Watching the #Earthstorm #documentary series on #Netflix earlier and the first episode, #Tornado really hit me, emotionally.
The devastation they can cause had me feeling sad for people who go through them, even as I marveled at the video being shown.
Then they showed effects and after effects of storms, one in particular that struck Kentucky.
The stories are terrifying and heartbreaking. A woman and her two small children were carried away and survived, but her trauma, and others', remain.
The second episode, #Volcano, was less emotional for me because it focuses more on possibilities and long-past events.
It does have footage of the #Fuego eruption in #Guatemala a few years ago and there's one part that's just terrible as we see a person be overtaken by the incredibly fast-moving #pyroclastic flow that killed up to 2,000 people.
In both episodes there's video and audio by survivors as they're living through these events and the effects are visceral.
The last two episodes are #Earthquake and #Hurricane.
I've felt a couple of small earthquakes and been in and on the edge of several hurricanes.
Even though hurricanes are much larger and more destructive than tornados, it's twisters that terrify me most because they're basically unpredictable.
But the time when I was in the #Navy and we put out to sea and got caught in a hurricane for 12 hours was terrifying.
All Sky. All Water. Straight up the peak, straight down into the trough.
The #Earthquake episode of #Earthstorm is another one that hit me hard, first watching the devastation in #Northridge, #California, especially hearing the story of the Lee family, then seeing the relentless force of the #2011 #TÅhoku #tsunami in #Japan and hearing survivor stories.
The #GhostPhone made me cry.
I can imagine being in these situations, helpless, which is why I get so deeply affected.
The videos are amazing and terrifying records of nature's uncaring power.
My first was #Betsy in #1965 when we lived in #Miami, a bit Northwest of #KeyLargo where it officially made landfall in #Florida.
These storms, even "weak" ones, are like being in an extremely wide tornado for hours, 8 or more hours is not unusual, and they can spawn actual tornadoes and tornado-like microbursts.
#Ida reversed the course of the Mighty #Mississippi.
I've been in and near many, and they are never fun, as some think until they experience one.
I worked with a guy who loved #thunderstorms and always wanted to experience a #hurricane.
I kept telling him he absolutely did not want that experience, but he always dismissed me.
After #Andrew, he never wanted to go through another one.
And we were spared in #Broward county from a direct hit thanks to a southward wobble in the last 12-16 hours before landfall that sent the eye south of #Miami, instead.
Hurricanes aren't just big thunderstorms, they're destructive killers.
@dmwcg Knowing if we did go down, there was nothing the rest of the fleet could do because they were all just as helpless.
Feeling and hearing the entire ship shudder every time we slammed into the trough was the worst part.
Even the old salts were seasick and we were restricted to bed when not on watch or eating (mostly crackers), for safety.
Ricardo Harvin
dmwcg