Hurricanes: Beautiful. Deadly.

Everyone who knows me knows that I love Hurricanes. I cannot help it. Its Nature making itself visible. Hurricanes are the bellring for human beings that this planet must be shared, not taken. Of course, there are other natural catastrophes: volcanos, tidal waves, tornados, earthquakes... But they do not compare to a hurricane. The difference is in the wait. Volcanos and earthquakes are not predictable at all. Tidal waves and tornados offer only minutes to react. Whereas a hurricane... they are menacing. You can see them in the news DAYS before strike, and still people don't take cover.

Everyone who knows me knows that I love Hurricanes. And I cannot help it. I myself have only experienced earthquakes, and minor ones, the only thought of a volcano, a giant wave or a tornado gives me goosebumps... But hurricanes excite me. And they do because of the fact that you can SEE them coming, and you can take shelter, and you can enjoy them in the relative comfort of your refuge. It is the only time you can see the wind. You can see the water splashing everywhere. You CANNOT see in front of you, its like a veil of fog, but its actually flying water. It is amazing. The sounds, deep gutural sounds, to loud whistling noises. The sights, the candlelight, because there's no power, the grayness of the day, the darkness if the hurricane passes during the night. I've been through many of them. They're beautiful, but they're deadly.

Everyone who knows me knows that I love Hurricanes. And if they didn't, they know it now. I shiver at the thought of not knowing when an earthquake will strike... But hurricanes? I'm not afraid of them just yet. (There will be a time in my life when I will face one so close that it will leave a mark on me... I hope that day doesn't come... but if it does, my opinion of how beautiful hurricanes are might change, and even though then I still have doubts. That even after I have lost everything, I will still like them. Of course, after some time of hating them angrily and grieving my possesions). I like everything about them. First, the wait, the preparations. Second, the strike, the experience of the power of something bigger than human, a rushing storm. And Third, the aftermath. It sounds awful that I also like the aftermath, but I don't like everything from the aftermath. I love the no-electricity nights (or days), they bring the families and even the communities (that never speak to each other in weeks, months or years) together. I love the freshness of the air after a hurricane, it is so clean, so damp, so pure, removed, oxigenated. The bareness of the landscape, its like renewing itself (lots of people don't see it like that though), the uprooted trees, the leafless evergreen trees, the leaves stuck onto all the walls, onto the streets. The sense of union that the aftermath brings onto people, as they root the trees back into the ground. I love the silence of the aftermath. The breeze of desolated legs of the storm. The sense of being reborn.

Everyone who knows me, knows that I love hurricanes. But I hate to see people loosing their entire houses, everything, not even their family pictures. I hate to see the people living in shelters, or swiming away from their flooded streets. I hate not having running water in the plumbing (no-electricity is fine, but no water? no-uh). I hate seeing people stealing (out of desperation, most of them, or that's what I want to believe), and even more so, I don't like seeing the SWAT team on the destroyed streets, trying to keep people from stealing. To see that people have died trapped in their houses, by falling rubble, or by raising water. That is just unspeakable. I don't want to be judgemental, but I believe it is also the people's fault if they get hurt in a hurricane. Because the hurricane will give you a warning, you can see the monumental white spiralling thing on the news, and still people don't take proper refuge. I don't know.

This post comes from the hurricane that struck Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida two days ago (and just now I get to know about it). Its just awful to see that 80% of New Orleands is under water. Eighty percent. Who builds a city on a below-sea-level ground in the first place? Maybe they didn't know. I don't want to judge. But if I lived there I would be very angry, with myself, with my ancestors, with whoever built the city on below-sea-level ground. Seriously. I cannot put myself in the shoes of those people, I have not experienced loss like that, but I imagine myself loosing everything I've worked, and cared for (including people) I know, I would be devastated... Sorry.

At least the dolphins are OK.

Picture 1. Hurricane Katrina's eye over New Orleands, Louisiana
Picture 2. People running away from flying debris.
Picture 3. Prisoners being held at gun point on a curve.
Picture 4. Self-explanatory. If not: SWAT team.
Picture 5. The broken levee or dam which lead to the floods.
Picture 6. Evacuated dolphins swimming in a pool of a hotel.
Courtesy of Yahoo! (the pictures, that is)