What I find upsetting beyond the number of dead is the fact that this occurred within 90 minutes; according to eyewitnesses, around 7AM Sunday there was an earthquake in Sri Lanka, roughly 9.0 on the richter scale, which was off the coast. Within 90 minutes, a succession of huge waves (tsunamis) spread across Asia and Africa and left 10,000 dead in Sri Lanka alone.
The notion of a giant wave (or a series of gigantic waves) pounding the earth so mightily as to swallow thousands of people is beyond comprehension, even for those of us that saw The Day After Tomorrow, the disaster flick starring Dennis Quaid which was released in theaters this past summer and strikingly depicted the statue of liberty's torch partially covered by snow. Natural disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes and tidal waves are all part of our reality as humans on this earth; we might possess the power to destroy the planet 500 times over with nuclear weapons and we certainly control the technology which permits us to fly to other planets, but things like today's tsunami put our place on this planet (and perhaps in the galaxy) into very sharp focus.
The last time I saw, vividly, anything remotely resembling a giant wave was at the concluding scene of the movie Point Break, which, as a movie, was a complete disaster (no pun intended). The tail sequence of the film involves the "50-Year Storm" which is said to strike the coast of Australia, pounding the beach with 100-foot waves for which every balls-to-the-wall surfer waits decades. Today's waves, however, enveloped communities: along with humanity, the waves siezed cars and vehicles and yanked them as if they were made of paper. Frightening to read about, perhaps, but even moreso to experience.
The first time I became familiar with the term Tsunami was in the late 80's after I'd seen a print by the Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai, whose work "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" (1823) was originally implemented as a wood carving of several boats caught in the throes of a tsunami (see below). The work captivated me and I studied the print and the artist.
But never did I expect to hear that the real-world manifestation of the elegance of the print, of its sophistication and its simplicity, could result in the deaths of 20,000 or more people.
I suppose its our modern naivete which makes today's news as shocking as it is; many of us who have seen any of the Jaws movies still ponder how an 18-foot shark could rip a man in half off the coast of Australia (only last week), and still others among us lived through a succession of deadly hurricanes this summer in Florida.
Below, a picture of San Francisco City Hall after the 1906 earthquake which leveled much of the city.
Below, Sacramento Street on fire, 1906:
A picture after the 1980 eruption of Mt. Saint Helens:
Finally, a depiction of Kaika Bay near Haleiwa in Russia, 1952:
All of these images, presumably, captivate and mystify us, shocking and frightening us as they remind us how insignificant and impotent we are, as humans, in comparison to the power of the planet and its weather systems. Many of us, within a few days, if not a few weeks, will forget the news we read today; hopefully, the elegance of these images will serve in the coming days to remind us that, perhaps, we as a species are merely spending time on this planet, and if we don't respect our surroundings, they have the power to chew us up and spit us out.
Sobering, pessimistic and overly dramatic, perhaps; but in the span of 90 minutes, 22,000 people were convinced. Frightening, dramatic and, if nothing else, something to ponder next time one is caught in especially heavy rain.
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