Epic Death Totals for an Epic Storm... 1,200 Feared Dead & the Death Toll Climbs in Philippines

This is the reason I never like to write articles about a catastrophe of this size without waiting a few days. The early reports come in one by one... 2 dead, 10 dead, 20 dead.... 200 dead... exponentially rising by the hour until a few days later we found out what we knew would be the end game.... over 1,000 dead and that number keeps rising.  It's just simply ridiculous to pretend that the early reports are accurate when all communication lines are down and it's too early to know the true numbers and the grave reality of the situation. The number will rise and continue to rise and the final total may only be a guess. You don't have a cyclone of this magnitude hit a crowded, coastal city and not have a catastrophe of historic proportions.



"The Philippine Red Cross told Reuters that based on reports itestimates at least 1,200 dead in Tacloban, which is located about 360 miles southeast of Manila, and 200 more in Samar Province."
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/11/09/strongest-typhoon-year-hits-philippines/

THIS is a catastrophe of epic proportions. I don't mean for a moment to lessen the extreme tragedy of Hurricane Sandy in New York, but this is the ultimate in tragedies. You can't compare this to Hurricane Sandy or most other tropical cyclones that have hit America. You can compare it to other cyclones that have made landfall in India where crowded, poor populated cities lie in the path of huge landfalling storms. The cyclones in the Pacific and Indian Oceans are often more intense, the populations are bigger and the cities are crowded with people unable to really prepare for such a storm. How do you prepare for a Category 5 or 6 Hurricane? This was one of the strongest cyclones on record in history...how do you prepare for a cyclone like this anywhere in the world? And, from my experience with friends there... they do not prepare the way we do in Miami. No storm shutters on the average home and the codes are different and there is frankly no where to go and for many no way to get out. And, many did evacuate.

Typhoon Haiyan: Four dead, one missing as Philippines ...

www.news.com.au/...three-dead-as-philippines-pummeled-by...

[Nov 9, 2013] Four dead in super Typhoon Haiyan. AT LEAST four people have been killed and more than half a million displaced as super Typhoon Haiyan pummels the ...

Reports like this are just silly to take seriously.

That is why I waited for the inevitable. Everyone wants to get a story out as the demand for information is intense, everyone is in a rush to write an article and yet writing that at "LEAST" four people have been killed is fantasy reporting. In real time the number rises like the waters rose and covered the streets of the coastal city sweeping away people, lives, homes, businesses and whatever used to be a the signs of a normal life.




I will write more tomorrow on the actual figures and AGAIN... the actual figures on the height of the storm surge, the loss of life and casualties is still a guesstimate.

What we do know is that people have died ... been washed away... left to die in debris waiting for help that could not possibly get there in time and in ways ...this is the way of the world. We like to believe we can control weather and every day life in the year 2013 and yet we can't...that is the reality.

Earthquakes shake the world, tsunamis travel long distances wiping out whole towns. Volcanoes blow their tops and spew forth poisonous fumes and cyclones crash into coastal towns all across the world. Homeless people freeze to death in blizzards. Again it's just the way of weather and the way of the world.

And, sometimes the sun shines on a beautiful coastal town..the water glitters like diamonds and a luminous full moon sets into a mountain lake framed by jagged peaks that are covered with snow. Palm trees sway in a soft breeze. Cool air chills our face as we venture out in boots and coats and a million stars shine on a clear cold night.

Such is the way of the world when it comes to weather.

You take the good with the bad and there really is no where to hide as everywhere on Planet Earth the weather and nature's beauty can take your breath away. And, on any given day somewhere Mother Nature can take your breath away literally and you can die in an earthquake or a twister or a hurricane.

What can you do about it? Nothing really... Luck of the draw.  I have friends who live in Cebu, but they were far away in Brooklyn this weekend. I have lived through Hurricane Andrew on Miami Beach in an old 2 story Roaring 20s mansion that survived the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926.

What can you do? Enjoy your life, your loved ones and the things you love doing. Dance if you love to dance, watch football if you love football, play chess if you love chess... watch the weather, track the weather, chase the weather and write about if you are me.

Be You! Enjoy Life. And, always watch the weather and the news and what's going on around you. Knowledge is power. Learn from the past. Move on. That's the advice I gave to one of my kids the other day and I am passing it on to you.

Pray for those who survived who lost loved ones. Pray for their recovery in all ways. Give charity. Be grateful for what you have and keep on living. The tropics were quiet in the Atlantic this year. The tropics were not quiet in the Western Pacific. Next year...who knows? It could be our turn for a Category 5 or 6 Hurricane to make landfall. Time is ticking... we can only get lucky for so long. That is not pessimism it's just reality. Enjoy today, prepare for tomorrow and make the world a better place in any way you can.

Besos Bobbi

http://www.redcross.org

Ps a link from a friend who lives there...it's not really in English, but you get the idea..

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/video/183281/24oras/pdrrmc-7-patay-11-000-na-bahay-nasira-sa-aklan