tsunami warning today….

with images of the tsunami devastation in Samoa still fresh in our minds, when the tsunami warnings came today,everyone was on the move – to higher grounds…………it was good to see people taking heed of the warnings.  We were lucky to have been spared any tsunami but reports have yet to come in whether any other islands in the Pacific region were hit by the waves, I hope not.

tsunami’s are forces of nature and it is just one of the vulnerabilities of our living on small islands and it is only the grace of God which determines whether we get hit by a tsunami or not, but it was nice to see people heeding the warnings and moving to higher ground today.

today we had a tsunami alert

except I only knew about it after the warning was cancelled! So if a tsunami had indeed happened I would have been gone by now, well my little island nation that is………thank God we are safe (for now). An underwater volcano has been erupting in Tonga waters this past week sending fumes and ash into the air and causing earthquakes that trigger tsunami alerts. There was some coverage on the tv news this evening questioning how effective our tsunami alert system has been given that todays alert came mostly through the media and that many people do not really listen to the news or to the radio early in the mornings….I know because I am one of those people. Then there was a news snippet about a siren system that was commissioned last year but is still sitting in the workshop of the person who designed it…….hhhmmmm???? Hopefully those in charge will have learnt a lesson or two about disaster preparedness after todays events and that we can only improve our early warning systems.

natural disasters….

My friend Salz in Melbourne sent a text message last night. Her message asked for prayers as bush fires threatened the town she lives in. When we spoke on the phone this morning, everything was ok as the winds changed direction last night and the temperatures dropped from the high 40s they were in during the day. Nevertheless, I offered a little prayer for Salz last night and I thank God that she is now safe.

But natural disasters, we really cannot do much when nature unleashes its fury, it goes to show how in the natural scheme of things we all have a role to play. And when one member of the team alters the roles and the rules, there are consequences to pay. Take for instance the floods we have had at home in the past month. The rains caused rivers to overflow and flooded low lying areas. Areas that have not been properly developed to cope with floods and heavy rains, where people have built their houses simply because of their proximity to roads, schools, etc. Overall, it should be a wake up call for authorities to be more vigilant and strict about places where human habitation can take place, otherwise, future heavy rainfalls that can cause floods will continue to wreak havoc in peoples lives.