Hundreds dead. An entire city wiped out.
No, this isn't Iraq, which is still experiencing bomb attacks — like the one a few days ago in the north part of the country — that kill hundreds. This is the South American nation of Peru:
The death toll along Peru’s earthquake-ravaged southern coast climbed to 510 today, a top fire department official said, with at least 17,000 people displaced and wide areas without power, telephone service or road access.
The city of Pisco was hit especially hard; its mayor estimated that 70% of the city is now wiped out. At least 300 have died in port city Pisco, which is located "about 125 miles south of Lima", the nation's capitol, says the NYT (above).
Aftershocks have continued on Peru's coast.
This summer has been crowded with natural disasters: floods in South Asia (which has affected millions; probably the worst disaster of the year, plus it was ignored by some areas of the MSM), heatwaves in Eastern Europe, and other incidents, including some in already-famished North Korea, not to mention this earthquake in Peru. These past few months have also seen carnage caused by humans: bombs in Iraq; the usual killing sprees around the globe resulting in destruction and woe for many.
Depressing as this all is, the best one can do is see if one can help: donate time or money, or at least alert others to the humanitarian plight of others. It may not be the cheeriest of subjects, but ignoring world events won't do anyone any good. One cannot just turn a blind eye to the blood being split and do nothing and expect things to fix themselves. If you can do something to help, then why not do it?
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