Title – Hundreds feared dead in freak flood – 28th September 2009 (The Times)
Title – It feels as though we are in a war – 2nd October 2009 (The Times)
Title – Hunt for survivors as tsunami death toll nears 200 – 2nd October 2009 (The Times)
Title – British boy aged 2 lost in tsunami – 30th September 2009 (London Lite)
It has been a terrible few days; we have once again been reminded that for all our technological advances, the earth’s power is still something we can not control, predict accurately or defend ourselves against.
Several hundred dead in the South Pacific following a devastating tsunami; hundreds dead in the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos after tropical storm Ketsana wrought havoc and flooding across the region; and destruction on an unimaginable scale in Sumatra from an earthquake which destroyed most of Pedang and the surrounding region, killing a yet to be determined number of people, but a number which will undoubtedly end up being in the thousands.
These are the headlines which have greeted us over the last week and in each case tourists have found themselves amongst the casualties.
These three instances have been so devastating that floods in India which killed over 80 people, landslides in Italy which killed over 50 and drought in East Africa which threatens hundreds of thousands and is destroying wildlife at a rate unseen in many years, have hardly featured.
There are three reasons why I have decided to include these articles in this blog;
The first is that having visited Sumatra and the Philippines as well as much of the Pacific, I can never help but feel a connection with these places and the people who live there. I think that it is undoubtedly true when you travel, you leave a little bit of yourself behind at each place you visit. So when something terrible happens, your sadness for those people who suffer as a result of these occurrences is that much more personal.
The second is that it is obviously important to understand more about the dangers of travel for people going for the first time. During our workshop we discuss the different types of natural disasters which occur and strategies for avoiding those which are ‘predictable’. In the UK we are ‘lucky’ to have a stable climate, not always the climate we would like, but even the most violent storm rarely cause the widespread destruction seen in Southeast Asia. We do not have to deal with earthquakes or the resulting tsunamis, it can make us very complacent to the sheer power of natural disasters such as these and the consequences. They can be seen as a photo opportunity rather than life threatening dangers which can quickly turn from ‘interesting’ to deadly.
The third is that travel undoubtedly generates ‘green-house gasses’ which play a role in the weather patterns which lead to storms, floods, droughts and climate change. I have never been an advocate of stopping people from travelling because of climate change, but the effects of travel need to be reduced to a minimum and where feasible ‘reparation’ measures taken to replace the carbon emissions our travel generates.
These disasters have a devastating effect on local communities, they need help but they don’t need tourists adding to the burden. Tourists should be aware of potential disasters and be able to act in a manner to protect themselves and to avoid adding to the local burden which when these occurrences happen are stretched to breaking point as it is. Often the best intentions of tourist trying to help (when they are not specialist aid or disaster recovery teams) are unwelcome and slow the rescue and recovery effort rather than helping them.
I have never seen disaster on this scale, but I have been in floods, earthquakes and witnessed minor volcanic activity as well as experiencing a tropical storm on one of the most isolated islands in the world and the tail of a cyclone while on a boat in the Philippines. None of these experiences would I care to repeat and none even come close to these recent disasters. I go out of my way to avoid any repeats and I wince when I hear stories of people who think it is heroic to get through such experiences; not avoiding these situations when you have the opportunity to is not brave it is stupid, dangerous and irresponsible. As travellers we often have the opportunity to avoid the worst effects of local disasters, whenever that opportunity presents itself we have a duty to take it. If you want to help… send a cheque.
These disaster areas need our help. While we argue at home about banker bonuses and if we should restrict the many billions they pay themselves to just a few billion, these places just need a fraction of that money; you can help by visiting www.dec.org.uk.
At Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness Workshop (GYITSA) considers issues of Travel Safety, alongside sessions on Travel Health, Ethical and Responsible Travel, Travel Equipment, Travel Insurance, Destination Advice, Transport Options, Documentation, Travel Money and Insurance and more.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.
