The hurricanes and earthquakes have been hitting our world left and right. People are dying, towns and cities are lying in ruins, and overall the catastrophe has created a giant mess that may take months, even years to clean up. People need to be aware of the terrible events surrounding us instead of avoiding them and pretending that they aren’t there. We need to pitch in and lend a hand.
Central Mexico, on Sept. 19, 2017 experienced a dangerous 7.1 magnitude earthquake, killing roughly 337 people and wounding nearly 4,500 others. A teenager in Cancun, Mexico, Salma Massuttier, was interviewed. Translated, she said, “In my school, we donate to the victims. In the cities, there are many centers for collection for those affected by the earthquakes.”
Actions are taking place to save those who have been severely impacted by the earthquakes. Quite a few people have lost their families and loved ones to the disasters. Massuttier said, “Many people lost relatives and there were even people killed by the collapsing of buildings, including schools where children died from the collapse of construction. People lost homes, their possessions and documents. There are roads completely destroyed, among many ugly things that happened.”
To many, it is quite a shock to see that their country is crumbling because of the dangers. Massuttier said, “It’s horrible to think that these disasters are happening in my country, to think there are many affected by the earthquakes and even lost their families and housing because of them.”
Massuttier lives a little ways from the earthquakes, and is quite thankful her and her family have not been injured or hurt in the process. She also said, “Thanks to God, the area where I live nothing serious has happened, but I have friends in Mexico City where there was the earthquake, but they are well.”
Farther north, hurricanes are causing chaos. September, so far the strongest ever recorded hurricane month, has recorded three terrible and life threatening tropical storms. Named throughout the alphabet, they are: Harvey, Irma, and Jose.
Jordyn Faelber, a freshman at HR, was questioned about what she thought about the hurricanes and what we could do to help. She said, “I think natural disasters are horrible occurrences. Unfortunately, we can’t do much about them. They cause a lot of destruction to a lot of people. I feel like one thing we can prevent, though, is how many people get hurt or die if we all pitch in to rescue efforts and give our full support to people impacted.”
People even further upstate and all around the world know people who have been affected. Kelsey Lane, a sophomore in Illinois, said, “I have a few friends here in the US who weren’t hurt directly by the hurricane, but were predicted to be hit. One friend had their school’s starting date delayed because of the threat of a hurricane. There was one person special to me in Mexico who wasn’t directly hurt, but was affected by the earthquakes.”
Everyone needs to pitch in one way or another. Lane said, “I know that there are lots of different ways to help with both causes, mostly donating money, but there are more hands-on ways for some people to help.”
We all need to lend a hand. If you would like to donate to the earthquake victims in Mexico, some reputable charities are the Mexican Red Cross and GlobalGiving, according to the New York Times. If you would like to donate to hurricane Harvey, the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund and Houston Food Bank are some other good places to give to also according to the New York Times.
If we all donate a small amount to the victims, the recovery for these disasters will surely go faster than if we sit here and only hope things get better.
Danielle Black, Staff Reporter
