I have seen a film and read a best-selling novel about tornadoes in the Midwest of the United States.

But I had never expected to come so close to a tornado, even after I found myself locked inside a mall in Coralville near Iowa City on April 2. My friend and I were going to her car outside the mall when tornado-warning sirens began sounding. We could see dark clouds moving our way, so we went back to the mall's sportswear store.

We stayed there for nearly an hour, almost bored to death, but I marvelled at the efficiency and calmness with which the shop managers handled the emergency.

On that day, tornadoes swept parts of Tennessee and other Midwestern states in the United States and killed 27 people in Tennessee alone.

When I discussed my experience at the mall, I was told that the Iowa River and hilly terrain had helped spare the city from tornado strikes.

Around 8 pm on April 13, I was having dinner with two friends at the downtown University Capital Center Mall, when we heard the TV blasting out a tornado warning again.

We heard loud thunder, saw lightning and watched hail pelting the ground outside. When we got near the mall doors as people rushed in for shelter, I heard a hissing sound like a steam-powered train.

Then the light in the mall went out. A few people shouted orders, asking patrons to stay well away from its glass roof.

The weather didn't seem to quieten down until 9:30 pm. Half a block away from the mall, at least three tornadoes struck. They tore away roofs from dorm buildings, the city's courthouse, the St Patrick Church, some stores, and uprooted trees.

But I saw no panic among the people streaming out of the shelters. At the main street intersection where tornadoes damaged street lights, temporary stop signs were erected instead. Every car dutifully stopped and took turns to proceed. There were no traffic jams, even though everyone wanted to rush home.

The discipline and order maintained by Americans in times of emergency is remarkable. Although some university students were criticized for setting off firecrackers to celebrate their survival, mindless of the gas leaks just a block away.

I still remember watching on TV the cars and buses snaking out of New Orleans as Hurricane Katrina approached. Except for police cars, not a single car drove on the shoulder.

But here in Beijing, it is all too common to see cars speeding along the shoulders of the ring roads. When there is a traffic jam, the regular four lanes sometimes turn into six as drivers squeeze in front of other cars. They do not signal when they shift lanes or even make turns.

I do not believe we Chinese do not know about discipline and order. People do not jump the lines when they patiently wait their turn to buy monthly public transport passes or to purchase passes for the subway.

The disorder, such as on the expressways, is often caused by a few people who feel they are superior to others and think they can do whatever they like without reprimand or consideration of law and order.

But these few people are hurting the discipline and conscience of us Chinese and the city. And their behaviour will not facilitate our efforts to host a people's Olympics.

We need not only to learn to respond to emergencies with knowledge and expertise, but also with a conscience to follow the rules, the law and the order. Only then can we better manage any situation, be it natural disasters or traffic jams.

Email: lixing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/20/2006 page4)