Devastation in Oklahoma

As the details emerge in news channels and other media the devastation in Oklahoma becomes apparent. The thunderstorm has caused more devastation at Oklahoma than the one in Hood County, TX last fortnight. According to a newsreport on Weather the death toll of yesterday's events is about 24 as reported by the state's medical examiner.

Hundreds have been injured and more left homeless as the thunderstorm with winds upto 60mph plowed through Moore, OK and surrounding counties. One TV report even suggested that the thunder storm traveled as far as Kansas and wrecked havoc there. A weather bureau warning I heard on the radio last night said that there would be heavy rains with golf ball sized hail in north Texas area. Luckily there was no storm hitting us in Denton, TX.

To me this sounds like the scenario in India where every year during the monsoon floods occur and cause widespread death and destruction. Of course India is a poor third world nation with corrupt establishment and politicians so preparation for such calamities doesn't happen. But in America the world's richest and most powerful nation this kind of tragedies taking lives, is totally not acceptable. I sure hope that further calamities of such kind will be prevented.

I know that weather can't be controlled but people's response to the weather changes can be. When there is a thunderstorm warning, people can be evacuated. America is a large nation with a relatively small population. There is enough space to resettle these people for a short time so that they are alive and can safely return home once the severe weather passes.

Related articles

• Massive Tornado Hits Moore, Oklahoma!
• thunderstorms put things into perspective
• UPDATE: Severe thunderstorm warning issued for Cleveland County, Moore area
• Death Toll in Okla. Tornado to Rise
• Slide Show: Oklahoma in the Tornado's Wake

Tornado Kills 6 in North Texas

This is the season of thunderstorms and tornadoes. Every year when the season hits Texas or any other part of America there is widespread devastation and deaths. Even in the most advanced nation, nature reigns supreme. Nobody can stand up to nature and combat devastation.

Millions of Americans left without Power

Hurricane Irene hit the East Coast over the weekend and has wrecked havoc on that part of the country. When there is a storm of this magnitude the first thing that happens is power outage and that is precisely what happened in the US. It is funny when I was in India every time it rained there would be power outage and the telephone lines would go dead, we would go into a frenzy calling the electricity board and complaining. Everything is privatized in America and most of these large corporations have their service desks in India, Philippines or other country to address their customer complaints. I wonder how effectively these service desk people will be able to support the customer at this time.

Except for TV and news reports and the internet the call center employees would not have any access to information about situation on the ground. The reassurances they would provide for the consumer would probably be shallow and not rooted in reality. Moreover news coverage of Irene is not so extensive in India as it would be elsewhere in the US. This is quite expected, because priorities of each nation varies. While the news is top headlines in every news channel here, it would be just another story in the international news in India.

I wonder how Americans so accustomed to extreme comfort of centralized air conditioned, lots of space, and nice furniture living now even as the storm passes. It will take a week or two for life to return to normalcy. And for some it will never return to normalcy because they have lost one or more of their family members.

Winter is crawling into town!!!

Last month I was cribbing about the searing heat which prevented me from enjoying the outdoor activities. Now I find myself ruing the rains and cold winds which are once again deterring me from going out and enjoying the bicycling trails or parks or swimming. The transformation from summer to winter was almost instant.
One day it was very hot and suddenly a thunderstorm warning came through and it rained flat out for the next two days. After that it has been mostly cloudy humid days with sparse showers which has kept me and my bicycle most indoors. I wish it would get sunny again but not as searing hot as summer.
I don't think it would get too warm because winter seems to have set in with the nip in the air. It looks like this weather will continue for quite sometime and will get colder as the months roll by.....

MS-150 Video

Last weekend's MS-150 was not a complete success. Weather played spoilsport and the organizers had to cancel the 2nd day's ride. Here is a video I found on youtube which shows views of rain and flooding in the Texas Motor Speedway area.