Not active actively learning about the tragedy as it unfolded made learning about it later feel very disconnected. Sort of like hearing about a destructive event from history rather than a current event. I’m sure, though, this experience was very different for those who had some connections to the region and were more personally impacted by the aftermath.
Most humans die due to a virus and cities are left 99% empty. There reaches a point where all the rats flee the city (having eaten all the food they can) and arrive in endless waves at the protagonist's home.
I personally need that kind of "off time" from the constant connectivity, and I thoroughly enjoy it.
Photos here if anyone is interested http://theroadchoseme.com/the-dempster-highway-fall
As an adult I've been taking week long cruises where I force myself to almost entirely disconnect. They've been "well" timed the last few years that world seems stranger (and probably worse) almost every time I return, and I'm not sure I'd recommend that sort of strange to kid me.
One year a lot of staff at my employer (including myself) were laid off and returned to a lot of recruiter emails. Another a close relative was deeply sick. Last year included the drama of returning to hectic airports due to the 737 MAX crisis. This year we were the last ship out before Quarantine and the last ship back, FLL was even more of a mess than after the 737 MAX crisis because it was still full of spring breakers and people who had expected to leave on cruise ships with now canceled vacation plans, few places to stay, and a lot of new unplanned headaches.
We had some warning: they added temperature checks prior to departure, and we were on High levels of handwashing and sanitizing, reminiscent (if not worse) than the one year we sailed during the middle of the cruise ship Noravirus panic or the couple years of increased Zika concern. But still, you don't expect things to escalate in a week anywhere nearly as quick as they did. Not all of us take the excuse to entirely disconnect so we weren't entirely isolated from news like a submarine might be either, but even the difference between reading random NYT headlines versus your personal FB timeline is huge these days.
Some friends and I went on a long hike, over an earthen dike and back into the woods for the day, well out of site of the main camp.
Late afternoon coming back, we started seeing smoke from the general direction of the camp. Cresting the dike we saw a huge grass/brush fire ripping through the heart of the camp and scouts and leaders running around like ants, moving tents and vehicles, and trying to beat the fire out with towels. It did no good.
Turns out someone had been playing with their campfire, it got into some dry grass, and with a high wind took off extremely fast, running right through the camp and out into the trees. We missed it all but the finale. The others at our camp had already moved our stuff to safety.
(off topic I know but the event was pretty dramatic)