Chile and Haiti: A few thoughts

Recently, the world has witnessed two very disastrous Earthquakes. One in Chile and the other in Haiti. The one in Chile was as extremely strong and powerful. Measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale, it was one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded. Powerful enough to shift the axis of the earth and shorten the duration of a day! No, Im serious! The Haiti Quake however was not as strong but the destruction and devastation it caused was much much more.

The Chile Earthquake happened on 27thFeb. It tore up roads and reduced buildings to the ground followed by a tsunami. Saw some mindboggling pics. It was REALLY BAAAD! Chile’s president promised to see whether the tsunami warning systems had failed and vowed to restore order soon. But I read in the newspapers that Chile’s gleaming capital city remained unaffected by the quake. I wondered why. Later I read on the web that Chile was a rich country and well governed enough to insist that buildings be constructed to withstand Quakes. On the contrary Haiti Is neither. Thus In Haiti over 2 lakh people died in contrast to just around 800 in Chile. Im not saying it’s a small number. But comparatively the diff. is quite huge.

There are lessons to be learnt. I feel the biggest threat to human life WAS Natural disasters. Now its our own shortcomings. To walk through Chile’s unbroken capital is to learn that although earthquakes coupled with dire poverty can do terrible harm, WE HAVE THE CAPACITY TO MITIGATE IT. Don’t you think so? When the earth shook under Chile, the country’s workers were at work in Haiti. Now they’l have to return and focus on their own wounded country. Its Really Sad, but you have to ask the Q’n… If India experienced a Quake.. How well would Indian Authorities react? How good and fast would our disaster management be? I remember doing a project on disaster management in Xth Std. It is not that easy. The last major earthquake in India was the Gujarat one in 2001. I still remember the day. We felt the tremors in Andheri! Its tore apart Guj. Are we prepared If one hits us now?

When things are broken, Chile reminds us that they can be fixed. Better still, carnage caused can be reduced with good governance.

Tought Provoking...?

Cheers!