The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
By Jonathon Naylor Tuesday's early morning windstorm served as a stark reminder of just how powerful Mother Nature is. Amid the uprooted trees, wind-swept barbecues and discarded metal roofing, the sheer intensity of the storm was nothing short of stunning. From a financial standpoint, residents stand to collectively be out tens of thousands of dollars, if not more, as felled trees damaged vehicles, homes and other property. Here's hoping they had good insurance. Our largest employer, HBMS, will also be forced to shovel out substantial dollars after chunks of roofing and siding were ripped off its buildings. Sustaining the most damage was the rectangular thaw shed, whose metal roof peeled off almost in its entirety. But as has been stated repeatedly these past few days, that is only money. Pieces of paper adorned with the images of royalty and deceased prime ministers can be replaced. Lives cannot. So we as a community can be eternally grateful that, at least as of this writing Wednesday, it appeared that no one was seriously injured Ð or worse. For that miracle, we are truly blessed. Aftermath Surveying the aftermath of the storm, one could not help but feel just a little bit inferior. We human beings like to think of ourselves as the top of the food chain, the great rulers of our planet. The truth is that no matter how far we advance as a society, and no matter how arrogant we become, we can be so easily dominated by environmental elements far beyond our control. While some level of emergency preparedness is standard among municipalities, it would not hurt for civic officials across our region to take a fresh look at those plans in light of the devastation wrought this week. Are we truly ready for any manner of disaster nature may unleash, be it windstorms, snowstorms or forest fires? Are we genuinely prepared for that ever-present possibility of an industrial catastrophe? Just as importantly, are we doing all we can to educate the public about the plans in place? For all of the wondrous joys Mother Nature brings our way, the harsh reality is that she can also be an uncaring, random force of destruction. That is the side of her that we saw Tuesday morning. And it is the side of her that we will see again, perhaps when we least expect it. Local Angle runs Fridays.7/25/2011
