Edited by Gerald Boerner
Commentary:
Major disasters always attract attention. They also seem to cluster around points in time. There also seems to be idiosyncratic problems associated with each. Hurricane Katrina was accompanied by a slow response by the Bush administration and a comedy of errors by FEMA. The recent earthquake and tsunami in Sendai, Japan was accompanied by major damage and procedural problems in the nuclear power plants. Disasters seem to breed their own set of disasters.
With the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, we had major damage from the quake, but that was accompanied by waterline breaks. When fires started, the firefighters didn’t have sufficient water to extinguish them. The Army wanted to use explosives to extinguish the fires, but used too much dynamite and created larger fires! Looting was extensive and a pristine Yosemite Valley (Hetch Hetchy Valley) was made into a reservoir to guarantee water for the City.
And then politics raises its head. The city fathers didn’t want the real extent of damage or the death count to be publicized. Why not? They didn’t want to lose the interest of East coast financiers. The City was rebuilt and restored, including the historic Palace Hotel. And life goes on.
But let’s get into our exploration… GLB
These Introductory Comments are copyrighted:
Copyright©2011 — Gerald Boerner — All Rights Reserved[ 3796 Words ]
Quotations Related to EARTHQUAKE:
“Playing polo is like trying to play golf during an earthquake.”
— Sylvester Stallone
“I couldn’t help but be impressed by the magnitude of the earthquake.”
— Dan Quayle
“In an earthquake, I shouldn’t run out of the house – I should run into it.”
— Tony Danza