Just as China is beginning to cope with the loss of life and property, another strong aftershock hit the province of Sichuan. The aftershock was 5.8 magnitude and destroyed a reported 70,000 homes, injured 400 and killed at least one person. This comes on the heels of the terrible earthquake that rocked the province on May12 and has sent aftershocks throughout the region every since.

As the death toll goes over the 60,000 mark new fears arise. In assess the damage the Water Ministry of China has locate 69 dams that are unstable, meaning that flooding is a major concern. More people could die if these dams break. Over course fixing the dams is challenging for a number of reasons. One being that the aftershocks continue to come and the other reason is because there are millions of people that are homeless and need care. This seems to be the major preoccupation of the government right now.

What can be done to get people out of the paths of these dams? Is it possible to move all of the homeless masses to a safe spot? This, if it is possible would be a painstaking task. People have already lost everything that they own and some of their loved ones. Moving them to other parts of the country will take a great deal of time and may further put people into shock.

It is sad to say that the death toll is till rising but another positive, hopeful story did emerge from Sichuan province. An 80 year old paraplegic who had been trapped for 11 days was rescued after suffering 266 hours of being trapped. Apparently the beams of the man’s house fell and he was trapped. His wife was able to feed him while they waited for help.

The government believes that 45 million people were affected in some way by the earthquake. With aftershocks still hitting the region there is a growing concern that there may be more death and destruction. It seems that there is no safe place in Sichuan province right now. The homeless masses have no place to go and nowhere that is safe. The ground could shake at any moment and bring more rubble down on their heads. It must be a terrifying situation to be in. The need to rebuild can not be met until the after shocks stop and since they are still going on, it is hard to gauge how much longer the province will be receiving those terrifying jolts.

This seems to be a very extreme earthquake. I know that predicting earthquakes is nearly impossible but I am wondering why this particular earthquake has been so terrible. It will be interesting to hear what geologist and other scientist have to say about this quake and the abundance of aftershocks and the strength of which they have rattled the ground. Of course before any of these questions can be answered, the ground must stop shaking. Hopefully the ground underneath Sichuan province has stopped moving for good now.

Finally a decent decision comes out of the ruling junta in Myanmar. Foreign aide workers will be able to enter the country and help those in the devastated regions of the country. They still will not allow American, French or British ships to dock with supplies, which is probably a mistake, but at least skilled aide workers will be able to enter the country.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon seems to have made a much needed impact n Myanmar’s government Senor General Than Shwe the leader of the junta decided to allow international aide workers into the country, regardless of nationality after Ki-moon paid the country a visit. The fate of the 2 million homeless people that survived the cyclone and are on the verge of starvation will look much better with aide workers in the country to help.

While there may be fear in the heart of Myanmar’s government that something might happen if foreigners come to the country, I think that reality is starting to sink in. If there are no bodies to deliver food and assist in rebuilding the country, millions more will die. It ahs already been weeks since he cyclone and time is running out for Myanmar. If the people that are homeless and hungry are to be saved, the time is now.

It will be interesting to see how long it takes for the junta to approve visas for foreign workers. The extent of disease that may be spreading from contaminated water is currently unknown. It has been very difficult to get accurate information out of Myanmar because of the reclusive nature of the country. All reports speculate that the majority of cyclone survivors have received no assistance yet. The dead bodies that were being disposed of in the water that probably would end up being the water that many were forced to drink, also need to be dealt with. Myanmar has a chance to save some of its citizens from certain death but only if they pass foreign aide worker visas through quickly.

Political difference should not get in the way of people being saved. All of the red tape and wavering that Myanmar’s government has done surely has cost some of people their lives. There is concern that there are not enough skilled medico doctors in Myanmar to handle the massive traumas that have occurred in wake of the cyclone. That means that people who survived are injured and suffering, without proper medical care. Scars and sores that need to be cared for lay open and festering with infection. No government, no matter how arrogant or afraid of what will happen if other come in to help should allow that to happen to their people.

Hopefully help will begin to trickle into Myanmar over the next few days. It would be great to hear that those foreign aide worker visas are approved and assistance is on the way. But what will the workers find once they are there? Around 130,000 people have died and 2 million are homeless. What will the world see once Myanmar opens up and lets us in?

With all of the pain that is going on in China there are some stories that bring us hope. A 102 year old woman survived eight days underneath the rubble of a building. This is one of those stories that must motivate rescuers to keep digging for life even though the odds are completely against it. You just never know what life has in store and this 102 year old woman being found alive is one of beautiful surprises that are totally unexpected.

Another woman who is sixty managed to stay alive by drinking rain water. She had some facial bruises and a minor fracture but this woman was able to hold on for 195 hours before she was rescued. A few hours before that two men were pulled out from the destruction of the earthquake.

Finding life after digging out so many lifeless bodies must be something very special for rescuers. The job they are doing is perhaps one of the worse ones ever created. To be the people that are responsible for recovering people, both dead and alive, but most dead must be a stress that the majority of us can’t understand. Many of those that perished are children and nothing is more difficult than lifting up a small body that never truly got a chance to meet its potential. Yet someone must recover the dead and account for them so that there is no glint of wonderment in the hearts of their loved ones.

In other parts of China the varied ethnic groups that make up the over a billion people that live in the country are coming together. A massive crowd that gathered in Tiananmen Square for moments of silence and finished that moment up with chants of “Go, China, Go!”. Around the world we have our questions about what goes on in China, and there are human rights issues but right now we are all saying the same thing. Go, China, go you will be well again.

