I believe that such events are cyclic. That they happen every so many hundred years.

For example, a few hundred years ago our winters (here in the UK) were so severe that all our rivers froze. There is much documentation of the famous FROST FAIRS held on the river Thames when it was possible to walk from one bank to the other over the ice.

A few hundred years before that. the Romans were growing grapes in vinyards in the South of England as the climate was so temperate.

The difference today is that populations have increased to such an extent that people now live in large numbers in areas where such things happen.

We know that many problems are caused by building on flood plains, by making hillsides unstable through de-forestation and similar activities yet do nothing to prevent such follies.

It is heartbreaking to see these pictures of disasters across the world but they show us that we are insignificant beings when compared to the brute strength of nature.