It is really staggering to think about the number of deaths from catastrophes such as the cyclone that hit Myanmar or the great tsunami of 2005. It seems like wherever extremely poverty-stricken people gather en masse they sooner or later get wiped out by huge storms or other acts of nature. To a lesser extent in numbers of lives the same could be said about residents of trailer parks. A cynic much greater than I — if you believe he or she exists — would say that perhaps these people are getting punished for being so poor.

Of course, poverty does play a big part in why so many die in these events. They are overpopulated for various reasons. They live in close proximity with each other in great numbers. They are usually deprived of the technology or modern systems which could get them safely evacuated. So when **it hits the fan these poor folks find themselves being naturally depopulated.

It will be interesting to see if the great brain trust which heads the Myanmar government will allow aid in from the U.S. and our military. We can only hope so because a lots of folks need help and fast.