Last night I saw a TV documentary(纪实电视节目) about the 1976 Tangshan earthquake in China. I noticed one thing that is common with most natural disasters. The killer disasters come either early in the morning or late at night, when people are either resting or preparing to rest and, unfortunately, when people are least attentive to warning signs.

The Tangshan disaster struck early in the morning when the people were still sleeping. Many people died in their sleep. Miners were trapped deep below the earth. Some died. Survivors waited in the dark. They hoped that rescuers would come and pull them out. It is a horrible thing to be in a situation where you can do nothing to save yourself.

It seems that, Mother Nature has always attacked us as if she were afraid that we would fight back. Otherwise why would she come only as a thief? I have a story to tell you. This one happened in August 1986 in the villages near Lake Nyos in Cameroon’s northwest province. Large amounts of carbon dioxide(CO₂) gas had been collecting at the bottom of the lake. It was clear that nobody knew about the gas or about how dangerous it was. Suddenly, before dawn on August 26, 1986, a large quantity of gas was released(gave off) from the lake. CO₂ is heavier than air, so it spread out over the nearby villages. The blanket of CO₂ floated for 25 kilometres. Many people died in their sleep from lack of oxygen(O₂). Before sunrise, more than 1,700 people had lost their lives. And thousands of animals were also killed by the gas. At first scientists believed that the gas was caused by an earthquake or a volcano. However, further studies proved that there had been no volcanic activity. Nobody is very certain how such a large amount of gas was released from the lake. Scientists from the USA, the EU, Japan and Cameroon have been studying the lake for the past twenty years. Yet they still have not found an answer.

Well, Jun, let me leave Mother Nature and her timid(胆小的) way of attacking us. I need to run out for some noodles at a nearby Chinese restaurant.

Take good care of yourself.

Theresa

Having lived in California until 1970, my family has felt a number of earthquakes. We have been fortunate, however, to have suffered no bodily harm or property damage.

There is a website that lists all California earthquakes recorded from 1769 to the present. The site lists the dates and times as well as the magnitude and the exact location of any quake that measured more than 6.0. There are only a few quakes that stand out in my memory and, luckily, none is shown in the website. So, my personal experience with earthquakes might be considered insignificant.

There are three earthquakes that are difficult to forget. The first one was in 1955 and our oldest daughter was walking with me in our backyard in Redwood City in California. As the shaking became stronger, I held her to me with one arm as I held on to one of our fruit trees with the other. All three of us (my daughter, I and the tree) shook for two or three minutes that to us felt like hours.

The second one was in 1963. Our entire family was visiting Disneyland in Southern California. The earth started to shake just as we were beginning to walk from our hotel toward the famous landmark.

My third experience with an earthquake was a lonely one in California. It was in my sixties and I was alone in an old church. As the building started to shake, I quickly headed for the door to go outside. I remember I said a little prayer — something like, “Help me get out of here in time, Dear Heavenly Father”. Minutes later, I was safe outside.

Stages of Hurricane: Simple Storms Grow Into Giants

A storm progresses through four different stages before it is actually considered a hurricane. First is a tropical disturbance (热带扰动), which has thunderstorms and rotating (旋转) winds. Next is a tropical depression (热带低气压), which is similar to a tropical disturbance, but has winds between 23 and 39 miles per hour. A tropical storm is the next level, which has stronger wind speeds between 40and 73 miles per hour. Once winds reach 74 miles per hour the storm is officially called a hurricane. The wind picks up energy from the warm surface ocean water.

As a hurricane crosses over land, it begins to become weaker or break apart and reduce in strength. This is because it is no longer over the warm ocean water that it needs for energy. At this point, a hurricane can still cause a lot of damage because of high winds, rain, and flooding. But unless it makes its way back over the open ocean, it is downgraded from a hurricane back to a tropical storm.

What’s Your Name, Hurricane?

Hurricanes and tropical storms are given names to help people recognize them. Scientists refer to hurricanes and storms by name as they track them across the ocean.

Before 1953, hurricanes were not given official names. From 1953 through 1978, hurricanes were only given female names, like Isabel, Camille, Claudette, and Wilma. Beginning in 1979, hurricanes were given the names of both women and men. Today, the names alternate male and female, and they are named in order of letters.

For example, in 2010, storms were named as follows: Alex (male), Bonnie (female), Colin (male), Danielle (female), Earl (male) and so on…

There are six different lists of names that change, so the same names are used every six years. The only way that a new name is added is when a hurricane has been particularly deadly or costly and the name is retired, then replaced with a new one.