Terrorists love New York City. No doubt about it. While conservative heartland folk and probably the entire population of Utah may avoid the Big Apple like the plague, the city is an almost exclusive favored target of terrorists, both foreign and domestic. Throughout the last century, the U.S. fell victim to just five attacks, and all but one played out in the city that never sleeps. As you no doubt remember, Oklahoma City is the odd man out. The city that saw Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols exact a revenge attack for the Branch Dividians (or so they claimed) via the cowardly act of leaving a car bomb outside a federal building that killed 168 people, including 19 children. The remaining four attacks occurred in New York City as follows: On Sept. 16, 1920, bombs in a horse-drawn carriage on Wall Street killed 35; Jan. 24, 1975 was the day Puerto Rican nationalists decided to destroy NYCs historical Fraunces Tavern, killing four; the World Trade Center got its first taste of terrorism when a bomb exploded in the garage, killing six and injuring 1,040; and, of course, the recent Sept. 11 disaster.

This last attack, of course, will reverberate forever in American history. The sight of planes crashing into the World Trade Centers twin towers, the towers subsequent collapse and the devastating aftermath is permanently seared into the countrys collective memory, as will the estimated death toll of 5,000-plus. Most likely anyone above the age of 12, and probably younger, will forever be able to recall exactly where they were and what they were doing when the WTC attack began. And the American media will make damn sure we wont forget and cant ignore the activities to come.

But, even if only for the next few minutes, this little American member of the media is going to try. Dont get me wrong: Im not advising you to stick your head in the sand, coming up for air only when Operation Enduring Freedom is over, however insipid that name may be. That would be horribly irresponsible and monumentally stupid. One must be informed if one is to remain prepared for any further eventualities that may occur (anthrax, anyone?). However, I did think this was certainly as good a time as any to remind our faithful readers that, while terrorists have indeed claimed more than 5,213 American lives (and the current war, God forbid, will most likely end in many more), there is still a far more vicious and unprejudiced harbinger of death afoot: Mother Nature.

At this point youre probably thinking Im off my fucking gourd, but hear me out. Yes, terrorists are bad. Yes, they deserve to be brought to justice. And no, it is not my intention to make light of the situation at hand. I merely wish to bring to your attention the number of people who lost their lives not because their countrys leaders pissed off some violent religious or military faction. No, these people were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, forced to discover the hard way that Mother Nature is an equal-opportunity destroyer. So, for your Useless Info edification, I offer some of the worst or most noteworthy natural disasters around the world not throughout the last century, but from only the last 21 years.

Cyclones & Hurricanes

1980: Aug. 3-10; Caribbean Islands to Gulf of Texas; hurricane; 228 dead
1985: October-November; Louisiana and the Southeast; hurricane; 63 dead
1988: Sept. 12-17; Caribbean Sea to Gulf of Mexico; hurricane; 260+ dead
1989: Sept. 10-22; Caribbean Sea, North Carolina, South Carolina; hurricane; 71 dead 1991: April 30; Southeast Bangladesh; cyclone; 131,000+ dead
1992: Aug. 22-26; Bahamas, South Florida, Louisiana; hurricane; 26 dead
1994: Nov. 8-21; Caribbean and South Florida; 1,122 dead in Haiti, eight in Florida
1995: Nov. 29; Florida panhandle and Alabama; hurricane; nine dead
1996: Sept. 5; North Carolina and Virginia; hurricane; 37 dead
1997: Oct. 8-10; Southern Mexico; hurricane; 217 dead
1998: Sept. 20-29; Caribbean, Florida Keys, Gulf Coast; hurricane; estimated 600 dead.
Oct. 26-Nov. 4; Central America; hurricane; 11,000+ dead
1999: Sept. 14-18; Bahamas to New England; hurricane; 75 dead
Oct. 29; Orissa state, India; cyclone; estimated 9,573 dead
2001: June 8-12; Southeast Texas, Louisiana, Florida; hurricane; 31 dead


Floods, Avalanches & Tidal Waves

1988: August-September; Bangladesh; monsoon; 1,300 dead
1993: June-August; Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin; floods; 50 dead
1997: December 1996-January 1997; U.S. West Coast; floods; 36 dead March, Ohio and Mississippi valleys; floods; 67 dead
1998: July 17; Papua New Guinea; tidal waves; 2,000+ dead Summer; Central and Northeast China; flooding; 3,000 dead
1999: Summer; Asia; flooding; 950+ dead October; Southeast Mexico; flood; 360 dead November-December; Vietnam; floods & mudslides; estimated 5,000- 20,000 dead
2000: February; Southeast Asia; floods; estimated 700 dead Mid-September; Thailand, Cambodia & Vietnam; floods; 235 dead

Earthquakes

1985: Sept. 19-20; Central and Southwest Mexico; estimated 25,000 dead
Nov. 14-16; Colombia; estimated 25,000 dead
1988: Dec. 7; Armenia, Colombia; nearly 25,000 dead
1989: June 21; Northwest Iran; 50,000+ dead
July 16; Northern Philippines; 2,000 dead
1993: Jan. 17; San Fernando Valley, Calif.; 61 dead
1995: Jan. 17; Osaka, Kyoto & Kobe, Japan; 5,100 dead
1997: May 12; Northeast Iran; 1,500 dead
June-September; Southern Montserrat; 20 dead
1998: May 30; Northern Afghanistan; estimated 5,000 dead
1999: Jan. 25; Armenia, Colombia; 1,124 dead
Aug. 17; Northwest Turkey; 17,000+ dead
Sept. 21; Central Taiwan; 2,295 dead
Nov. 12; Northwest Turkey; 700 dead
2001: Jan. 13; El Salvador; 844 dead
Jan. 26; Bhuj, India; 20,000+ dead


Kling

Kelli K currently resides in Tampa and is a copy editor of Weekly Planet Inc.

*Information compiled from www.infoplease.com, Colliers Encyclopedia c1997 and Encyclopedia Britannica c2002.