Because some people have an 'end of days' mentality and believe God is personally invested in every minor issue of their lives. For the same reason people thank God for their 'win' in a game, as though God had it out for the other team or just didn't find that team as holy. The Bible has numerous apocalytic verses, meant for that time and those people...to keep them on 'the path of righteousness'. However, modern believers tend to think that apocalyptic literature is written for them and this time period....thus all of the fires and plagues are 'an act of God' for our 'immorality and sinfulness'.