For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.
Title – It feels as though we are in a war – 2nd October 2009 (The Times)
Title – Hunt for survivors as tsunami death toll nears 200 – 2nd October 2009 (The Times)
Title – British boy aged 2 lost in tsunami – 30th September 2009 (London Lite)
It has been a terrible few days; we have once again been reminded that for all our technological advances, the earth’s power is still something we can not control, predict accurately or defend ourselves against.
Several hundred dead in the South Pacific following a devastating tsunami; hundreds dead in the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos after tropical storm Ketsana wrought havoc and flooding across the region; and destruction on an unimaginable scale in Sumatra from an earthquake which destroyed most of Pedang and the surrounding region, killing a yet to be determined number of people, but a number which will undoubtedly end up being in the thousands.
These are the headlines which have greeted us over the last week and in each case tourists have found themselves amongst the casualties.
These three instances have been so devastating that floods in India which killed over 80 people, landslides in Italy which killed over 50 and drought in East Africa which threatens hundreds of thousands and is destroying wildlife at a rate unseen in many years, have hardly featured.
There are three reasons why I have decided to include these articles in this blog;
The first is that having visited Sumatra and the Philippines as well as much of the Pacific, I can never help but feel a connection with these places and the people who live there. I think that it is undoubtedly true when you travel, you leave a little bit of yourself behind at each place you visit. So when something terrible happens, your sadness for those people who suffer as a result of these occurrences is that much more personal.
The second is that it is obviously important to understand more about the dangers of travel for people going for the first time. During our workshop we discuss the different types of natural disasters which occur and strategies for avoiding those which are ‘predictable’. In the UK we are ‘lucky’ to have a stable climate, not always the climate we would like, but even the most violent storm rarely cause the widespread destruction seen in Southeast Asia. We do not have to deal with earthquakes or the resulting tsunamis, it can make us very complacent to the sheer power of natural disasters such as these and the consequences. They can be seen as a photo opportunity rather than life threatening dangers which can quickly turn from ‘interesting’ to deadly.
The third is that travel undoubtedly generates ‘green-house gasses’ which play a role in the weather patterns which lead to storms, floods, droughts and climate change. I have never been an advocate of stopping people from travelling because of climate change, but the effects of travel need to be reduced to a minimum and where feasible ‘reparation’ measures taken to replace the carbon emissions our travel generates.
These disasters have a devastating effect on local communities, they need help but they don’t need tourists adding to the burden. Tourists should be aware of potential disasters and be able to act in a manner to protect themselves and to avoid adding to the local burden which when these occurrences happen are stretched to breaking point as it is. Often the best intentions of tourist trying to help (when they are not specialist aid or disaster recovery teams) are unwelcome and slow the rescue and recovery effort rather than helping them.
I have never seen disaster on this scale, but I have been in floods, earthquakes and witnessed minor volcanic activity as well as experiencing a tropical storm on one of the most isolated islands in the world and the tail of a cyclone while on a boat in the Philippines. None of these experiences would I care to repeat and none even come close to these recent disasters. I go out of my way to avoid any repeats and I wince when I hear stories of people who think it is heroic to get through such experiences; not avoiding these situations when you have the opportunity to is not brave it is stupid, dangerous and irresponsible. As travellers we often have the opportunity to avoid the worst effects of local disasters, whenever that opportunity presents itself we have a duty to take it. If you want to help… send a cheque.
These disaster areas need our help. While we argue at home about banker bonuses and if we should restrict the many billions they pay themselves to just a few billion, these places just need a fraction of that money; you can help by visiting www.dec.org.uk.
At Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness Workshop (GYITSA) considers issues of Travel Safety, alongside sessions on Travel Health, Ethical and Responsible Travel, Travel Equipment, Travel Insurance, Destination Advice, Transport Options, Documentation, Travel Money and Insurance and more.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.
For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.
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