Whether ‘blizzard of the century’ or not, it is a natural disaster that has already killed 60 and left hundreds battered. And, yet, one thing has been noticeable. In the coverage of the ongoing disaster, the visuals – news photos as well as videos – point away from direct human suffering, especially of death. Instead, the scale of damage wrought is driven home effectively by images of cars buried under piles of snow, houses covered in ice and icicles making them look like strange baroque cathedrals, people ploughing snow from their housefronts…. There is something to learn here in the coverage of human suffering, whether wrought by nature or man – that one can show the magnitude of a calamity without baring its proverbial or literal bones. It’s not about shyness of showing oneself or one’s people when they’re down, but also about being dignified in the face of tragedies.