Wednesday 23 February 2011

Nature's rampage !

Yesterdays New Zealand earthquake was an event that can not be blamed on global warming. When tectonic plates clash and when the underlying magna erupts in volcanic activity we are in the hands of nature.

Christchurch just seems to have been the unlucky city. Yesterdays carnage could just as easily overwhelmed any other city in New Zealand, but sheer blind luck saw the tremblor hit in the south island.

Of course Australia will give unstinting help to our cousins across the Tasman and no doubt stringent laws will govern rebuilding to produce new structures capable of withstanding future earthquakes - but there is no such thing as a building code which is earthquake proof.

Fortunately Australia is not located on " the ring of fire ", but we are not immune from similar shocks - as we experienced some years ago in Newcastle.

It should also be remembered that our knowledge about this continent only goes back a mere two hundred and thirteen years. Nature could have some interesting experiences in store for us in the centuries ahead !

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