This is a Journal entry by Prideth - Queen dragon - protector of otters, and otternuts alike
Spare a thought.......
Prideth - Queen dragon - protector of otters, and otternuts alike Started conversation Dec 27, 2003
After all the jollity of Christmas, I just think we should spare a thought for all the thousands of poor families in Iran who were devastated by a massive earthquake......
Spare a thought.......
Woodpigeon Posted Dec 27, 2003
Yes - I think many thoughts and (some cash) should be spared on these unfortunate people. I was in Turkey at the time of the 1999 earthquake, and my memories of it and the experiences of people I met there stay with me still.
Woodpigeon
Spare a thought.......
Prideth - Queen dragon - protector of otters, and otternuts alike Posted Dec 28, 2003
Oh dear Woodpigeon, it's not at all surprising that the memories of that event are etched in your mind....
Prideth
Spare a thought.......
Woodpigeon Posted Dec 29, 2003
Nothing too dramatic, mind - I was about 40 miles away from the epicentre, although we got quite a shake even so.
I met a man a few days later who broke down crying as I was speaking to him. Many members of his family had been killed, and he was going out to Ismit every evening and working through the night to help in the rescue effort, getting no sleep, before arriving back in work as normal each day. That's an encounter, and thats a man, I won't easily forget.
The numbers of people killed in Iran makes the mind boggle, especially when you appreciate that an earthquake like this probably only lasted about 30 seconds. It's a disaster out of proportion to any of our experiences.
Woodpigeon
Spare a thought.......
Prideth - Queen dragon - protector of otters, and otternuts alike Posted Dec 29, 2003
A man like that really humbles one doesn't he? What a brave man ! Restores faith in human *kind*!
Yep, the mind boggles right enough Woodpigeon. The power of Mother Nature. It's really , I'd been talking to Zarquon's about Nature's methods of contolling populations, eg. floods, droughts, quakes, etc, just the other day - before all this happened. Scarey! It goes without saying, that I'd no idea this was going to happen. Those poor people!
Prideth
Spare a thought.......
Zarquon's Singing Fish! Posted Dec 29, 2003
Don't worry, Prideth - no-one's blaming you for this!
Interesting, though, I've been in an earthquake too, although a *very* minor one, in Turkey. I was on a boat (gumbet) and we were about to eat as the quake hit, and the whole boat shuddered as though it was underway, then we saw massive pieces of the cliffs break away and come tumbling down through the trees before breaking into pieces and hitting the sea with a *big* splash. It really did make me think.
I can't imagine what it must be like for the people in Iran. They will need not only our thoughts but as much practical help as we can offer.
Spare a thought.......
Prideth - Queen dragon - protector of otters, and otternuts alike Posted Dec 29, 2003
Phew! Oh, good, glad I've not jinxed them!
Thankfully, I've only ever witnessed quakes on TV, and not in the flesh so to speak. It must be a terrifying experience .
The sheer scale of the disaster, is, as Woodpigeon says, mind boggling! It's going to take an awful lot of practical help for these poor souls, not just to search and rescue, but also rebuilding. Maybe the Japanese should/could help in the designing/rebuilding process, as their experience of post-quake recovery is legendary, no?
Prideth
Spare a thought.......
Zarquon's Singing Fish! Posted Dec 29, 2003
An interesting thing about the Japanese is that the new architects are going back to old patterns - their temples were often built to resist earthquakes, and as I remember, were built around a central pillar, with floors loosely attached to this, giving them flexibility, thus helping them to resist the quakes. New buildings have started to be built along these lines too. I think that one of the things that have meant more death and destruction in the Turkish and from what I can see, the Iranian areas, is their building methods. They were done as cheaply as possible; whether this is to do with poverty (there's lots of this about) or people wanting to make profits by building using the cheapest possible materials (certainly a factor in Turkey), I couldn't say.
Spare a thought.......
Prideth - Queen dragon - protector of otters, and otternuts alike Posted Dec 29, 2003
They are very inventive people, the Japanese, aren't they?
This is why money is so needed for these areas too!
Prideth
Spare a thought.......
Zarquon's Singing Fish! Posted Dec 29, 2003
Roy said that perhaps this might be an opportunity to show the terrorists that we are decent people. I'm not so sure; I think people with closed minds will see only what they want to see. I hope he's right and I'm wrong.
