Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Brief but destructive storm passes through

A severe thunderstorm came through the Quad Cities Monday morning about 6 a.m. In the Illinois Quad Cities power was knocked out almost everywhere and had not been restored to large areas as of Monday evening and, according to the Moline Dispatch, would not be restored to many until Wednesday. I live in one of the few neighborhoods in Moline that never lost its power. I also had cable (and therefore internet) connections for 3 hours after the storm, but then curiously lost it until early Monday evening. Although we had not lost power almost all the stores and other businesses in Moline had and we had to go across the river to Iowa just to find a place to eat.

When the power goes out it is a reminder just how dependant on our modern technology and conveniences we have become. It should also be a reminder how quickly and dramatically our easy and comfortable world can be turned upside down by a disaster. Imagine a disaster that effects the whole world rather than just a narrow thunderstorm band and continues on for weeks, months or years rather than just a few minutes. Further imagine that it is a disaster caused by us that we could have prevented.

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