Most children learn at a very young age that their mother's wrath and fury is not to be taken lightly.

Sadly, a similar message has been driven home to the entire world, young and old alike, recently as Mother Nature continues to demonstrate her might. Despite all the advances in modern technology, man is often virtually helpless when it comes to battling the unstoppable course of natural disasters.

From the deadly tsunami that killed more than 150,000 people in Asia to the heavy rains and snows that blasted much of the U.S., scarcely a day goes by that nature fails to illustrate our place in the grand scheme.

Heavy rain was blamed for at least nine deaths over the weekend in Southern California, including a man who was killed when his vehicle plunged into the surf off the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, and a homeless man who was killed when the hillside where his tent was pitched gave way.

Much closer to home, the Ohio River has begun to look more like the Mississippi River.

Seventeen families were evacuated in Pike and Scioto counties near Portsmouth since flooding began in the middle of last week. Flood waters overcame many state and county roads across the state.

Snow and ice from the storm knocked out power in parts of western and northern Ohio. Power companies said approximately 70,000 customers were still without electricity on Monday.

These displays often leave us stranded, without electricity, homeless or worse.

Nature's sheer power would be impressive if it were not for the death and hardships caused.

Though trying to prevent natural disasters from occurring may be like shooting a BB gun at an oncoming train, the entire world needs to continue working to prevent such disasters by smart building, enforcing codes and implementing warning systems.

Just as important, the world must make sure the proper infrastructure and assistance programs are ready to go when the next inevitable event happens.

It may cost millions of dollars, but these resources are things that we can hardly afford not to fund.

On a smaller scale, families should do the same thing. Create disaster preparedness kits. Make sure you have fresh drinking water on hand, to go with canned foods, batteries, candles, flashlights, blankets and other essentials.

We could all borrow from the Boy Scouts and just "Be prepared."