For nearly ten years, Miami has not seen hurricane landfall. This fact may be troubling to those who are inclined to believe, whether through superstition or scientific knowledge, that one is bound to occur anytime now It may be pleasing news for those who have not had to suffer the destruction of these weather-beasts in ten years. Nostalgia, however, is my overwhelming reaction to the topic of hurricanes. I am taken back to candle-lit evenings tinged a mixture two parts electric fear one part mystic coziness. Miami Dade, October 2005: Most streets are empty, the news stations' careful packages about hurricane survival seem to have persuaded even the stubbornest of Floridians. Workplaces closed, schools canceled, elated children fill homes with their usual buzz for just a few more days, to their parents’ weary “delight”. In one particular Miami home, two girls, one 8, one 6, have expressed their intentions of spending the day by the window, watching the beautiful wreckage unfold, their steadfast positions elicit a begrudging half-nod of approval from the mother. Before long, the lights go out, no distractions, no chores, the tiny family sits in harmony telling stories amid the few scattered decorative candles that they gather from all strange corners of the home, …show more content…
Everyone feels privately exhilarated by the clamor outside and the snugness within. Raymond, Robert and Princess Deborah, the household’s extended canine family are allowed inside the home, a rare occasion that is very much welcomed. Looking out the window, there is no indication that anyone else in the world exists apart from the inhabitants of the home. Watching from any one of the windows is like tuning in to the Disaster channel. The once-sturdy 50-foot palm trees planted near the street 30 years ago sway to the point of almost snapping in the wind. As night falls and the rain has not yet abated, the girls sketch a blueprint of their to-be seat-cushion fort. The white cushions, the wet-ish floor, the dirty, smelly dogs, it’s the picture of catastrophe for the mother. Yet there's something about the ominous and apocalyptic quality of the evening that makes her feel like its okay this one time. Twenty-five people died that weekend. What became a day of familial bonding and appreciation for some was one full of pain and struggle for others. People lost their lives, but many more lost all there was to their lives; their shops, their homes, entire communities in shambles. When we think of nature, we think of the picturesque Windows desktop wallpapers. The perfectly cropped shot of fall foliage, the alluring beach-scape employing the rule of thirds. From an aesthetic perspective, hurricanes are beautiful through many angles. The first shots of a hurricane from space inspired lots of talk about the irony of the beauty of natural disasters. How was it that violence and beauty could coexist in equal proportions in such a powerful event? A cluster of hurricanes, when seen from above, bare resemblance to Van Gohg's Starry Night, the loose painterly strokes swirl casually against a blue landscape, they are brimming with energy and life yet close below, signs of death and violence are all too present (in picasso’s work represented by a cypress tree associated with mourning) From land, a shot of a hurricane on its track brings to mind paintings from the romantic period, which accented intense emotion in order to heighten the "aesthetic experience”. Romantics identified and celebrated the volatility and potential for cataclysmic extremes of nature. Like Kant, Romantic artists valued spontaneity and held it as the definition of beauty. Natural disasters exhibit this spontaneity, acting on their own natural inclinations. Nature is indeed the epitome of beauty and the subject of marvel. We model man-made things after nature in an attempt to reach its level of aesthetic value, imitation, after all, is the highest form of flattery. The problem with the general attitude towards nature, is the distance we cut between ourselves and it. Like a delicate piece of art, it lies behind bulletproof glass and railings visited by you and I on weekends in a desperate attempt to convince ourselves we are well-rounded, cultured, engaged, dimensional individuals. In this enchantment yet detachment from nature, we forget that it is not just about its beauty, innocence and simplicity, like that of a docile pet, it's about survival. Throughout time man has ensured his survival through his "mastery" of nature. He has advanced from inventing tools for the purpose of facilitating the hunt to creating smart homes that cater to his every need. True, technology has made survival no longer a leading issue in man's mind, but we forget that the means for powering the technology comes from nature itself and we are draining it, depleting our resources. In a way, nature's beauty is strategic. "Beauty seems to place requirements on us for attending to the aliveness or (in the case of objects) quasi‐aliveness of our world, and for entering into its protection,”‐ Scarry (p 90) Although not always apparent, our affiliation with nature is more than simply one of admiring its beauty and intricacy, our duty is much larger than that. Scary tries to equate beauty as a language with the mission of waking our perception "supurring lapsed alertness back to its most acute level." Like the poison