The Month Of The Tornado

           If you are an regular reader of my blog than you have probably noticed that I have been talking about tornadoes a lot the last couple of post. That is because we are are on track to completely encompass the previous record for tornadoes in a single month. It just seems like every day you turn on the news and their is another tornado ravaging Texas, Oklahoma, or another southern state.     
          In the last week or so we have had a tornadoes in Missouri, Texas, or Oklahoma. "In fact this tornado season has been the most deadliest since 1953", according to www.abcnews.com/. On the left side of the screen is a picture of Joplin, Missouri, after the destructive tornado hit this town.
               Explained by The Associated Press, "The average tornadoes for an entire year in the United States is 1274, and the total number of tornado's we have had through May is 1228." Actually we are on pace to beat our previous record of 1817 tornado's in a single year, in 2004.
               I'll end this like I always do, please contribute in some way. If it's donating or sending supplies, anything is  better then doing nothing, thank you.
          

Tornado's In Joplin

      Before a mile wide tornado struck Joplin, Missouri a couple of days ago most of us probably didn't know where Joplin, Missouri even was. Now, this city is well known, but I'm pretty sure they would rather be a quiet little town again.
      The tornado had killed over 124 people as far as authorities know. Like in the picture to the right, most of Joplin is destroyed. If your interested in see what kind of tornado this was a EF-5 tornado.
     The sad thing is Joplin is on a severe tornado watch again. The tornado could be stronger then the one that completely demolished this city just a couple days ago. President Obama said, "What we can do is show that the rest of America supports Joplin." Something I think would be helpful to do is find a donation foundation, like the American Red Cross. A lot of peoples homes were also destroyed, so getting a hold of "Habitat for Humanity" may be helpful to the citizens of Joplin.

What Can I Do?

            This is a question that most people ask themselves. That is the good thing about our technological advances, we can get a message out to the world in very little time. We can do so many things, donate money, send supplies, donate blood, write letters for moral support, etc.
             I'm sure a lot of people know about the "We Are the World" music video for Haiti. What this music video did was unify a variety of artist for one common goal. I know that a blue collar worker can not do anything like that, but anything that brings awareness to people who need help is important. With the most recent tornadoes in Alabama, we can get a hold of "American Red Cross" to donate.
           Even some of your most popular television shows like "The Colbert Report" advocates to help the victims of Tuscaloosa, Alabama by text messaging  "REDCROSS" for a $10 dollar donation. I guess the point of this post is even one person can make a difference in someones life, so next time you think about buying the newest phone or that pair of jeans for $100.00, think of how people who need  food, laundry detergent, clean drinking water, basic living essentials.
                                                                                               

A History Lesson

               In recent history it seems as if every couple of days a natural disaster effects millions of people, but this is not a recent thing, it has been happening for every. Through out time their have been hurricanes, volcanoes, tornadoes, wild fires, etc. This got me thinking, "How would past disasters compare to the disasters of today?" 
              The earliest natural disaster I could find was in 1500 B.C., a Mediterranean small island, called Stroggli was stuck by a tsunami wiping out the Minoans. Plato called it the site where "The Lost City of Atlantis" was.
              When we hear natural disaster we think of earthquakes, tsunami's, erupting volcanoes, etc, but a natural disaster can be more then physical destruction to our planet, it can be a outbreak, or illness. The Bubonic Plague, (1330A.D.-1350A.D.) is and excellent example of this. This disease also known as the "black death" killed 75 million people.
              Even when their is a physical disaster their could be a different reason for so many deaths. In Tambora, Indonesia a volcano had erupted, but the  181,580,000 deaths were caused by famine because of the lack of wildlife and ability to farm.
             What I've collected through the process of studying about the history of natural disasters is we are saving more lives, but their is a lot more property damage costs. So as a community we need to make sure the people that are saved have a place to call home after the tragedy.If you are interested in reading more about past natural disasters I got my information at www.livescience.com.

Why Natural Disasters Can Effect Us For a Very Long Time

             When a natural disaster strikes, we as a society have been known to come to our neighbors needs. The problem is we also have a tendency to leave before the towns or even country involved has been completely restored to it's former self.
              When Hurricane Katrina went through New Orleans and other parts of the Gulf of Mexico, the United States seen a incredible rise in unity between racial communities, financial classes, religions, etc. Even with this incredible coming together of Americans, parts of New Orleans are still laying in ruins.
               According to http://www.dosomething.org/, "This hurricane caused about $75 billion in estimated damages, the most costly hurricane in history, but it is estimated that the total economic impact in Louisiana and Mississippi may exceed $150 billion."(fact 8). Some causes of such a high damages cost is not having up to date levee systems. This lack of maintenance is the reason for all the unemployment, parents getting separated from their children, deaths, and people not having a place to call home anymore. If your interested in helping any of the more recent natural disasters that have hit Alabama, Japan; I'm up to suggestions on getting something set up.