Tsunami my ass

[illusionofjoy]

Vincent Creel, a spokesman for the Mississippi Gulf Coast city of Biloxi is calling the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina "our tsunami."

Leave it to a politician to cheapen the impact of a disaster by comparing it to a previous disaster. That doesn't rile me nearly as much as the fact that he's fucking with the terminology. If I may direct Mr. Creel to a dictionary:

tsu·na·mi (ts-näm) n.

A very large ocean wave caused by an underwater earthquake or volcanic eruption.

hur·ri·cane (hûr-kn, hr-) n.

1. A severe tropical cyclone originating in the equatorial regions of the Atlantic Ocean or Caribbean Sea or eastern regions of the Pacific Ocean, traveling north, northwest, or northeast from its point of origin, and usually involving heavy rains.
2. A wind with a speed greater than 74 miles (119 kilometers) per hour, according to the Beaufort scale.
3. Something resembling a hurricane in force or speed.

You see? Not the same thing!

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In other news, slight drizzle in Pittsburgh, but no heavy rains nor flood warnings...yet.

Comments

[illusion-of-joy.livejournal.com]

Not only the huge disparity in loss of life, but also the fact that everyone along the Gulf coast knew that Katrina was coming and were basically told, "get the hell out," while nobody saw the Asian tsunami coming until it was too late.