Next disaster - your prediction

[ChrisT]

So in the past year we've had a major tsunami (or was that 2 years ago), hurricanes, floods on the east coast, fires in Calif., mud slides in Guatemala, earthquake in Pakistan...I'm sure there are other disasters I'm overlooking. What's next?

[catbirdseat]

The next disaster will be man-made. Either a terrorist attack or a big oil spill.

[archenemy]

It will be the plane I am on crashing into the ground at high speed.

[cj001f]

[underworld]

Terror in the middle east

[ChrisT]

 

pfft - he'll never beat me!

[Thinker]

So in the past year we've had a major tsunami (or was that 2 years ago), hurricanes, floods on the east coast, fires in Calif., mud slides in Guatemala, earthquake in Pakistan...I'm sure there are other disasters I'm overlooking. What's next?

 

does the bird flu virus mutating to infect humans qualify?

[foraker]

So in the past year we've had a major tsunami (or was that 2 years ago), hurricanes, floods on the east coast, fires in Calif., mud slides in Guatemala, earthquake in Pakistan...I'm sure there are other disasters I'm overlooking. What's next?

 

does the bird flu virus mutating to infect humans qualify?

 

only if FEMA doesn't do their job.

[Ducknut]

My vote would be for the cc.com server to crash.

 

BTW, FEMA has nothing to do with the Bird Flu. Homeland Security, CDC, USDA, WHO and others are all falling all over themselves. Keep in mind that it hasn't been found in North America yet and it still requires a mutation to become a human threat. You may now return to your Krispy Kremes and Starbucks.

[Jim]

Bird flu found on Europe's doorstep recently in Turkey. Hey Ducknut - are you guys keeping an eye on our ducks and such?

[underworld]

the bird flew in turkey? that's just fowl!

[TREETOAD]

The big disaster will not be avian flu but that GWB will be in power when it happens. Listening to him on the news makes me think that he is getting you ready for a little bit of martial law.

[catbirdseat]

My vote would be for the cc.com server to crash.

 

BTW, FEMA has nothing to do with the Bird Flu. Homeland Security, CDC, USDA, WHO and others are all falling all over themselves. Keep in mind that it hasn't been found in North America yet and it still requires a mutation to become a human threat. You may now return to your Krispy Kremes and Starbucks.

An epic struggle...must resist...urge to eat a second donut...must fight it...noooooo!

[archenemy]

My vote would be for the cc.com server to crash.

 

BTW, FEMA has nothing to do with the Bird Flu. Homeland Security, CDC, USDA, WHO and others are all falling all over themselves. Keep in mind that it hasn't been found in North America yet and it still requires a mutation to become a human threat. You may now return to your Krispy Kremes and Starbucks.

 

I thought that it was a human threat, but that it required further mutation to become communicable among humans (not just from bird to human) and thus become a pandemic-sized threat. Is that a gross oversimplification?

[TREETOAD]

The spanish flu was an avian virus that mutated.

[EWolfe]

The return of Trask

[Ducknut]

Jim-We are ever watchful of them ducks. Been working on survellience monitoring. Its unlikely we'll see migratory birds with avian flu in North America this year. If it does show, I'd bet on domestic poultry or smuggled wild birds.

 

Arch- Avian flu (H5N1) is capable of infecting humans. It is not yet capable of human to human transmission. If it does mutate and become spread human to human it could become pandemic flu like the Spanish Flu of 1918 like Treetoad indicated.

[TREETOAD]

We had outbreaks on the mainland here last year, and they destroyed millions of poultry birds. I believe that there is a mix in there somewhere with a cross over from birds to swine to humans. (swine flu) pretty scary stuff.

[EWolfe]

Major San Juan Fault quake.

[TREETOAD]

Thats another good one

[EWolfe]

Also, major subduction of Juan De Fuca Plate, more locally. link

 

We're WAY overdue.

 

Although the last giant earthquake hit Washington's coast 300 years ago, scientists say that the Cascadia Subduction Zone may be storing up energy to be released in the next catastrophic earthquake. The stresses detected off Washington's coast could generate a huge earthquake (magnitude 9 or more). That would rival the largest earthquake ever recorded. (A magnitude 8.7 earthquake would release 1,000 times the energy of the magnitude 6.6 earthquake that struck Los Angeles in 1994.)

Edited October 14, 2005 by MisterE

[Ducknut]

We had outbreaks on the mainland here last year, and they destroyed millions of poultry birds. I believe that there is a mix in there somewhere with a cross over from birds to swine to humans. (swine flu) pretty scary stuff.

 

Which Mainland? H5N1 has not been detected in North America. Mainland China, Vietnam, Russia all yes. There are a bunch of other avian flus out there.

[TREETOAD]

Lower mainland B.C. not h5 but another avian flu strain.

[ScottP]

So in the past year we've had a major tsunami (or was that 2 years ago), hurricanes, floods on the east coast, fires in Calif., mud slides in Guatemala, earthquake in Pakistan...I'm sure there are other disasters I'm overlooking. What's next?

 

does the bird flu virus mutating to infect humans qualify?

 

only if FEMA doesn't do their job.

 

Some guy named Stewart Simonson is the shrub's main man for a flu pandemic. The only problem is he has no public health management experience. Before joining HHS, he served as a corporate secretary and counsel for AMTRAK. He got his job because he is a close associate of ex-Health & Human Services honcho Tommy Thompson.

Sound familiar?

("Stewie's doin' a great job!")

[Ducknut]

Aside from pandemic flu and FEMA, do any of you wild and crazy Seattlites have an opinion on the effect of an eruption of Mt. Rainier and subsequent lahars?