Wednesday, May 14, 2008

My Condolences For China

As many of the Marines and other service members stationed here on Okinawa are participating in Cobra Gold in Thailand or floating on ships near Thailand (some of our friends included), awaiting word that they can help the people of Myanmar, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9 slams Sichuan, China.

"To understand the power of this 7.9 quake: one of the worst natural disasters in recent American history, the 1994 Northridge earthquake in Southern California measured 6.7. The scale is logarithmic, meaning -- for instance -- that a 5.0 quake is fully 10 times more powerful than one measuring 4.0." -MSNBC.com

I know that some of the people reading this were in or very close to Northridge in the '94 quake. It's so much more devastating that I can even wrap my mind around. The same article quoted above reminded me that 9/11 happened a few months before the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Olympics in Utah. The tattered flag from the WTC was raised at that event. Though none of the Olympic facilities in China were affected, according to the news, this will definitely change the celebration and ceremony, understandably.

My thoughts are with the millions of citizens affected by this quake. I think this planet needs some good news soon.


1 comment:

Ayelet said...

As you know, I lived through the '94 Northridge earthquake. I was 22 and it was the most terrifying experience of my life; I was traumatized for many months afterward and lived in constant fear of quakes for all the years I lived in CA. I can't even fathom how the people in China who experienced a 7.9 quake must be suffering, even those who didn't lose loved ones. I really feel for them.