There is no doubt that mankind is headed for the long, dark hole. When humans are not hacking one another out of existence, Mother Nature comes in to do an even more sinister job. So far, here in Rwanda we have been spared Nature’s wrath, even if our own kind have been more than willing to do us in. Looking at the catastrophes that Nature has wracked on other societies, we should say “At least!” As we talk, Japan is still counting her dead, after the monster earthquake that struck her coast early this month, with its accompanying tsunami. So far, the death toll has risen to 10,000 but, with an even bigger number missing, the final count may as well settle at double the current figure. The gruesome mountains of water were enough to flatten the whole of the Japanese archipelago. All along the sands of history are scattered human victims of natural disasters. And some of the disasters have been so ferocious that the Japan one pales in comparison. Can anyone forget the first time we heard the word ‘tsunami’? The ‘Boxing Day Tsunami’ in 2004 tossed 230,000 innocent humans out of existence: in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. Earlier, a bigger number had been shaken into oblivion. The Tangshan Earthquake in 1976 is believed to be the largest earthquake of the 20th century. It and its aftershock claimed a final count of 255,000 victims. The political repercussions of the disaster are said to have contributed to the end of the Cultural Revolution in China! A case of a negative producing a positive? Positives and negatives apart, another disaster in China had almost claimed an equal number of victims. In 1975, the heavens poured more than a year’s rainfall in 24 hours and triggered off floods that were 10 kilometres wide and 7 metres high, running at 50 km/hr. The Banqiao Dam Flood overran the dams and almost wiped out an area as long as 55 km and as wide as 15 km. The final count: 230,000 victims. I also remember the 1970 Bhola Cyclone that killed 500,000 Indians and Pakistanis. It formed over the central Bay of Bengal on November 8th and travelled north, gathering strength as it did so. By the night of November 12th, its winds were travelling at 185 km/hr as it made a landfall on the coast of Pakistan. In its aftermath, the unrest between East Pakistan and the central government intensified and resulted in the birth of a new country – Bangladesh! Still, it didn’t erase the story of a gruesome disaster that had seen the death of close to 4 million Chinese. The Central China Floods of 1931 were a series of floods and they are considered to be the deadliest natural disaster of the 20th century. Let’s hope that the 21st century does not try to compete with its late sister – the 20th century! China, poor country, has had more than its fair share of disasters. One evening in 1920, the Haiyuan Earthquake struck. It was followed by a series of aftershocks that did not let up until after three years. Over 73,000 people were killed in Haiyuan County and over 30,000 in Guyuan County. Nearly all the houses in the affected areas collapsed. Total casualty: 240,000. Of course, apart from the Japanese earthquake and tsunami this March, the disasters cited above are only a few of the major disasters of the 20th century. There were many others in between them and there were many major and minor ones in the centuries before. What they all serve to show us is that we are here by the grace of Mother Nature. No one should gloat and boast that we here in the Central African highlands are immune from such natural accidents. Memories are still fresh of when Mount Nyiragongo, on the Rwanda-D.R. Congo border, suddenly spat molten lava and putrid smoke into the sky and killed thousands of Goma residents. The January 2002 eruption came without warning, even if the tremors had reached us here in Kigali. Who knows what would happen if one day the whole volcano, together with Lake Kivu at its foot, were to completely open up and let loose their gases and larva? Personally, the mild nature of the encounter I had with Nature’s fury was enough for me and I don’t wish for an encore. It was in the early 1960s, in D.R. Congo, and we were sitting in the house as it was raining. Suddenly, thunder struck and the next thing we knew, our father was missing from the sitting room. It was not until after two hours that we heard a feeble voice crying out for help, from the direction of the outer granary. We all rushed to check only to find our old man cringing against the wall, inside of the granary! He was shaken but otherwise safe and sound. How had thunder carried our old man? And had it taken him through the doorways, that of the house and that of the granary? Your guesses are as good as mine ingina2@yahoo.co.uk