Chinese nationals have rushed to the aide of earthquake victims. Chinese citizens are making huge donations as well. Clothing, food and money have poured in showing extreme solidarity. It is wonderful to see the worldwide Chinese population coming together. It is also wonderful to see the world stand up and offer what it cane. China is viewed in varying ways across the world but right now they are the victims of a terrible disaster and even those of us that question some of the practices that go on in the country are pulling for a speedy recovery.

My donations are small but I felt like I had to donate something. I don’t have much to give and honestly, it could e argued that I really have nothing to spare, but I do. I still have a home, car, town all of my immediately family and scores of friends and loved ones. So many people in China have nothing right now that a simple monetary donation is nothing. I can sacrifice not buying organic this week to donate money to China.

After a few weeks of dealing with the destruction of a cyclone Myanmar is trying to find a way to rebuild. With a government that was slow to react and allow aide into survivors, Myanmar is a country in pain. With over 130,000 people dad and over 2 million people homeless, turning away help the way that the ruling junta did seems down right despicable. However now that it is clear that Myanmar can not reconstruct their country by themselves and some foreign aide is being allowed in now.

Myanmar was one a very fertile area where food was plentiful. However, the cyclone wiped out crops and will prevent farmers from planting again immediately. Rice fields are completely wiped out in Irrawaddy Delta, the area of Myanmar that produces 60% of their rice crop. Rice is planted during the dry season and once in the rainy season. The cyclone that swept through Myanmar’s low lying rice growing region may have destroyed 200,000 tons of rice. Fortunately the government has a stock pile of rice that can save the citizens of Myanmar from starving. The only catch is that it will have to be hand delivered.

This is where the help of other nations can be sued. If Myanmar intends to save the people hat survived the cyclone and prevent them from starving they need to get help from every nation that is willing. Surely an international gathering of workers and supplies can help get the rice to the starving masses. This is no time to be picky or to keep foreigners out. This is the time to let helping hands in and allow them to help save lives.

In addition to the loss of the rice crops, Myanmar has also lost many of it’s working animals. Water buffalo also suffered major casualties in the storm. Carcasses of the animals can be found throughout the delta’s river. This decrease in rice production is extremely bad news because rice is the staple food of Myanmar.

To add to the trouble of Myanmar rice growers, the land that they plant on was completely soaked by flooding. It will be some time before planters will be able to grow rice in those fields again. Myanmar and its farmers will need help to make it through the next few months.

Of course, the ruling junta is still refusing aide workers. While they have realized that they will need food from other countries the government is still reluctant to allow foreigners in. Since the end of British rule in 1948 Myanmar, or Burma, foreigners have not been welcomed in the country. After decades of political turmoil military rule set in. The junta that now rules is not interested in other countries and information is hard to get out of the Myanmar. The past has not been that great between Myanmar and the world but the time for arguing politics and incidence of the past is over. Right now help is needed to save the people of Myanmar and the government of that country needs to take all of the help they can get. Refusal of foreign help equates to genocide.

There is a stretch of land in the middle of the Untied States nicknamed Tornado Alley. During tornado season this area of the country sees more tornados than any other part of the world. Over the past few weeks, there have been random tornados hitting towns throughout the southeast and Midwest section of the country but the storms that hit a couple of days ago brought the most destruction.

Picher, Oklahoma was the town that saw the worst of the tornados that hit the Midwest. Six people lost their lives in the Picher and 22 individuals died throughout the south and Midwest. The U.S. has seen 100 tornados this year already. May is the busiest time for tornados in Tornado Alley, meaning that the worst may be on the way.

As I’ve mentioned before, the deterioration of the environment seems to go hand in hand with the increase of cataclysmic weather. While there have always been tornados in Tornado Alley this season seems to be especially vicious. The largest amount of people that have been killed in Tornado Alley was 519 in 1953. If tornados continue to occur in the fashion that they have been, there is a chance that the death toll this season could eclipse the current record. It seems as if the weather is so out of control that warnings can not come quick enough for people to take proper cover.

Some tornados have struck in the night, making it impossible to alert people because they are sleep. Other tornados have swept through towns with a fierceness that decimates any attempt to take cover. The people that live in tornado alley are used to twisters sweeping through their towns but these storms seem to be something new and different.

My father is from Alabama and there have been many times we were driving through Alabama or Georgia and there were tornado warnings and watches. He was never unnerved by them because he is from Alabama. A twister is just a twister to many people that grew up around them Tornados are a fact of life for some people and it can become commonplace to hear the warnings and the watches and not be terrified. If you were terrified every time there was a tornado threatening your town, you would live in constant fear from months at a time. However, it only take one time for a tornado to be taken for granted for lives to be lost. I will admit that a few years ago a morbid interest drove me outdoors during a tornado warning. I was curious but the tornado was far off and I could barely see it off in the distance. I should have taken cover but instead I was outside, watching and waiting. A foolish thing to do indeed.

We have advanced warning systems in place but honestly, the warnings are only half the battle. The towns that lay in the midst of tornado alley are sometimes given a few minutes notice before a storm is upon them. There may not be time to take cover. That is why it is so important to take cover as soon as you here the warning go out. The storm may not hit but just in case, try to may yourself as safe as possible.