August 31, 2008: On the eve of Hurricane Gustav

Some fearful memories come to mind as Mississippi and Louisiana brace for a storm that is forecasted to bear down on their coastlines in the next few hours. Same trajectory as Katrina, about the same size..  I am reminded of my experiences there just two years ago when I saw the kind of devastation that these storms can wreak. 

I question now whether people should rebuild the same old homes in these towns, which are so susceptible to disaster. I think rebuilding is important to bring hope and purpose to survivors. But people need to be smarter about where to build and, especially, how to build. If the storm surge comes back, and the floodwaters linger, all that work done in the past 3 years would have been wasted. 

The same thing is happening on the other side of the planet, in Sichuan province here in China. A few interesting details (none which I can confirm) is that according to my boss, Li Hu, the authorities are rebuilding as fast as they can, without really researching better construction methods. And the whole region is continuing to experience large-scale earthquakes. From another colleague, these earthquakes may be partly caused by the pressure-build-up from the newly built Three Gorges Dam near Chongqing. Whatever it may be, poor architecture is the reason for causalties.. and we need to encourage smarter ways to build.

Remembering Katrina: our missions team meeting Deborah, a jewelry designer who had moved back to Bay St. Louis to start a business.