On
April 17th a Central Texas fertilizer plant exploded killing
fourteen people and forever changing the lives of a whole community. The explosion occurred in the small town of
West, Texas but was heard and felt from miles outside of the town.
There are many aspects of the
explosion that can compare to the Boston Molasses flood such as the devastation
left in the accidents’ wake. Both accidents resulted in millions of dollars in damage
and the emotional toll of the people who lived in both communities. Another
similarity between the two catastrophes was the death toll. In the wake of both
catastrophes the death toll was not extremely high with 21 deaths resulting
from the molasses flood and 14 deaths resulting from the plant explosion. In
both disasters the damages were similar, with a lot of property damage
involving houses and businesses alike.
The major difference between the
two disasters is the cause. The Texas Fertilizer plant explosion was ruled as
an accident whereas the Boston Molasses Food can be traced back to faulty
rushed construction and the ignorance of those in charge of the tank.
Kim, when you mentioned the low death toll in both tragedies it make me think. I wonder how individuals in our society evaluate catastrophes. There are so many variables: death toll,cause, monetary damage, etc. We view the Boston Marathon as a major tragedy,but how is it viewed by other countries? I think the tragedy of 9/11 was viewed as catastrophic by the whole world, but is it because of the magnitude of it, the death toll, the fact that it was caused by terrorists, the complex orchestration of it, or because it was the World Trade Center? When a disaster occurs in a foreign country, particularly in a third world country, do Americans have the same reaction as they do when tragedy strikes in the U.S.? When you hear about a train wreck in Turkey do you give it the same attention you would if it happened in New Jersey?
ReplyDeleteTroy, you make a very interesting point. I too am curious as to how people from other countries see our catastrophes. Do they view our catastrophes like I view theirs? For instance when I first heard about the marathon bombings I was at my aunts house. My sister and I just stared at the television for hours and we could not believe it. I found myself constantly watching the news to see what was going on. But when I watch the news and hear stories about things like the riots in Egypt that have similar if not larger death tolls I find myself changing the channel.
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