If anyone was looking for a 'perfect storm', the millions of Americans just had it as Superstorm Sandy battered most of north-eastern seaboard of the United States early this week. High winds, lashing spells of driving rain, meters-high sea surges and heavy snows, this hybrid monster was all in one.
For Americans it must have been once-in-a-lifetime event that has so far caused scores of deaths, destroyed thousands of homes, cut off electricity supply to millions, disrupted transport, submerged subways, cancelled some 18,000 flights, shut down schools, business centres, and put the financial district of New York City out of action. It shut down the New York Stock Exchange for two consecutive days for the first time since 1888. And there is little hope of the things returning to normal anytime soon. How disruption caused by the post-tropical Category 1 hurricane Sandy will play out it is yet to be seen. But it would be definitely much more than initial estimate of 20 billion dollars. The aftershocks of Sandy's destruction will be felt in America and beyond for quite some time. Not the United States alone will live with killer the hurricane's devastating aftermath, the entire world, particularly American allies in Europe and Asia, are bound to share it. Since the US is Pakistan's critical trading partner and a strategic ally the setbacks that its economy is likely to have, are bound to negatively impact our trade and businesses.
Nature is cruel and unforgiving; it would have friends only on its own terms. It has its own grand design and we as humans may be running afoul of it. History is full of instances when Nature prevailed. Cities were inundated and drowned, entire civilisations were buried under lava, green valleys turned into barren deserts and mountains as high as the Himalayas grew up from the bottom of sea. Only two years ago, a powerful tsunami struck Japan, killing thousands of people and putting the proponents of nuclear energy on the back foot. At home, not long ago what we have today the Cholistan desert was once a rich farming landscape; thanks to the River Bias which is no more there except for the Pattan Minara, the only leftover of a bustling river port. Whether the devastating Sandy was a product of climate change triggered by global warming we have no clear answer. Rightly then the critics who accuse the White House contenders of overlooking issues of climate change and global warming are likely to sharpen their knives, asserting the Americans are paying for their mistake that they made through the election of George W. Bush instead of Al-Gore. That the presidential campaign has been put on hold amply suggests that even if climate change and global warming were not high on the candidates' manifestoes, they are deeply concerned over the tragic losses caused by Superstorm Sandy. Only a few days away from elections there is not much this natural tragedy can do to disturb the voting trend, except for President Obama's prompt response. It is he who first called off his campaign, largely influencing his opponent Mitt Romney to follow suit.
After the nine-eleven attack President Bush had said the 'world wouldn't be the same again'. If the United States, specially the Sandy-hit New York City, New Jersey and other urban and rural population centres will be the same again? As of today and days and weeks ahead life would remain suspended. The water is all-round the place, flooding subway tunnels. Given the underground transport system is quite old and salty water has played havoc with steel tracks, it won't be easy to bring it back to its full utilisation, making intercity travel a lingering problem. Even if the Manhattan sits on hard rock quite a part of the sprawling mega city is likely to lose structural strength. Even when the federal government has committed generous assistance to rebuild the transport infrastructure and restoring financial health of the affected businesses and help people refurbish their homes by declaring their plight as 'major disasters', early recovery is not contemplated - forcing the next US administration to look homeward in spite of America's global engagements. More importantly, the rebellious man would have learnt to live in harmony at peace with Nature. Sandy has exposed the profound vulnerability of mankind, a message that is expected to sink deeper in human consciousness. Even the best of arrangements collapse when Nature strikes back - which other country on Planet Earth could be better equipped to defend itself against high winds, incessant rains, heavy snows and meters-high tidal waves than America?