THE HURRICANE IS OVER

I live in the suburbs of Washington, DC. Thursday a hurricane, much diminished after landfall hundreds of miles to the south, passed near us. Still, lots of trees fell blocking roads and damaging property, and several areas of the city were flooded. Two days later many traffic lights are not functioning, many stores are closed, many people are without electricity.

The response of the city was extreme. Public transportation shut down hours before the hurricane hit. The U.S. government and schools in the area shut down for a couple of days. I am sure many other businesses that cater to the government workers also shut down.

We were lucky. The city in that the hurricane missed us. My own family because we never lost electrical power, and thus never lost all the electrical gadgets in the house.

Is there a lesson to all this relating to K4D? “It is better to be lucky than smart” comes to mind. But of course, you can’t count on being lucky.

The accretion of knowledge of hurricanes over past decades is impressive, and in this case models predicting the course and speed of the storm were exceptionally accurate. We knew a week in advance that the storm was coming, and that made it possible to plan to avoid or repair the worst damage. For example, crews were brought to Washington from all over the country to repair the damage done to utilities. Sandbags were distributed in areas prone to flooding, and protected homes and stores when the water rose. Huge amounts of dry ice were brought to the city, preserving food in freezers and refrigerators that were deprived of electricity.

Still, faced by natural forces of the magnitude of a hurricane, a little well deserved humility on the part of the human race is appropriate.