Nature strikes!

Powerful winds of almost 100 kmph hit Los Angeles last week, knocking down trees and power lines and leaving more than 300,000 people without electricity. Some of the worst damage happened in our neighbourhood of South Pasadena.

The first night the storm hit the city, the screens blew off our windows, rubbish bins flew across the alley behind our house and a tree fell on my neighbour’s house. I had never experienced weather like that in my life. It felt like the end of the world!

We fell asleep to the sound of wind howling, trees cracking and transformers blowing up, and woke up to find that our neighbourhood had become a disaster zone. There were fallen trees all over the roads, the traffic lights weren't working, and most of the shops and restaurants were closed because they had no electricity.

It could have been a lot worse of course. Other parts of the country get hurricanes with winds strong enough to destroy buildings and hurt or even kill people. But last week's wind storms reminded all of us Angelinos how powerful nature is, and how powerless we are in comparison.