Disaster

The calamities of nature know no boundaries. This rings so true of the earthquake that struck Haiti this week. An impoverished Nation under tight grip of poverty, political instability, with hardly any capacity to handle this scale of devastation. The exact toll of the earthquake will probably never be known, but just looking at the photos, its obvious the cost to life and property is immeasurable.

One wonders at this day and age, why it is not possible to avert such disasters. Seismologists have been studying earthquakes for over a millennia, but have failed to develop robust tools to predict earthquakes.

The best prediction of seismic activity is usually provided by early warning systems, that detect earthquakes a few seconds before it strikes...so much for 'early' warning.



The unpredictability of natural phenomena, couple with vulnerable societies is a recipe for disaster. I'm glad to come from a part of the world that is not prone to too much natural disasters, even though we have our fair share of diseases, wars and hunger.

At this moment however, all our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Haiti. To make any donations go here: http://www.yele.org/