Spare a thought.......
Prideth - Queen dragon - protector of otters, and otternuts alike Posted Dec 30, 2003
Yeah, me too! I think the US did the *right* thing in sending aid to Iran, the country they've labelled as one of their Axis of Evil nations. They would have been severely critiscised if they hadn't. Here's hoping it changes the relationship for the good....
I was reading a news piece today by Iran's expert on quakes. He fears that the losses in Tehran could be in the millions if there is a major quake there. It's directly over a fault line, and the building regulations were totally ignored. He and other experts in the field have recommended actually moving the capital. It's too, the Japanese have been involved in Iran! They had done a survey previously, around Tehran and came to the conclusion that a quake measuring 7 - 8 on the Richter Scale is a terrifying possibility. We can only that this isn't the case!
Prideth
Spare a thought.......
Zarquon's Singing Fish! Posted Dec 30, 2003
Well, they're not the only ones who have built in an earthquake zone. San Francisco is on the San Andreas fault and I suppose it's only a matter of time before that goes off big time. Again, look at Naples and Mount Vesuvius - if that went off, there's no chance of evacuating the population. Have you ever been in the streets? You have to ask yourself why people build in such places and live there? There must be an 'It'll never happen to me!' attitude. Of course, Naples is in a very fertile area, and I think that San Francisco must have some natural advantages too, although it escapes me for the moment what they are.
Spare a thought.......
Prideth - Queen dragon - protector of otters, and otternuts alike Posted Dec 30, 2003
You're right enough Z , there's many examples of building in stupid, (dangerous) places. And, the "It will never happen to me" attitude seems to be the reason. Look at the numbers of *new* houses that are being built on flood plains here and elsewhere. They'll never learn it seems!
Prideth
Spare a thought.......
Woodpigeon Posted Dec 30, 2003
The size of these middle-eastern cities is incredible. Istanbul has a population of eleven million people, and it too is on a major fault line. Much of the population increase has been in the last 20 years so a huge number of houses have been jerry-built, some with no proper metal frames or even proper brick material. Even a small earthquake would have the potential to collapse them.
W
Spare a thought.......
Prideth - Queen dragon - protector of otters, and otternuts alike Posted Dec 30, 2003
As you say, Woodpigeon, it's incredible, the scale of which the populations have risen in the last 20 years. It's also amazing how they just chuck up buildings willie-nillie. Something, although I'm not sure how, has to be done, or this type of thing will just keep happening. It's a sad reality, isn't it?
Prideth
Spare a thought.......
Zarquon's Singing Fish! Posted Dec 30, 2003
Eleven million people! Frightening to think what might happen if an earthquake did strike! As Prideth said, nature has a way of population control, even if we fail to control it ourselves.
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Spare a thought.......
- 1: Prideth - Queen dragon - protector of otters, and otternuts alike (Dec 27, 2003)
- 2: Woodpigeon (Dec 27, 2003)
- 3: Prideth - Queen dragon - protector of otters, and otternuts alike (Dec 28, 2003)
- 4: Woodpigeon (Dec 29, 2003)
- 5: Prideth - Queen dragon - protector of otters, and otternuts alike (Dec 29, 2003)
- 6: Zarquon's Singing Fish! (Dec 29, 2003)
- 7: Prideth - Queen dragon - protector of otters, and otternuts alike (Dec 29, 2003)
- 8: Zarquon's Singing Fish! (Dec 29, 2003)
- 9: Prideth - Queen dragon - protector of otters, and otternuts alike (Dec 29, 2003)
- 10: Zarquon's Singing Fish! (Dec 29, 2003)
- 11: Prideth - Queen dragon - protector of otters, and otternuts alike (Dec 30, 2003)
- 12: Zarquon's Singing Fish! (Dec 30, 2003)
- 13: Prideth - Queen dragon - protector of otters, and otternuts alike (Dec 30, 2003)
- 14: Woodpigeon (Dec 30, 2003)
- 15: Prideth - Queen dragon - protector of otters, and otternuts alike (Dec 30, 2003)
- 16: Zarquon's Singing Fish! (Dec 30, 2003)
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