Contrary to the many fatalistic leading articles and columns written last week, which marvelled at the awesome power of Nature and encouraged us to believe that we are entirely at her mercy, there is something countries can do to improve their chances of surviving natural disasters: namely to do everything they can to achieve prosperity and the true security that comes with it. A fully industri?alised Indonesia would have had a transport system capable of getting help to the required areas. It would also have been able to react to the earthquake alerts which were issued by US seismologists hours before the disaster. At the very least it would have had a network of refrigerated mortuaries to cope with the bodies of victims without leaving them to putrefy on the beaches.
The Future of Calamity
The difference between the rich and poor countries, Dr. Sieh said, was that the rich ones had improved their building techniques and their political systems to deal with inevitable disasters.
Remember, Asia?s old stealthy killers claim more victims than any catastrophe
Likewise, earthquakes generally hit poor countries much harder. Although the Bam earthquake in Iran a year ago was less powerful than the 1994 quake in Los Angeles, the latter killed only 60; the former left 25,000 dead and many more homeless. The difference lies in the rich world?s use of seismic-resistant engineering, whereas developing countries often use cheap mud bricks that topple like a house of cards in an earthquake.
