Tuesday, October 30, 2012

The Storm Of October 2012

"Floods, fire and millions without power." 

Those were the words at the top of the newscast for October 30, 2012.   Along with the rest of the country, I was glued to my TV set last night watching the coverage of the storm coming ashore and the aftermath of it.  I am thinking and praying for all those affected by this powerful storm.  

 
Did anyone else see the US Coast Guard rescue of the crew from the replica ship of the HMS Bounty off the coast of North Carolina?  (It was a tall sailing ship built for the movie, "Mutiny On The Bounty", the one with Marlon Brando from 1962 and also used in the "Pirates Of The Caribbean" movie.)  The ship was taken out to sea in the hopes of saving it, but the winds were too much and a distress signal was sent.  There was one sent earlier but was then cancelled, and there are some who wonder had they not cancelled it, they all might have been saved.  It's hard to say, hindsight is always twenty-twenty.  I just wish that they all could have been rescued. The captain of the ship is still missing, and one of the crew, a woman by the name of Claudene Christian, died.  She is a descendant of Fletcher Christian, the man who actually led the mutiny on the Bounty.   You may read about Fletcher Christian here. 
 
This is the video of the rescue and I hope that you are able to see it!  (The voice saying "altitude, altitude"  would just get on my nerves so badly!) The waves were sometimes 15 feet high and with the heavy winds, this must have been such a difficult rescue effort.  At one point, the basket bringing up one of the rescued men swings wildly in the wind and it is such an effort for the man on the helicopter to hang on to the rope!  At the very end, when the survivors are on land, one of the men can hardly walk and people start running up with blankets and to help him walk...that is what it is all about, seeing what is needed and getting it done.  I am proud of the Coast Guard and all those who are helping in the rescue and recovery after this terrible storm.
 
And I would like to say, I think we should stop naming hurricanes...I know that it is considered traditional now, but how would you like to have the name "Sandy" or "Katrina"?  It just does not seem right to me... I think one day hurricanes will not be named anymore and you can say that you heard it here first!  And I just saw on the news that there was a hurricane in New York City in 1938 which killed 800 people.  Obviously, with all that is available to us now, there were plenty of warnings and lots of time for those to move to higher ground and to evacuate as needed.  Had these warnings not been given and heeded, this storm could have been even worse. 
 
The following prayer is from the 1789 Book of Common Prayer:
 
  O MOST glorious and gracious Lord God, who dwellest in heaven, but beholdest all things below; Look down, we beseech thee, and hear us, calling out of the depth of misery, and out of the jaws of this death, which is now ready to swallow us up: Save, Lord, or else we perish. The living, the living shall praise thee. O send thy word of command to rebuke the raging winds and the roaring sea; that we, being delivered from this distress, may live to serve thee, and to glorify thy Name all the days of our life. Hear, Lord, and save us, for the infinite merits of our blessed Saviour, thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

24 comments:

  1. I have a good friend, Sandy, and I think she's tired of the jokes already! I agree with you! My father-in-law is named Hugo. Remember that one? It's the one that caused the most damage in Charlotte!!! What's that bottom picture?

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    1. Hey Audrey!
      Anyone who has a name associated with a hurricane would agree with me! :-)
      I forgot to say, that photo is after a heavy rain out in the country and was taken months ago. We have not had rain in weeks and actually could use some!

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  2. My lifelong best friend is named Sandy, too. lol I wish they would just number them or give them some sort of code name- This was a wonderful post- xo Diana

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    1. Thanks, Diana. Numbers would work for me, a computer could choose a number at random and no person would have to have their name associated with such destruction.

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  3. The sinking of The Bounty has been getting a lot of coverage here in Canada because the ship was built here. Probably in Halifax or Lunenburg would be my guess. The original Bounty was bad luck for Captain Bligh and Fletcher Christian and the reproduction was bad luck for its Captain and Christian's descendant. Bad karma sticks around.

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    1. I did read that it was built in Canada. Such a shame over the loss of life, I wish they all could have been rescued.

