Using a named example of a recent earthquake, describe the short and long term responses to the hazard
An example of a recent earthquake was the Haiti earthquake which occurred on January 2010 the earthquake was recorded at 7.0 magnitude on the Richter scale.
The short term responses
As Haiti is a less economically developed country (LEDC), the government had limited resources, capital and expertise to be able to manage the effects of such a huge disaster. For the first 24 hours it was the case of the general public pulling together to do what they could to search for survivors and those trapped. This just involved people using their bare hands and torches. Even within the first 24 hours dead bodies were quickly building up as many of the hospitals and morgues had been destroyed.
After 48 hours when the true scale of the human suffering taking place became clear, the international community was quick to respond to assist the Haitian government. Several governments and charities sprang into action. The Dominic Republic was the first country to give aid to Haiti, sending water, food and heavy lifting machinery. The Dominican Republic also sent eight mobile medical units along with 36 doctors and surgeons.
One major issue was that several key government buildings had been destroyed and several important members of the government were trapped or missing. This led to a feeling that the immediate relief effort lacked leadership.
One major short term response which was required was what to do with all the dead bodies. The morgues in Port au Prince could not cope with the number of dead bodies so several large mass graves had to be dug to bury the ever increasing number of dead people. Many people were shocked by the decision to create mass graves.
The short term responses
As Haiti is a less economically developed country (LEDC), the government had limited resources, capital and expertise to be able to manage the effects of such a huge disaster. For the first 24 hours it was the case of the general public pulling together to do what they could to search for survivors and those trapped. This just involved people using their bare hands and torches. Even within the first 24 hours dead bodies were quickly building up as many of the hospitals and morgues had been destroyed.
After 48 hours when the true scale of the human suffering taking place became clear, the international community was quick to respond to assist the Haitian government. Several governments and charities sprang into action. The Dominic Republic was the first country to give aid to Haiti, sending water, food and heavy lifting machinery. The Dominican Republic also sent eight mobile medical units along with 36 doctors and surgeons.
One major issue was that several key government buildings had been destroyed and several important members of the government were trapped or missing. This led to a feeling that the immediate relief effort lacked leadership.
One major short term response which was required was what to do with all the dead bodies. The morgues in Port au Prince could not cope with the number of dead bodies so several large mass graves had to be dug to bury the ever increasing number of dead people. Many people were shocked by the decision to create mass graves.
Long Term Responses
Much money and support from all corners of the globe has been pledged to help the people of Haiti recover from this disaster. In order help to help the recovery as quickly as possible, the government are concentrating the US $5.3 billion pledged for Haiti's reconstruction on three main strategies.
Firstly, they need to improve the infrastructure and design housing by using modern technology. Prior to the earthquake, Haiti had no effective building regulations. Although some of the urban centres in Haiti are exceptionally densely populated. . In order to minimise the loss of life for future earthquakes to date 236 construction teams have been trained in order to ensure that new buildings have better fire protection and are less likely to collapse in the event of an earthquake and over 340,000 houses have been structurally assessed since the earthquake.
At some point in the future there will be another earthquake in Haiti. All the Government can do in the long term is aim to reduce the risk of death. With this in mind the Government hope to improve their current earthquake monitoring and warning systems.
Much money and support from all corners of the globe has been pledged to help the people of Haiti recover from this disaster. In order help to help the recovery as quickly as possible, the government are concentrating the US $5.3 billion pledged for Haiti's reconstruction on three main strategies.
Firstly, they need to improve the infrastructure and design housing by using modern technology. Prior to the earthquake, Haiti had no effective building regulations. Although some of the urban centres in Haiti are exceptionally densely populated. . In order to minimise the loss of life for future earthquakes to date 236 construction teams have been trained in order to ensure that new buildings have better fire protection and are less likely to collapse in the event of an earthquake and over 340,000 houses have been structurally assessed since the earthquake.
At some point in the future there will be another earthquake in Haiti. All the Government can do in the long term is aim to reduce the risk of death. With this in mind the Government hope to improve their current earthquake monitoring and warning systems.
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The final long term strategy is to
provide education on emergency
procedures for the general public so they know what to
do in the event of an earthquake. Investing in this kind of education has
helped to reduce the risk of death for many places across the Earth which are
prone to Earthquakes.