A great earthquake happened in southwestern China on May 12,2008, killing thousands of people. The quake struck Wenchuan and other parts of Sichuan Province in the middle of the afternoon and a number of school buildings, shops and homes were destroyed. The number of the dead and missing rose as rescue workers dug through flattened (夷为平地的) schools and homes to find survivors. It was reported that many people were still buried under the ruins in and around Mianyang, a city about 60 miles east of the epicenter (震中). People there spent a second night sleeping outside in the rain. The government ordered people not to return to their homes for safety concerns. Few lights were on in the city, and people ate and chatted by candlelight.

Rescue teams brought people to Mianyang's stadium for food and shelter. Outside the railway station, the police shouted in megaphones (扩音器) telling people where they could get free food. Buses carrying survivors left Beichuan, which is in the northeast of the epicenter and was also flattened by the quake. 1,000 students and teachers were killed or missing at a fallen high school in Beichuan County. At another school in the town of Juyuan, 900 students were buried under the ruins. There was little hope that many survivors would be found under the rubble. But officials asked the people not to give up hope. 20,000 soldiers arrived in the disaster area on the way by plane, train and truck and even on foot.

Thirty-one British tourists who were panda-watching in Wolong National Nature Reserve were safe. And the pandas were reported safe, too.

After being attacked by Hurricane Ida’s 150 mph winds and torrential rains, hundreds of thousands of Gulf Coast residents were left without power and fresh water this week as a 100-degree heat wave settled over the region. Ida smashed into Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane, ripping off roofs, knocking out transmission lines, flooding roads, and reducing some brick buildings in downtown New Orleans to rubble. At least eight people died in the storm and the toll is expected to rise as emergency workers search wrecked homes and businesses.

One of the most powerful hurricanes to ever hit the U.S. mainland, Ida brought a 5 to 12-foot storm surge that covered low-lying communities in southeastern Louisiana. Grand Isle is now “uninhabitable,” said Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng, with 3 feet of sand covering the entire barrier island and 40 percent of the buildings completely destroyed.

The storm caused a citywide blackout in New Orleans, but a Hurricane Katrina-level disaster was avoided there, thanks in part to the $ 14.5 billion spent on new levees, seawalls, and pumps after the 2005 storm. Experts are warning that Ida could worsen the Covid crisis in the Gulf Coast, as residents crowd together in homes and emergency shelters without immediate access to testing or medical care. ICUs in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama hospitals were already near capacity be- fore the storm hit. Nearly 1 million people are still without power across Louisiana, and authorities waned it could be weeks before electricity is restored. “If you have already evacuated,” said Gov. John Bel Edwands, “do not return here.”

As a shift in the polar vortex(极地涡旋)swept across much of the US, many people in the country were hit with a sudden snap of cold. Heavy ice and snow coupled with fallen trees caused the outages in major cities, with companies unable to tell their customers when power will be restored.

Polar vortexes were noticed long ago. But the first known use of the term “polar vortex” was in a magazine in 1853. Polar vortexes are present year-round, but we don’t hear about them until they cause problems. They maintain freezing temperatures at the North and South poles by moving in tight counter-clockwise patterns. Polar vortexes grow stronger in winter and weaken in summer. They are kept in place at the poles by another atmospheric current called the jet stream. However, when the jet streams weaken, the cold winds of the polar vortex are pushed southwards and it is during this time that people begin to pay attention!

In Texas, roads froze over, causing six traffic deaths, and many schools were shut-down. People are not the only Earthlings to struggle with the cold. Crops and animals are also freezing. This could have major consequences, especially if herds of cattle die. If snow blocks cattle, the animals can’t reach basic necessities like food and fresh water.

On a brighter note, some Texas cities were more prepared than others. For instance, Amarillo, which is located in North Texas, so they are more accustomed to colder temperatures. Amarillo is notable because the city was redesigned to stand up to severe winter storms. Officials have spread out fire stations to increase coverage of first responders, employed modified dump trucks for clearing ice, and upgraded civic centers to provide shelter during storms. Hopefully, other Texas cities will follow the good example set by Amarillo!