Flooding & Devastation

The last few days have been the most difficult for kiwis in a long time.

The Cyclone had brought so much wind and rain that houses have been lost due to flood and landslide.
People have had to evacuate to their rooftop, 
and waited for the rescue crew to take them away from rising water.
Some have had to hold on to logs and trees for dear life.
Many farm animals have drowned.
Cows, horses, sheep, pigs...chickens...

People are having the worst time up north and along the east coast.
They have lost all they have. 
Some have even lost their family members.

I don't know what this means for our near future,
the next year, and the year after.
But this isn't looking good. 

Whether you think this is climate change,
or that you're a denialist and believe that this is just a natural cycle of the climate, 
this is not good.

The worst thing that could happen to someone, 
aside from illness and death, is losing one's home. 
One can be starving and thirsty for days, 
but to lose shelter - we don't manage well as people.

I cannot even just say "my heart goes out to those people whose lives and homes have been destroyed by the cyclone".
Because that doesn't contribute to anything at all.

What I do know is, 
Flooding wouldn't have happened if we had kept all the forests, instead of cutting all the trees down to turn them into farmlands.
If every one and every business/manufacturer actually cared
and did every little thing they could to minimise waste
and used all natural materials for all things produced for mass consumption, 
if we stopped cutting down forests and trees,
but kept all the trees alive and deep-rooted,
nature would have come across as much more merciful than it now is.