When Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar, it pushed a wall of water through the Irrawaddy Delta, a low-lying, densely populated area that had been stripped of its protective trees.The delta had lost most of its mangrove forests along the coast to shrimp farms and rice paddies over the past decade. That removed what scientists say is one of nature's best defenses against violent storms. iht.com
At least 65,000 people are dead or missing and entire villages are submerged in the Irrawaddy delta after Saturday's cyclone.
Plants are natural filters for sediment and slow down the natural violence of water.
Imagine Central Pennsylvania when it was only virgin forest. Streams didn't swell up after a rainstorm as they do today because water was trapped in trees and slowed by grasses. Slow running streams don't erode as quickly and become deep trenches so sediment from flooding has the opportunity to deposit on the banks and create fertile soil.
As with the mangrove forests, disturbing grasses on our coasts and increasing erosion of natural sand barriers leaves inland areas more vulnerable.
Humans are attracted to water and coastal areas for economy and aesthetics. The combination of reduced defense, increased population and the random fury of nature paints a picture of reoccurring disaster.
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