Wind and Water

Just last week, after devastating Cuba, Hurricane Ike swirled on to hit Texas. The hurricane had originally caused over 80 deaths in the Caribbean, and damage estimated at $2 to $3 billion at Cuba. Ike had damaged the communist island’s major industries, and tens of thousands of homes, before moving on to hit Texas on Monday, the 15th. The hurricane left thousands of people stranded in Texas while leaving all food, drink, and gasoline in short supply for thousand of miles. In addition, the catastrophe has left more than 2,000,000 people without electricity in Houston. With thousands of people still left in the desolation, nearly two thousand people have already been rescued from the aftermaths of the storm. The conditions are still bad with the death toll at 32 and rising, and it is still expected to be a while before order is seen restored.

Economically, after dealing a devastating blow to Cuba the hurricane had migrated to further disrupt hundreds of thousands of lives in Texas. Not satisfied with paralyzing some of Cuba’s most important industries Ike displayed its Herculean might in the Midwest of the States. In the US, Ike left millions devoid of essential scarce resources such as water, electricity, and food. The estimated direct cost of recovery exceeds the billions. While the opportunity cost includes all the rescue efforts and the millions of people, homes, and businesses that could have generated revenue over the period of the calamity. A disaster of such scale, invokes many important decisions with great opportunity costs, since the scarcity of resources and patience make it impossible to please everyone. Though Ike has finally died down, the economic damage caused by it will be evident for decades to come.

Even though miles away, the hurricane has a profound effect on me. As humans we feel pretty bad after we lose just a portion of our hard earned money, and so how must it have felt, for those who saw virtually everything they have worked for their entire lives get swallowed down into a watery grave? Such a calamity also directly affects the world we live in. For example, the money worth of damage caused by the hurricane could have been used to greatly alleviate poverty, fund new schools, or develop new technology. Disasters are almost like a reminder of how fragile our lives are and of, all the things we tend to take for granted. William Thackerey once quoted that "It is from the level of calamities, not that of every-day life, that we learn impressive and useful lessons."

-Rafaat Mir