When natural disaster hits there are usually more questions than

answers. Why did this happen? Can something like this be

prevented from happening again? What does this all mean? In the

wake of Hurricane Katrina, people are asking these and many

other questions. As people come to grips with what has occurred

it is natural for there to be curiosity about previous natural

disasters in our planet's past.

There are a number of audio books that deal with the subject of

natural disasters and can help give people context and

understanding during tragic times. Often the best way to prevent

future disaster is to understand what happened in the past and

take action to prevent mistakes that might have led to the event

or increased its impact. Here are some resources that you may

want to consider listening to.

"Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded" is the incredible story

of the 1883 eruption of the volcano and the subsequent tsunami

that killed almost 40,000 people. Simon Winchester narrates this

tale of disaster and the ramifications of it on the surrounding

area. On the other side of the world, a less catastrophic but

more recent disaster is detailed in "Fire on the Mountain", the

tale of a forest fire in Colorado on July 3, 1994. This fire

claimed the lives of 14 firefighters and ranks as one of the

deadliest days in the history of firefighting.

Blizzards and snowstorms are often tragic causes of death.

"Blizzard! The Storm That Changed America" recounts the blizzard

of 1888 that hit the Eastern Coast of the United States. This

blizzard resulted in the death of 400 people, the sinking of 200

ships and snowdrifts that reached 50 feet in height. Climbers

that challenge the world's highest peaks often come face to face

with Mother Nature as well. Iconic climber Anatoli Boukreev's

"The Climb" and Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air" both tell the

haunting story of the 1996 attempts to scale Everest during

which weather conditions contributed to the death of eight

climbers.

There are even podcasts related to natural disasters. The

Disaster News Network (DNN) puts out a regular podcast which has

covered recent events such as the Indonesian earthquake and of

course Hurricane Katrina. Another podcast that has covered the

hurricane from a scientific perspective is the Science Friday

podcast which is a production of NPR. Both of these podcasts are

free to listen to and provide an alternative view of recent

events.

Listening to audio books about natural disasters can't take the

sting of these disasters away but it can help to give us a

better historical perspective and show us the remarkable

resilience of human beings even when the worst possible scenario

has unfolded.