dart frogs of Central and South America, nature uses its beauty to allure, to entice, and warn potential predators. In “On Beauty and Being Just” Elaine Scarry discovers the didactic effects of beauty while dismantling the idea that staring and noticing harms the beautiful. She argues that beauty icreases the possibility that the object is carefully handled. In this way, nature employs both beauty and violence(through the sublime) to evoke curiously similar responses from humans, awe and respect. To say this, I realize, would seem to be to assume nature has a conscious of its own and is acting as an entire system at once with the intent of manipulating us. This is not the case. The effect of natural disasters are so vast and mighty people certainly often do trace them back to the hand of God. Kant argues that grace is exhibited when acting out spontaneously. Due to nature’s own authentically spontaneous quality it is able to exhibit the strongest cases of beauty and violence. In Love of the Order of the World, Simone Weil puts it like this; God created the universe and set it in motion yet he does not command it although he has the power to do so. The motion of the world's geologic and biological forces, put into motion at the moment of creation, all in different directions cause natural disasters to happen. It is through nature’s innate inclinations that such power is possible. Weil quotes one of the few bible passages that mention nature's beauty. God "invites us to contemplate and imitate the indiscriminate distribution of rain and sunlight." In other words, follow our own natural inclinations. In Kant's description of the sublime, he approximates my own experiences with nature and specifically hurricanes.“the irresistibility of [nature's] power certainly makes us, considered as natural beings, recognize our physical powerlessness, but at the same time it reveals a capacity for judging ourselves as independent of nature and a superiority over nature…whereby the humanity in our person remains undemeaned even though the human being must submit to that dominion” It can even be said that the beauty of hurricanes extends to the wreckage left behind by a hurricane. It is what's left after the violence has run its hands through the land. Nature's power over man is awe-inspiring and serves to remind us that our "command over nature" is but an illusion, a silly tale we tell ourselves. There is drama in the destruction, structures whose fortitude had never been challenged lay overturned. To a poetic eye, they almost look humiliated, mortified of their frailty next to nature. Human innovation is something to admire, certainly, yet it sits in the shadow of nature's omnipotence. In Kant's description of the sublime, he approximates my own experiences with nature and specifically hurricanes.“the irresistibility of [nature's] power certainly makes us, considered as natural beings, recognize our physical powerlessness, but at the same time it reveals a capacity for judging ourselves as independent of nature and a superiority over nature…whereby the humanity in our person remains undemeaned even though the human being must submit to that dominion” Human beings have taken it upon themselves to be the leaders of our world community, kings of the universe, with the capacity to destroy and defeat anything that comes their way.
Through this mentality we have caused much harm to our planet. We cater to our own needs, whatever the consequences may be because, after al, we rule all. Hurricanes and other nautral disasters have been previously often described as "humbling", because along with all the symbols of our so-called achievements they tear down (our skyscrapers, our carefully organized communities eminding us, the cars that give us command of the land, the boats that lend the same power on sea, they also tear down our own image of "world
masters" This isn't our world, it wasn't designed to cater to us, we are just passengers on the ride. In Waiting for God, Simone Weil talks about decentering and with that, the aim to "awaken what is real and eternal, to see the true light and hear the true silence" Silence. Like the calm at the eye of the storm, beautiful as it contrasts with the uproar that came shortly before it. Renouncing the center is a crucial step in opening up to the world in order to unlock beauty around us as well as within us. Natural disasters are of few instances where humans conform to the world and cannot simple manipulate it to their liking. Personal growth and an authentic platform for deep reflection are at the heart of my link with hurricanes. In films, the true heroes always rise in the most helpless of instances. It is in times of stress and desperation that we meet our true selves. Tradgedy is alluring. Isn't it after the car accident, the brush with death that we feel most "alive"? Biologically, humans thrive on the hunt the struggle. Hurricanes and other natural disasters create a slight depart from the comfortable lives we live and the numbness we generally feel.Our primitive tendencies emerge on "survival mode", lighting a fire within us that has long since been extinguished by order and predictability. This is yet another dimension of beauty in natural disasters, inspiring humans to act according to their inclinations. It is then, I believe, that we are the most beautiful, when in contrast with violence.