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  4. The rescue of the Bounty crew was on German TV, too; they have special programs about the storm and how it is being dealt with, how it affects the election, and so on.
    The biggest storm I've seen in my area was on Boxing Day 1999. It caused a lot of damage; my Grandma was still alive then, blind, living on her own in the house she moved in when she married. She was our biggest concern, but thankfully, only a few roof tiles came down and one window in her living room was smashed; she herself wasn't hurt. That storm was named Lothar, and I do understand that such events need names - whenever someone says nowadays "Oh, this was caused by Lothar" or "Do you remember Lothar", we all know what is meant with no further explanation needed.

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    1. Dear Meike,
      That must have been scary for you and your family worrying about your blind grandmother!
      If the storm had been named "Boxing Day Storm", wouldn't everyone know which one you would mean? In the future, when these storms are numbered instead of named, you will remember this post!
      By the way, I notice that "Sandy " is hardly ever used in the coverage of this storm, just an observation...

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  5. All praise to rescue services everywhere, they do an amazing job under difficult conditions. I also wish they would stop giving these hurricanes such innocuous names.

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    1. I so agree and I am in awe of the work that first responders do, not just in this country but around the world.
      "Sandy" reminds me of the cute blonde guy from "Flipper"!

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  6. I agree with you Kay - hurricanes or cyclones should not be named. What is wrong with giving them a number? As for calling this one Sandy - Kate's Godmother has that name and I think she is most offended. Sandy - to me - seems such a benign name and that hurricane was anything but.
    We have been watching with horror. Our thoughts are with you all involved and hope that you can all be back to your normal lives as soon as possible. I was most impressed with the emergency services, your President and also the population in the damaged areas.

    God Bless.

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    1. Thanks, Pat, another vote for numbering hurricanes instead of naming them!
      It is staggering to realize the destruction caused by this storm. We did not get any damage from this storm in Georgia, other than some high winds the past two days, but of course, the whole country is watching the news and praying for all those who have been hit so hard. Thanks for your kind thoughts.

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  7. I agree, Kay, hurricanes shouldn't be named like that. Giving them a number is fine. This has been a terrible storm. I've been following the news, and I am horrified by what's been going on. So much devastation.

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    1. Dear Martha,
      Isn't it terrible? Those photos are just so sad to see.
      Did you get any bad weather where you are?

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  8. I had never thought about the names before, but you are quite right, it must get annoying for those with the same names.

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    1. Dear Tracey,
      Tony, Valerie and William would be the next names on the list for this year.

      For 2013: Andrea, Barry, Chantal, Dorian, Erin, Fernand, Gabrielle, Humberto, Ingrid, Jerry, Karen, Lorenzo, Melissa, Nestor, Olga, Pablo, Rebekah, Sebastien, Tanya, Van, Wendy

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  9. Our daughter lives in Maryland so we were glued to the tv, she had lots of wind and rain, but was lucky, she didn't even lose her electricity.

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    1. Thankful that your daughter did not lose her electricity and also that she is safe. xx

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  10. Yes, i agree storms should not be named, but numbered and alphabetized in some way, perhaps the year, then Alpha, Beta, etc., followed by the month in which it occurred.

    It's hard for me to watch much coverage, too many bad memories of our own hurricanes.

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    1. Dear Mimi,
      Hurricane Katrina was the latest that was so bad, wasn't it? No one wants to be associated with one, especially one that is so damaging.

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  11. I agree with you about the naming of these things. Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the birthday of my friend and neighbor Sandy, and as one of your commenters said, "She's fed up with all the jokes already!" Of course when I was a teenager there were two hurricanes one right after other named Carol and Dianne -- my name and my cousin's, which caused much merriment in the family.

    I am astonished that the loss of life has not been greater, considering the size and power of the storm. It was gratifying to see that people actually took the warnings seriously and took as many precautions as they could.

    Now, people have to dig out, and start over ... and they will. The human spirit is very strong.

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    1. Thanks so much for your comment. We have had similar damage here in Georgia after tornadoes and people are just amazing. They just pick up as much as they can and rebuild and just do the best that they can.

      "Be hardy" is the advice that Louis Zamperini wrote in the copy of "Devil At My Heels" that I ordered from him. It is good advice! (And please read that book if you get the chance, you would love it!)

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  12. We've been glued to the tv too. It's hard to look away.

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    1. Dear Terry,
      It has been so sad to see. This is the first Halloween that not one single person dressed up at work...I think that everyone is just thinking of all those who are suffering right now.

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