Severe tornados are touching down in places that aren't known for tornados - for example, a tornado hit New York City on August 7, 2007
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More areas populated by humans are being struck by disaster. Weather patterns around the world are getting strange, and they seem to be getting strange fast. What is going on?
CNN: 2007 is on track to be a year of extreme weather
Most scientists and politicians blame Global Warming. But that's where I get confused. Global Warming doesn't cause record breaking earthquakes. Global Warming doesn't cause tsunamis that kill 300,000 people.
The Earth is clearly changing – but obviously with the increasing frequency of earthquakes in mind. And just in case you need some reminders of what's been going on over the past several years; hell, the past several months, keep reading.
Why you should be worried about the weather
On May 16, 2007 a storm tore through the state of Connecticut which by itself wouldn't necessarily be news. However, it was the kind of storm that has people talking. After all, the towns of Newtown and Bethel Connecticut (not to mention a few others) don't know much about twisters.
That's right, we're talking about a tornado here.
Winds over 100 miles per hour destroyed trees and houses and closed school for several days in an area not known for seeing much in the line of such storms. Bethel resident Michael Tarzia spoke to NBC30.com about how his son's roof was ripped to shreds by a torn off tree top, and his observations seemed to sum up the devastation of the tornado quite well.
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"It took it (the tree top), threw it on the roof, threw it on the house, and threw another section over the house," he said. "It destroyed the roof broke the ridge... broke some rafters. "
If only that were it with the strange weather that our world has been experiencing recently. Unfortunately, it's only the tip of the iceberg.
Kyrill hits home in Europe back in January
Kyrill emanated in the North Sea during a time when Condoleezza Rice was visiting Berlin. Let's put it this way- she left.
With hurricane force winds that gusted up to 191 kilometers per hour, the terrible storm tore through France, the Netherlands, Britain, and Germany before deciding to happen upon the Czech Republic and more. Kyrill left a trail of devastation, killing several people, destroying property, and shutting down businesses and schools in its wake.
The trajectory, severity, and timing of the storm were all odd. Further, it left the kind of devastation that still has people in Europe worried.
April 2006 tornados in Iowa
It's not that unusual for storms to rip through Iowa in April; nor is it that rare for tornados to do so. However, it is rare for multiple funnel clouds and tornados to tear through that area of the country in a matter of three days.
In sum, the state of Iowa still hasn't totally bounced back from the damage of that storm (there are still trees down).
The Alabama tornado
Just a couple of months ago a tornado ripped through the states of Alabama, Georgia, and Missouri, killing 20 people and destroying tons of property, including a local high school in Enterprise, Alabama. The devastation caused President Bush to declare Coffee County, Alabama a disaster area in the wake of the storm.
Before we move on, it might be important to realize that all of this has happened in a one year period (most of it over the last several months).
And just to make a point, here's a report from people in Saskatchewan, Canada
Simply put, people from Saskatchewan report that on May 9, 2007, it was +1C and snowing in La Ronge. In the same province in Estevan, weather reports indicate that it was +32C.
Are we talking about devastation here? No. However, weather patterns like that just can't be good, can they?
Unfortunately, the aforementioned are only some examples. Further, they're unfortunately some of the milder ones. Here are a couple of examples of the worst this world has seen over the past three years.
Tsunami kills approximately 300,000 in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand
This was one of the most devastating natural disasters in history. And although scientists and everyday people will point out that terrible tsunamis have hit home before, it has been rare for this world to see anything quite like what took place back in December of 2004.
Simply put, a near record setting earthquake (the second largest earthquake in recorded history) shook the floor beneath the Indian Ocean in December 2004. This in turn caused tidal waves to slam the shores of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and other countries. Along with this, the resulting series of tsunamis killed approximately 300,000. And the property damage?
Hard to even put into words. The best way to say it? It wasn't really property damage. More like property realignment.
Finally, there was the unusual earthquake in Java this month
Earthquakes aren't so unusual in Java. Neither are erupting volcanos (Merapi is erupting as we speak). Unfortunately, the earthquake that hit home in the Javan City of Yogyakarta this month was an unusual one. For the most part, events in this area are generated by subduction-related thrusts (earthquakes that emanate way below the surface). However, this month's event was a strike-slip earthquake ( it started only 10 kilometers below the surface).
The result? Twelve hours after the start of the earthquake, 3,000 were dead.
So why go through a list like this? Simply to remind people what we are actually experiencing in this world. Let's put it into two words.
Widespread devastation.
Therefore, as you surf along the internet and skim articles on survival such as the ones on this site, you may want to ask yourself if you're truly taking what's going on in this world seriously enough. If not, read this article again. It may cause you to reconsider.
