The effects of tragedy may sometimes extend far beyond its initial experience. Consider the case of northern Californian Dustin Weber, 25, whose body washed ashore near Fort Stevens State Park in Oregon on April 2, 2011. He is reputed to be the first American victim of the tsunami following the Japanese earthquake a month before. The story is that believing it was safe to walk along the shore after the first tidal surge had passed, he was washed out to sea and was sent 530 kilometres north, his body discovered more than three weeks later. In other words, what happened in Japan had tragic effects on an innocent soul thousands of miles away. It is an example of the law of unexpected consequences. Though hard to imagine, the truth is that what happens in one place or at one time can have unintended and unexpected effects on others.
