Disasters and Destruction
Volcanic eruptions, floods, earthquakes — these devastating natural disasters are inevitable. They often end up destroying people’s homes and even taking their lives away.
Although we cannot prevent natural disasters from happening in the first place, we can prevent the worst of their consequences. In order to do this, societies have put in place ingenious prevention tactics like early warning systems, resilient infrastructure and comprehensive disaster education. These implementations help to prepare us for natural disasters and minimise the brunt of their destruction.
The consequences of the eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Tambora in 1815 chilled the world. Claiming at least 100,000 lives from its direct aftermath, the eruption produced a deadly haze that blanketed the planet. Temperatures dropped so drastically that 1816 was known as “The Year Without a Summer”. (Unsplash)
Floods, the most common natural disaster, can wash away entire communities. The southwest monsoon floods in Manila in 2012 submerged more than half of the capital and forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes. (Flickr)
Predicting the Future
Countries have set warning systems in place to mitigate the risks that come with natural disasters. With the help of reliable weather forecast data, early warning systems allow governments to evacuate people before disaster strikes. Besides passing on accurate and timely warnings of impending natural disaster threats to civilians, these early warning systems also disseminate relevant information to the public, equipping people with instructions on how to stay safe.
As a result of such effective warning systems, the worst dangers of natural disasters can be averted.
Tsunami detection buoys sense pressure changes at the bottom of the ocean and transmit tsunami forecast messages to warning centres worldwide. This SOLARA tsunami buoy is part of a tsunami system that was developed after the 2004 Indian Ocean had left 227,898 people dead. (Flickr)
In 2010, Hawaii received early warnings of tsunami waves after Chile was hit by a 8.8 magnitude earthquake, and used civil defence sirens to evacuate residents from the coastline areas ahead of the potential disaster. (Flickr)
Alerted by the warning systems, civilians begin to evacuate. In 2005, commercial and military airplanes were used to evacuate civilians from New Orleans, taking them away from Hurricane Katrina. (Wikimedia Commons)
Preparing to Face Disaster
Modern cities have also started to factor disaster risk management into their urban planning strategies. Many have begun to commission the construction of disaster-resilient infrastructure and started planning for the relocation of communities at risk.
For instance, critical infrastructure like public communal facilities, transport systems and telecommunication systems are now constructed using sturdy weatherproof material. Residents of buildings that have been proofed against natural disasters will have no need to fear an imminent collapse, and people on the streets can easily access them to seek refuge or evacuate quickly.
Some cities are also relocating communities, moving them away from danger zones. This minimises the number of casualties and amount of physical damage in the event of a natural disaster.
After the Nisqually earthquake in 2001 destroyed hundreds of buildings, Seattle began to reinforce its bridges with seismic retrofits. These keep the bridges intact during earthquakes, and ensure that emergency supplies can be transported via vital routes when disasters occur. (Flickr)
One way of ensuring that structures and construction materials are earthquake-proof is to conduct shake table tests, otherwise known as earthquake simulation tests. Structural engineers from all over the world use these to improve on the ability of buildings to withstand major earthquakes. (Flickr & Flickr)
Making a Difference Together
Disaster education is another preventive tactic to fight against natural disasters. Teaching all citizens about disaster management, especially the youngest ones, is an important step in ensuring the survival of communities when natural disasters strike. Children and their families can participate in educational activities at natural disaster experience-learning facilities. This allows them to experience simulations of natural disasters and practise evacuation methods for times of crisis.
With nation-wide participation in evacuation training and widespread distribution of safety information, the people themselves will be more informed on the safety measures they should take in the event of a natural disaster.
All in all, modern prevention tactics such as early warning systems, weatherproof infrastructure and disaster education have helped to minimise the damage inflicted by natural disasters. Even if we cannot prevent the occurrence of natural disasters entirely, we can still do our part to prevent the worst from happening.
In Taiwan, disaster education starts from young. In school drills, young children are trained to follow the “Drop, Cover and Hold On” protocol to stay safe and evacuate quickly during an earthquake. (Flickr & Flickr)
At the Ikebukuro Life Safety Learning Centre in Tokyo, participants can practise moving to safety and using a fire extinguisher in video game simulations. (Flickr)
Earthquake experience vehicles travel around Japan to educate people on earthquake protocol. Members of the public can experience tremors from historically significant earthquakes and learn how to respond safely in such situations. (Wikimedia Commons)
Sources: Asian Development Bank, GovPilot, HH Consulting, Marine Insight, National Geographic, National Weather Service, New York Times, Resilient Cities Network, Shelterbox, Swiss Confederation, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Web Japan, WS Dot