Natural Disaster hypothetical

[Zero]

If there were a massive hurricane on approach towards US shores, expected to kill thousands, and to cost millions in property damage, and it mysteriously disappeared instantly a night before it was expected to make landfall, what would you make of it? Would you believe it to be an extremely abnormal environmental effect? The work of a God? Or perhaps Aliens?
What do you make of this event, and how do you react? How do you think the world would react?

Taken from the other hurricane thread.

[The Guid]

I guess I would believe it was an extremly rare abnormal enviromental event. There is no reason to believe anything else from a logical standpoint. Pure reason would dictate that there was no reason why this hurricane would be stopped by divine intervention when other natural disasters were not.

[18-Till-I-Die]

You mean vanish like, fade away, or vanish like *thundercalp* storm-be-gone?

If the first...it's probably just soem wierd weather anomoly. If it just 'POOF' vanished into thin air like one second it was right there the next, that quick, gone, then i'd be fucking creeped out. Regaurdles sof my religious standings i'd probably think it was some government 'weapon' or device that did it. Or maybe aliens, in fact, that'd be my FIRST thought in that case.

[18-Till-I-Die]

Now a more conclusive event...if a massive shimmering hand appeared, scooped up the storm like a toy from a bathtub, and then vanishe dinto teh sky. And thsi was caught, live, on TV with tens or hundreds of millions of live witnesses at that second.

Now THAT is something i would love to have explained rationally cause i cant imagine any explaination other than the obvious one, that it was some intelligent 'entity', God or whatever you want to call it. Now that would be interesting.

[Zero]

The event was intended to be instantaneous, and with no apparent events occuring to cause the hurricane to simply disappear.

As for me, I'd think it was probably aliens, and I'd wonder why they had averted this disaster, but not others. I'd speculate for a moment as to whether these creatures may have policy against interferance, and may be getting into huge trouble for doing this, and then speculating for a moment more as to how they could reshape the world to their own purposes if they could eliminate a hurricane instantly...

I'd also wonder where all of the water went.

[Surlethe]

I would be interested in learning through what mechanism all the energy of the hurricane was dispersed. I might believe God did it -- because I believe in a God, anyway -- though I would readily admit such a belief is irrational. However, if a couple of days later, a shuttle landed on the lawn of the White House, I would certainly revise that belief. On the other hand, if burning letters ten miles high appeared in the sky that said FUCK YOU ATHEISTS, I might be more inclined to my initial interpretation.

[Rye]

I would certainly be curious as to qhat caused it, and would advise an investigation into everything around the area that Hurricane was killed in.