Will 2010 turn out to be 2012?

by Prabuddha ATHUKORALA

Mayans predicted that this world known by us will no longer be in existence by Dec 2012. In fact, the 2012 apocalypse theory has made headlines all around the world to such an extent, that many intellects have openly started debating about the possible outcomes. Yet, opinion is still divided while most are on the grounds that it is nothing but a false alarm.

Mother Nature may have a totally different plan. If one looks over the events that occurred during the past two months a horrid pattern begins to emerge, and if that is anything to go by, 2010 could well turn out to be a year nature takes its toll on us on heavy proportions.

The best example occurred on the eve of 12th January, when the normally peaceful town of Port-au-Prince (capital of Haiti) suddenly shot to limelight. Haitians didn't have a clue what had hit them and by the time they came to grips with the situation, carnage of the earthquake had been already done.

Even though, it was only a magnitude 7 quake, the trail of destruction was enormous. Three million people were affected and over 200,000 identified as dead is testimony enough for the effect it has had on the Haiti life.

Just as Haiti was recovering from its calamities, a more powerful tremor which recorded as high as 8.8 on the Richter scale shocked Chile a few days ago. However, with its past for earthquake related activities Chileans were far better prepared to handle this disaster. As a result, a potentially major catastrophe was avoided and the casualties were limited to hundreds.

The affects of the earthquake propagated through the Pacific and was felt in areas as far as Japan and Australia in the form of tsunami threats.

Apart from these major events recently we also heard news that a massive iceberg split off from Antarctica's Mertz Glacier. Scientists are increasingly warning that the threat such events could have on the world weather patterns and eventually on ocean circulation system.

And the list doesn't end there, as there were reports of strong gushes of wind sweeping across Western Europe.

The storm Xynthia swept across countries such as France, Spain and Portugal damaging many homes and leaving more than a million households without electricity.

In some areas the hurricane caused water levels to rise, resulting in floods.

Thus, it is quite clear that the frequency of natural disasters occurring has increased at a frightening rate. And if nature continues to play with its inhabitants for the rest of the year, we face the prospect of experiencing many unpleasant experiences. With all this, it makes one wonder if the Mayans miscalculated by 2 years, and if 2010 could turn out to be the dreaded 2012......