In James S. Hirsch’s book about Rubin "Hurricane" Cater, Hurricane, the author describes how Carter was wrongfully imprisoned and how he managed to become free. Hirsch tells about the nearly impossible battle for Carter and his friend John Artis for freedom and justice. Both, Carter and Artis, were convicted of a triple homicide, and both were innocent.
On Friday evening, September 7, 1900, many of the 37,000 residents of Galveston, Texas, were settling down to dinner, few if any of them concerned about the steady 15 mph northerly wind rattling their windows. Within 48 hours, at least 8,000 of the townspeople would be dead, victims of the single worst natural disaster in U.S. history. Relatively few people are aware that the deadliest natural disaster in the United States was the hurricane that struck Galveston Island on September 8, 1900. One of the best resources that can be found to help fully understand the significance of this storm is Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History by Erik Larson.
Hurricanes are formed over tropical waters. These intense storms consist of winds over 74 miles per hour (Ahrens & Sampson, 2011). The storms addressed here are Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy. This paper will explore the contrasts and comparisons between these two horrific storms.
Once there was, as never before, a hurricane of great might and strength. As never before, there once was a hurricane of many names: storm, cyclone, tempest, typhoon, and flood. Yet it has lived on in history as the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900. Humanity has glorified and immortalized the hurricane. The Great Galveston Hurricane has been the subject of numerous articles, novels, plays, and poems, as well as four major nonfiction studies (Longshore). It is truly one of hurricane lore’s greatest of storms.
“When I saw my house three weeks after the storm, I was glad it stood but I knew it was time for change. Now five years later, I have learned that for me to enjoy the beauty of this place, there is a cost to bear. I love this place and am here to stay, but I have to invest more than I had imagined. The hurricane has greatly affected our lives but not only in a bad way.”
Hurricane Hugo was a tragic natural disaster that completely altered the lives of many people affected by it. In 1989, the year I was born, my parents and I lived on an oceanfront lot in Myrtle Beach. When Hugo struck, most of the city was flooded, with some areas under twenty five inches of water. A clear evacuation plan was presented, which most of the city’s residents followed, traveling north to Greenville. When we returned to our house, we found nothing but rubble and debris piled up in twelve inches of salt water. The President flew to the areas affected by Hugo to view the devastation, and immediately gr...
Hurricane Sandy, also commonly referred to as Superstorm Sandy, is known as the most devastating, destructive, and deadliest hurricane that hit the Atlantic in 2012. The storm emerged in late October of that year. In terms of fatalities, over 286 people were killed in seven different countries. 117 were killed in the US and an additional 69 were killed in other countries throughout the world. [2] In terms of costly damage, this natural disaster was the second most expensive hurricane in US History. [3] Hurricane Sandy was a Category 3 storm at its peak when it had first hit Cuba. Eventually, Sandy had turned into a Category 2 storm once it had moved up and hit off the coast of the Northeastern US. The storm was named the largest Atlantic hurricane that was ever recorded, with measurements that included winds reaching an upwards of 1,100 miles per hour. [3]
When a storm strikes, the aftermath of destruction that it leaves behind can be absolutely horrific. A hurricane can destroy houses, cars, towns, cities, and sometimes even states. A hurricane can cause fatalities, millions and millions of dollars in damages, but most important, in just a couple of hours, a hurricane can change your life for good. So what is a hurricane? According to NASA, hurricanes are simply just a large swirling storm. (Knows!) Such a basic definition for such a destructive event. When you think about just a large swirling storm you generally don’t come to think about a hurricane or even a tropical storm. However, hurricanes can produce winds speeds of over 160 mph and can unleash more than 2.4 trillion gallons of rain a day. The title, “Hurricane” does not apply everywhere in the world. In northern India and Bay of Bengal they are known as cyclones. In the western Pacific Ocean they are known as typhoons.
