's
"The Climb" and Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air" both tell the
haunting story of the 1996 attempts to scale Everest during
which weather conditions contributed to the death of eight
climbers.
There are even podcasts related to natural disasters. The
Disaster News Network (DNN) puts out a regular podcast which has
covered recent events such as the Indonesian earthquake and of
course Hurricane Katrina. Another podcast that has covered the
hurricane from a scientific perspective is the Science Friday
podcast which is a production of NPR. Both of these podcasts are
free to listen to and provide an alternative view of recent
events.
Listening to audio books about natural disasters can't take the
sting of these disasters away but it can help to give us a
better historical perspective and show us the remarkable
resilience of human beings even when the worst possible scenario
has unfolded.