Irene and nature’s other little jokes

When we lived in Havana, from June to December, one of the first things I did when I started my daily browsing was to check up on the latest news of from the National Hurricane Center. I still remember vividly the time when Iris (a small, category 1 hurricane) came to visit the city. Even before the worst of the storm arrived, we had a narrrow escape from a falling palm tree right in the middle of 5ta Avenida. Then came the rain and the howling wind that shook the house for hours on end. Lost power somewhere around midnight and did not get it back, oh for about three days.

Then we moved to Nicaragua and I added to my growing list of favorites the USGS website, what with an active volcano less than 30 miles away and quite few extinct ones scattered all over. Couple of big jolts and few brushes with egdes of hurricanes accompanied us along our stay in Managua; our disaster preparedness sharper then ever.

Peru was the place when I removed the NHC site from my favorites but held on the USGS site for dear life. The Pisco earthquake of 2007 was felt quite strongly in Lima and the desperation I felt for the 20 minutes it took to get to the house to see if my kids were alright remains unequalled.

Now we live in one of the few capitals in the world that has no natural disaster threat. It is built on one of the oldest and largest plates, high above and well inland from the nearest sea. I should feel safe when I see the news about passing hurricanes or earthquakes half way round the world, but I don't.

Couse I know. I know what it feels like, I know what it sounds like, I know what it smells like. All those years spent in the tropics and disaster prone areas leave their mark and a kind of empathy that just won't leave. So when I see the hurricane watches and warning maps and browse through the forecast anaysis of the familiar NHC website, I fell the anxiety of all those people who are in harmsway. Hope this hurricane ends up being just an excuse to cuddle up with your children and read them horror stories under the flashlight..