Disaster - Forces Beyond Our Control

I saw this house in Minot, North Dakota the other day.  I stopped, hoping to speak with the owner, but no one was around.  I wanted to ask him (I assume, “him”. I could be wrong) why he believes that the flooding of the Souris River in Minot represents the “worst manmade disaster.”  Even with the catastrophic flooding and the destruction of thousands of homes, there were no deaths and only a few injuries. 

The word “Disaster” comes from two Greek words δυσ-, (dus-) "bad” and στήρ (aster), "star". It reflects a belief in astrological forces that influence one’s life, forces beyond human control.

And certainly disasters are beyond human control (natural disasters, anyway…). When floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and hurricanes occur there is little that we can do to stop them.  We can prepare, we can mitigate, we can respond, but we cannot control.

And we want, above all, to be able to control our lives.