Natural Disasters

Last week, “a rapid succession of small earthquakes—three measuring above magnitude 4.0—began rupturing near Bombay Beach [California], continuing for more than 24 hours. Before the swarm started to fade, more than 200 earthquakes had been recorded… The temblors were not felt over a very large area, but they have garnered intense interest—and concern—among seismologists.

…is still a natural disaster for the tens, if not hundreds, of thousands whose lives have been affected by it. If you’ve been watching the news, over the past few weeks, this is what you have seen unfold in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and its surrounding areas in the southern United States: thousands without power, entire towns flooded, and droves of homeless people facing uncertain futures—or have you?

Over the weekend, torrential rains caused “epic” flooding in Louisiana, requiring 30,000 rescues from 40,000 damaged homes in what appears to be the “worst flooding in Louisiana history” and the “worst natural disaster in the United States since Superstorm Sandy that hammered the East Coast in 2012” (AP, August 16, 2016;  LA Times