It appears to be earthquake season and I doubt anyone likes this season at all. Haiti's 7.0 earthquake wasn't even two months ago and just a week and a half ago was the 8.8 earthquake near Santiago, Chile. The damage in both countries was, and is, huge. The Chilean eathquake was far stronger (the scale for earthquakes is, I believe, logarithmic), yet the damage and death toll is worse in Haiti. I wondered why.
The best answer I have come up with so far is that the major factors are the amount of money and the organization within the government. Haiti is a very poor country with an incredibly corrupt government, unfortunately for its citizens. Chile, on the other hand, is a working democracy with a stable economy. The cohesion of the government in Chile is a probable explanation for why the army responded quickly and efficiently. With a fragmented government, organized rescues are near impossible. The relative wealth, on another note, is correlated with the earthquake-proofness of a large number buildings. Buildings in Haiti were frequently shabbily-made and buildings in Chile, at least in central Santiago, are specially designed to withstand devastating earthquakes.
Can anyone think of any other major factors that could explain the discrepancy between the force of the earthquake and the damage and death toll?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment