How small we are before nature

I’m still trying to wrap my head around all the news coming out of New York and New Jersey concerning Sandy. Some of the news is good, some of it is not. The good news is that so many people are helping each other, volunteering for the relief help, and so on. The bad news is that there are still many areas without electricity, without heat, without water (no shower or toilet facilities), without phone connection; I know people who cannot return to their homes because of these problems. As a friend of mine on Facebook commented—“how small we are before nature, even in one of the most modern cities in the world”. It’s true. We like to think that we can tackle most of the tough things that life throws at us; most of the time we do. But sometimes we cannot, and not through any fault of our own. It’s worth thinking about. Most homes in New York and New Jersey get their gas and electricity from power companies like Con Edison, Hess and the like. If you lost electrical power for a week, your refrigerator would not work, nor would any other electrical device you might have. This means that any food you had in the refrigerator would eventually spoil; ditto for food in the freezers. Unless you had a backup generator, you would be stuck in a situation that many people find themselves in now in New York City boroughs and in New Jersey. Some of them cannot get out of their homes to buy food because the areas they live in remain flooded, or because they cannot use their cars due to lack of fuel. Even if they could buy food, there would be no way to store it without a functioning refrigerator. The question of course is whether there is food to be bought, since deliveries of foodstuffs have been limited or non-existent in some areas. The same is true for car fuel; it is running low and gas stations are reporting long lines at the pumps. As far as food preparation, people can prepare food using gas stoves, providing that the natural gas supply to the stoves is functioning. In Norway however, we would have a huge problem, since most stoves are electric, not gas. We thus would not be able to store food or prepare it. We would also be without shower and toilet facilities. We would not be able to charge our cell phones, even though the cell phone networks might be working. We would not have regular telephone service; we would not have internet or cable TV connections. This would impact on the amount of information we would be privy to, in terms of critical updates on the situation we were experiencing. We would be cut off, in other words, like many residents of New York and New Jersey are, and probably like many residents in Haiti and Cuba are, since they were the first to get hit by Sandy. It is truly hard to believe that given all our modern technology, that we are in fact at the mercy of nature. It is a fallacy to think that we have any real control over what nature can throw at us—hurricanes, storm surges, earthquakes, tsunamis, or tornadoes. We can prepare as best we can, and hope for the best.

Reflections on this past week

Super storm Sandy and its brutal attack on the east coast of the USA was the major news story this past week, after it swept through Haiti and Cuba causing much destruction there first. It was also the event that dominated most of my waking hours this past week, since I was unable to get in touch with a few people until Wednesday evening. I have now heard from family members and friends who were directly affected by the storm, so I know that they’re all safe. Some are still without power, a few just had power restored today, some others are waiting in long lines at gas stations in order to fill up their cars, and one of my friends has not been able to return to her home in Long Beach, New York because of the extensive damage there. I felt very restless this week; I wanted to help, but could not physically do so from here. And it would not have been possible for me to have traveled there either since most flights into and out of the New York area were cancelled. So what I have managed to do is follow the events and updates related to the storm in great detail, and have been able to share them via email and social media with those who were cut off from all forms for news/internet coverage since Monday evening. The feeling of restlessness has lessened, but is one I remember well from 2001 during the 9/11 days; it bothers me to be so far away from my country when bad things happen there. I don’t know that I could even be of much help; perhaps it’s my imagination working overtime. Nevertheless, the restless feeling remains. So I will donate to the Red Cross and hope that eases my worries and restlessness somewhat. Perhaps it comes down to wanting to serve and to be needed? Sometimes I wonder if that is an indication that my job is not providing me with those opportunities.

On another note, a newsworthy event occurred in Oslo as well this past week. Perhaps not earth-shattering for those who work outside the health sector, but for those who work in it—Bente Mikkelsen resigned her position yesterday as the director of Health Southeast Corporation. This corporation owns the hospital I work for; the past few years have been less than pleasant under her rule, to put it mildly. Rather than dwell on her departure, which is rather farcical in and of itself, I’d rather focus on the potential for a brighter future for the hospital. Hopefully the job she leaves behind will be filled by a person with more emotional intelligence and the ability to think independently, by a person who can give and take, by a person who can admit mistakes and take responsibility for them, by a person who can listen to employees and report their concerns up over in the system. There is always hope.  

The unbelievable storm

I was up until 4 am Oslo time last night watching super storm Sandy make landfall on the eastern coast of the USA. It chose the area around Atlantic City as its entrance, and the video footage of the Atlantic Ocean pouring into this casino city was just unbelievable to watch. The Atlantic Ocean has never been the enemy before. Not until last night. Watching it flood these coastal towns was kind of like watching a mini tsunami—scary, unbelievable and fascinating at the same time. I can understand why people want to get close to the fury of a storm to film what it does to everything in its path, but you would have been completely foolhardy to have done so yesterday. I’ve been in Atlantic City, walked along its boardwalk, and enjoyed its shopping and luxurious hotels. Last night it did not look luxurious at all. It made me sad to see the destruction, as it did to see the flooding and destruction in Manhattan and Queens. This is not supposed to happen in these areas. But it did. The monster storm from hell made sure that we will not take anything for granted ever again, not where nature is concerned.

I grew up in Tarrytown, a lovely little town on the Hudson River, about a thirty-minute train ride north of Manhattan. In all the years I lived there, I cannot remember this type of storm occurring. Yes, there were intense storms, with resultant minor flooding here and there. I can remember the Saw Mill River and Bronx River Parkways being flooded and becoming impassable. Once I tried to drive through one of those parkway floods with my car, but had to back out of it as I could not steer my way through it. Luckily I managed to back out of it; not everyone was so fortunate. I was together with a friend of mine; we were commuting home from college that day. Water seeped into my car through the doors, and we had to bail out pails of water from the car afterward. It was a stupid decision on my part to attempt to drive through the rising water, and I learned an important lesson that day for the future about not taking unnecessary risks. But in Tarrytown (and other Hudson River towns) yesterday, there was unprecedented flooding. The Hudson River rose higher and higher due to the storm surge further south. Boats floated inland, having broken free of their moorings. In the town of Ossining, a few miles north of Tarrytown, a boat floated onto the railroad tracks, blocking passage in both directions. The pictures tell the story—proof that the unbelievable happened. I am including two links to online storm photos here. I am sad to see the destruction and flooding, and only hope that most people have come through the storm safely. http://www.businessinsider.com/at-least-16-dead-75-million-without-power--heres-what-hurricane-sandys-destruction-looks-like-photos-2012-10?0=bi

and

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtaphotos/8138916414/