Haitian news already starting to ebb (Jan. 22)
By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune
As a people, we have a relatively short attention span, and as a result, the earthquakes in Haiti are gradually moving off the front pages of newspapers and are being seen less as big lead items on television news shows.
That doesn’t mean the Haitians’ plight still isn’t in the news, but it does mean that slowly it will move out of the way for other, fresher events.
That always happens. At first, news of big disasters is so riveting, people can’t seem to get enough. Then, slowly they do get enough, and gradually, except for those directly affected, interest wanes. That is even though the Haitian quake may have been one of the most deadly and destructive on record.
Here are some others:
Hurricane Katrina — Aug. 29, 2005; 1,836 people died as a result of the storm. Property damage in excess of $100 billion, mainly from winds and flooding. Eighty percent of New Orleans was flooded.
Hurricane Mitch — Oct. 9, 1998; Some 9,000 people died in Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador, and 56 died in the U.S.
Rwandan Genocide — April through July 1994; Estimates of death toll range between 500,000 and 1 million. Hutu tribe killed off members of Tutsi tribe, along with moderate Hutus who didn’t agree with the Hutu power ideology. UN stayed out of the fight because it was considered an internal affair.
Indian Ocean Tsunami — Dec. 26, 2004; 230,000 people killed in 14 countries. Second-largest earthquake on record.
The Tunguska Event — June 30, 1908; this enormous explosion, likely the result of a meteorite exploding over the Tunguska area of Siberia. It flattened trees over an area of 830 square miles. The area was sparsely populated, and as a result few casualties were recorded. It was the biggest explosion ever detected.
