Over the past few months we've seen thousands of people killed and devastated by natural disasters in China, Burma and the Midwestern United States.  It seems cruel when nature's fickle hand traces a path of devastation and loss in the lives of so many innocent victims.  The lingering question associated with most natural disasters is how could we prepare.

No matter where you live, natural disasters are inevitable.  Sooner or later, Mother Nature will frown upon your corner of the globe and create pure havoc.  But in each disaster, there are at least two common features that amplify the suffering.  First, in most cases, affected communities just aren't prepared.  Neither cities nor individuals were ready. No water, no emergency shelter, no food, poor logistical support, and inadequate medical relief.

But the second feature seen in these disasters is the underlying poverty of the victims.  The death and suffering in China, Burma, and New Orleans were certainly made worse by the fragile economic condition of the affected populations.  Poor people have little in the way of reserve economic capacity.  Most had no warning, but those who did lacked options.  They didn't have a second home in a safer place and many had no transportation to flee the impending chaos.  Poor people lack the political clout that often demands more rapid governmental response to natural disasters.  And in the case of Katrina, race and class played a major roll in the slow and anemic response by FEMA and other agencies.  Many families, abandoned by the government and cut off from relief were characterized in the media as looters and criminals.

Sometimes, disaster brings out both the worst and the best in human nature.  This was certainly true in Burma and Katrina.  In each case we witnessed unspeakable brutality and awe inspiring compassion.  Our values, our characters and our resilience are best demonstrated in the harsh light of adversity and trial. We should all be prepared for the next disaster, but how we manage in crisis will be determined by the characters we develop today.  Hard times don't define us; they merely reveal who we already are.