Rambling a bit
Jan. 18th, 2007 10:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pezHaving come from a different country, it's always hard to feel satisfied. When I'm here and I see people doing things a stupid way, I think "why don't they do it the way they do at home!" and vice versa.
At home, because of typhoons, there's an established system. At Grade 3, young school children don't have to go to school. At Grade 8, all schools stop running and public exams get postponed, people who haven't gone to work yet are to stay home, people who are at work should go home if deemed safe, or stay at work otherwise. Etc etc. And then there was this once, when I was quite small (think I was 10) but I do remember, when there was no typhoon but a very, very bad storm. My mum tried to get my dad to drive me and my sisters to school, but my dad just said "it's raining so bad, just don't go to school!"
Now, back in those days, the concept of "not going to school" just... didn't exist in our minds. My sisters and I were like: O_O HUH??? It was a completely foreign idea.
But it turned out my dad's decision was a right one. That day, loads of landslides happened everywhere. A residential building, I think it was some 15-20 storeys tall, was half buried. And I remember the news saying that a man drove his kids to school, and then got killed on the way back because of landslides. A lot of people died that day.
Anyway, from that day on, we got the rainstorm warning system as well. When it's yellow, people should be on alert. When it's red, the kids stay home. When it's black, everyone stay home (and pray).
Of course, that was way back when and since then, a lot of landslide prevention work has happened. Even when we do get black storm warning now, there is usually just major flooding. There are people who'd need to be rescued from home in low lying land, of course, but deaths are uncommon because people know they are to stay home/where to seek shelter. Children get taught in school the different weather warnings, too.
Now, UK is a very different place. Because of its scale, telling people to "not go to work" nationally is probably a very bad idea economically. But now that freak weather is getting so un-freaky/common, isn't it time to establish some sort of a system? Isn't there anything anybody can do?
At home, because of typhoons, there's an established system. At Grade 3, young school children don't have to go to school. At Grade 8, all schools stop running and public exams get postponed, people who haven't gone to work yet are to stay home, people who are at work should go home if deemed safe, or stay at work otherwise. Etc etc. And then there was this once, when I was quite small (think I was 10) but I do remember, when there was no typhoon but a very, very bad storm. My mum tried to get my dad to drive me and my sisters to school, but my dad just said "it's raining so bad, just don't go to school!"
Now, back in those days, the concept of "not going to school" just... didn't exist in our minds. My sisters and I were like: O_O HUH??? It was a completely foreign idea.
But it turned out my dad's decision was a right one. That day, loads of landslides happened everywhere. A residential building, I think it was some 15-20 storeys tall, was half buried. And I remember the news saying that a man drove his kids to school, and then got killed on the way back because of landslides. A lot of people died that day.
Anyway, from that day on, we got the rainstorm warning system as well. When it's yellow, people should be on alert. When it's red, the kids stay home. When it's black, everyone stay home (and pray).
Of course, that was way back when and since then, a lot of landslide prevention work has happened. Even when we do get black storm warning now, there is usually just major flooding. There are people who'd need to be rescued from home in low lying land, of course, but deaths are uncommon because people know they are to stay home/where to seek shelter. Children get taught in school the different weather warnings, too.
Now, UK is a very different place. Because of its scale, telling people to "not go to work" nationally is probably a very bad idea economically. But now that freak weather is getting so un-freaky/common, isn't it time to establish some sort of a system? Isn't there anything anybody can do?
