A disaster's a disaster, but this puts things into perspective

A couple of weeks ago I interviewed Louisiana homeland security Director Mark Cooper. We talked about a lot of things: his time at Parkway High School, communication systems and disaster response. One of the interesting things he said was that a tornado in a rural parish can be just as devastating for a small town as Hurricane Katrina was to New Orleans.

I appreciate that perspective on many levels. I grew up in the country and am aware of how folks in places like Webster Parish can be overlooked when something (natural disaster or otherwise) happens.

But I can't help but think how much worse things could be, and how fortunate we are. With the cyclone in Myanmar and the earthquake in China, the number of those feared dead is in the tens of thousands. And to make things worse, the government in Myanmar is blocking much of the aid the United States and other countries are trying to send.

Any thoughts? Should we count our blessings or just keep things in perspective?