Monday, March 01, 2010
More on What Haiti and Chile (Don’t) Have In Common
On Saturday I pointed out that the Chilean quake would likely claim far fewer lives than the one that struck Haiti in early January, and offered some of the reasons for that (better building codes, a more earthquake cognizant country, etc.). I want to add a few important technical points to that list.
First, although the Chilean quake was significantly stronger than the Haitian one, it also occurred 22 miles below the earth’s surface – twice as deep as the Haitian quake. That means there was twice as much earth to absorb the shock before it reached building foundations. It’s also worth pointing out that the epicenter of Saturday’s quake was about 70 miles from the nearest big city (Concepcion), compared with 10 miles between city and epicenter in the Haitian quake. On top of that, Concepcion has less than half the population of Port-Au-Prince (900,000 vs. 2 million).
Even so, the Chilean quake and its aftermath are proof positive that, as many experts have been saying since the 2004 quake in Banda Aceh, preparedness matters. A lot. So far Chilean officials – who are accustomed to dealing with big quakes - have declined offers of assistance and seem to be managing the crisis well enough on their own; in some affected regions, telephone service has already been restored.
Of course, as many will undoubtedly point out, Chile and Haiti are sort of apples and oranges. Yes, both countries sit atop active fault lines. But compared to Haiti, Chile is rich. Chile has the money to buy decent concrete, and the institutional power to enforce its use. Chile can purchase and store heavy equipment and other tools to respond quickly in the wake of a potentially city-leveling disaster. Haiti is too poor to do any of those things. So, even if the country had a better sense of its own geology before the quake, what could its citizens really have done with that information?
It’s a fair question, but I think it misses the point. The same things which enable a country to police its construction industry and implement basic disaster preparedness plans, can also lift that country out of poverty and help its people thrive – namely, law enforcement, education and some semblance of accountability. After the 1960 tremblor, Chile started getting serious about building codes and earthquake resistant engineering; The attention ultimately bolstered the construction industry, which now factor’s heavily in the country’s economic fortunes. (By 1970, construction was responsible for roughly 8 percent of Chile’s GDP, up from just a few percent in 1960). More economic development meant more money and further improvements. It may be a bit of a chicken-and-egg tangent, but I think it’s worth considering.
Incidentally, for a great piece on how some cities are heeding the lessons of Haiti and trying to get out in front of their earthquake susceptibility, check out Andrew Revkin’s article from early last week.
Posted Sunday, February 28, 2010 2:38 PM
Kate Dailey, NewsWeek