May 14, 2008

Nature's wrath

Most of us do not like to think about a disaster in our community, but the deadly Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar and the powerful earthquake in China recently got me thinking that disaster can strike anywhere at any time, often with little warning. When mother nature is angry, it could be beyond belief. Located in the so call ring of fire, Indonesia is prone to natural disaster. It feels like not so long ago there was a tsunami in Aceh, earthquake in Yogya, mudflow in Sidoarjo, flood in Jakarta and landslides in other places of Indonesia. These events really showed us how vulnerable we are and that you just never know when a disaster could strike your family.

The major flood in Jakarta last year taught me that our government never learned and prepared in the event of major disaster, let alone taking quick action. All they could do is blaming the nature and the poor urban planning, but nothing was done until the next one strike again. I remember there's no electricity, no clean water, and no telephone service for several days when my area was swamped by a hip to waist high water. It was an unforgettable memory that deeply etched in my mind because I could not save my dog out of the place earlier. Now, when disaster strikes...are you prepared?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

They are brain dead that's for sure and stupid like Therry said. Our bureaucracy must be reformed and downsized (may be all of them, LOL). They have been using old fashioned mind set for so long and sometimes I just want to scream at them for their laziness, while asking grease money. Go figure.

Elyani said...

@Therry & Toni : the government is busy to keep a hefty sum of money in their pocket for the next coming election, they don't have a conscience and they don't have a forward planning like the flood at the airport toll road. Of course they know it is their responsibility to prevent and prepare that from happening again...but are they doing it???

Therry said...

Another huge lump sum of money going to some corrupt official's son so that he can study overseas, do drugs and buy a brand new Lamborghini with a plate number that says stupid things like "DEWA".

And when you see one of these dudes coming out of their super sleek car you'd retch in horror because they're damn fugleeeeeee