Star comment: Power of nature is terrifying

The devastating earthquake in Nepal has killed thousands, crushed communities and left large numbers homeless.

Here in Britain we are spared disasters of such magnitude. Shropshire's own earthquake 25 years ago, in April 1990, rattled some chimney pots and shook some buildings. We thought it was something, but it was nothing.

In the general election campaign, the health or otherwise of the economy is high on the politicians' agenda. There are arguments about tax, about the future of the NHS, and this and that.

Meanwhile life and death issues are being played out in Nepal. In so many ways Britain enjoys a stability which some other nations cannot count on. Our own natural disasters, like widespread flooding, bring inconvenience and some destruction but we are spared a death toll on the scale we have seen caused by earthquakes and tsunamis.

The communications revolution has meant that news from Nepal reaches us today in an instant. What might once have been an item on the inside page of a national newspaper is brought into our homes in all its drama and heartbreak. Looking the other way has never been more difficult.

There are enormous challenges and difficulties, but there is a positive in that Britons have been stirred, and spurred to action.

The shrinking of the world means that Shropshire and Salopians, thousands of miles away, can play their part. The immediate task is one of rescue and medical aid for the injured, and support for those driven from their homes.

Only a relatively few Salopians will be in a position to help directly in these things in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, but almost all will be able to do their bit in other ways, specifically through raising and donating money to improve the situation on the ground in the short term, and in the longer term to help finance the rebuilding of a shattered country.

Already one Shropshire man is seeking to raise £25,000.

A week from now Salopians and Britons generally will go to the polls. Who governs the country will make a difference. It is a luxury to choose without fear.

Events in Nepal are a reminder that there are places on this Earth which are at the mercy of forces beyond any control or governance by mankind.