Whistling in the Dark

They're on the move again. Rescue crews from the Bay Area are heading out to do whatever they can in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Presently the expectations are thirty days to get the water out of the city of New Orleans, then countless weeks, months, even years to rebuild. At last check, there were still people stuck in their attics, waiting for the waters to recede.
Way back in 1906, when San Francisco was all but destroyed by an earthquake and subsequent fires, by Imperial decree on the 30th Day of the Third Moon from Empress Dowager of China to send 100,000 tales as a personal contribution to the relief of the San Francisco sufferers. President Theodore Roosevelt declined the offer, as well as donations from other foreign governments. Governor Pardee told a newspaper reporter, “The work of rebuilding San Francisco has commenced, and I expect to see the great metropolis replaced on a much grander scale than ever before.”
Then there was that little shift of the plates in 1989 - I was watching the World Series, and made the off-hand comment to no one in particular (from the safety of seismically retro-fitted Colorado) "The only way the Giants are going to win this one is if the earth opens up and swallows the A's." I should probably be more careful about what I wish for. The fires only burned for hours, not for days, and fewer people lost their lives as a result of the Loma Prieta earthquake.
In the meantime, there have been fires, floods, landslides and incidental seismic events, but nothing on the scale of the seasonal pounding that has taken place on the southeast corner of the United States. We keep tossing the dice, and coming up sevens out here in earthquake country. For now, our hearts and thoughts are with the folks stuck up there in their attics, looking forward to a time when they can think about lending a helping hand to those poounfortunateses out in California.