Hurricanes are powerful and destructive storms that involve great rain and wind. The United States of America has dealt with many hurricanes that have cost a great amount of damage. However, there is one hurricane that happened in 2005 that stands out among the others, Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst hurricanes to hit the United States, a category 5 on the Saffir/Simpson Hurricane Scale. An estimated 1836 people died because of the hurricane and the floodings that happened after (Zimmermann 1). Katrina initially beg...
Pielke, R.A Jr, Pielke R.A. Sr (1997). Hurricanes: Their Nature and Impact on Society. NY: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
However, as time went on, the possible impacts of the storm became more apparent. The media had the delicate mission of properly conveying potential danger without provoking accusations of creating unnecessary panic. By October 27th, residents in potential areas of impact were instructed to board their windows shut and stock up on food and water (5). Generators were sold out in supply stores throughout the region, in anticipation of potential power outages (5). Despite this, there remained some contradictions between various coverages of the storm; certain forecasters warned that the storm’s path was still subject to change, while the National Hurricane Center combatted these claims, saying that “it was no longer a question of if the storms
Hurricanes in recent years have left people across the world in awe of Mother Nature. When you reside in a place that is likely to be affected by hurricanes, you must prepare for the inevitable. To those who live in St. Kitts, the rich culture, spectacular scenery, and relaxed lifestyle are worth the extra effort involved with planning for the occasional storm.
In the movie Twister there were multiple tornadoes that happened; all being different sizes throughout the time period the film goes on. The Doppler is one of the many types of radar the storm chasers use to help them track and label these tornadoes. DOROTHY, known in reality as TOTO, is used do make reads and pull measurements out of the inside of a tornado for the first time ever. To make this machine work they need to set up DOROTHY in the path of the tornado and get back out of the way before getting sucked up in it themselves, once the tornado picks it up there are thousands of small spheres that will record and send the data to be analyzed back to the team of storm chasers. The first and second tornadoes were small F1 and F2s that’s wind
Aleksandra Szymanek TORNADOES We all know how a tornado looks like. It is very beautiful and admirable – it usually matches the colour of the ground, making the landscape look both scary and eye-catching at the same time. However, tornadoes are also extremely dangerous. They can easily lift a train, destroy a house within seconds or pick up the whole forest.
Hurricanes occur all over the world, at different times, but commonly through June first and late November. However in late August 2005 a catastrophic hurricane struck. This was Hurricane Katrina. With winds traveling over one hundred miles per hour making it a category five on the Saffir- Simpson Hurricane Scale it was said to have cause billions of dollars’ worth of damage. Hurricane Katrina flooded nearly forty thousand homes, and killed at least two thousand people (“Hurricane”). An average category five hurricane has enough energy to power street lamps for more than twenty seven thousand hours (Williams 58). Knowing about Hurricane Katrina, and the devastation of the city in New Orleans would be beneficial. Also, general information on hurricanes can help civilians and people of higher authority better understand and prepare for damage that could once hit their town and community. Because experts know the general information on these storms they can help explain to the public why and how Hurricane Katrina and other hurricanes occur. Hopefully, in the future civilians will know and use this information to their advantage against hurricanes.