Yes, it was new, yes it was unprecedented, yes it took its toll (and is likely to continue for a time), but so have other things in history, and so will things further in the future... That's the way it goes! There are debates going on about whether or not this stuff was intentional, or whether or not this stuff was mismanaged, but that's not what I'm talking about, and I'm not about to postulate about such topics here. My only point is that this will blow over, the same as every other event in human history.
I'll agree with you that it was new. And that it will blow over. But it wasn't unprecedented. There have been much greater catastrophes throughout human history. This one will barely even register a footnote in future history books.
The only reason it seems like such a huge deal is because the popular media need something to fill their websites constantly. And that's the reason it'll soon be behind us. People will get tired of hearing about it, so pop media will move on to the next controversy of the week.