In the short term, the Great Fire was a disaster for London.
The Comayagua prison fire was a disaster long foretold, but addressing the conditions that caused it can prevent a recurrence and show how even violence-plagued Honduras can successfully tackle a security crisis.
Yesterday's fire is a disaster because the pier had just been extensively revamped, but it may not have been completely destroyed: pier buildings burn easily, but their decking is of thick timber and the cast-iron substructure is solid.
+ Lifetime exposure to at least 3 different childhood traumatic events among the following: car or other accidents, being in a fire, witnessing a disaster, witnessing or being the victim of a violent crime, being confronted with traumatic news, sexual abuse.
One of the greatest mysteries remains tantalisingly unsolved: was the fire a kitchen disaster among the densely built thatched houses; deliberate destruction and abandonment by the residents; or an attack by enemies who perhaps envied their wealth?
(More important than his tweets was the news Sunday that his administration had declared the Carr fire a federal disaster, which will provide aid to the victims).
It is a good reminder, however, to look around at the results of the apocalyptic 2009 Station fire, a natural disaster few of us have seen equaled.
The standard depiction in the media of fires as a disaster that has to be avoided and stopped at all cost fails to do justice to a more complex ecological balance of destruction and new growth.
Even with that exceedingly friendly interpretation of Trump's motives, the Comey firing was a disaster from start to finish that underscores the basic truth of the Trump administration so far: These people are really, really bad at the whole presidency thing.
