3rd worl countries and natural disasters
- Thread starter biggins
- Start date
Is it that the disasters always happen there, or is it that the impact of the disaster is so much worse because of the poverty?
If the same thing had happened in say, Florida, do you think the damage would have been as exstensive?
If the same thing had happened in say, Florida, do you think the damage would have been as exstensive?
Nope. Entire cities of thatched roofed huts right on the ocean are really susceptible to tidal waves, hurricanes, etc. Especially when compared to buildings built to a fairly strict building code.BikeGeek said:
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Nope - they just happen to have frightening consequences due to the poverty.......biggins said:
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That's all that was left............biggins said:
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there's just so much crammed right there on the shore - one guy was lighting incense for his sister who sold necklaces on the beach. you only saw concrete because that was all that was left.
Dude - 90% of third-world inhabitants spell *better* than you do..........biggins said:
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I think developed countries are just better equipped to handle natural disasters. Their infrastructure is stronger and governments wealthier, so aid comes much faster. If a Florida hurricane or the San Fran earthquake of 1989 hit a 3rd world country, the loss of life would be far greater. Our country is just in a far better position to help ourselves should disaster strike.
As far as this latest disaster goes, the U.S. does not have ten of thousands of people living in huts on the beach.
As far as this latest disaster goes, the U.S. does not have ten of thousands of people living in huts on the beach.
In the case of earthquakes and hurricanes hitting the US with mininal casualities is that we have very strict building codes in those regions of the country.
The code book for most counties in FL is an inch or two thick.
The code book for most counties in FL is an inch or two thick.
In the most recent disaster involving the Tsunami, one of the largest contributing factors is that there is no monitoring for such disasters in that part of the world. Apparently a number of countries work together to monitor these things in the Pacific, but where this occurred there is no sensing equipment.
As a result, *nobody* knew it was coming or where it would hit until it was way too late. I suspect the monitoring will get a higher priority on these nations' lists of things to do now.
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As a result, *nobody* knew it was coming or where it would hit until it was way too late. I suspect the monitoring will get a higher priority on these nations' lists of things to do now.
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Yeah, I saw this special last night where scientists were trying to scare people on the East Coast. They were saying that eventually this huge chunk of land is going to fall into the ocean in West Africa, and crush the East Coast with Tidal waves way bigger than the ones that just hit.
But the difference is, if that happened my azz would be Kansas before the first wave hit. We would know about it right away.
Those people were standing on the beach when the waves hit.
The footage of it is sickening.
But the difference is, if that happened my azz would be Kansas before the first wave hit. We would know about it right away.
Those people were standing on the beach when the waves hit.
The footage of it is sickening.
yeah, i read that there are buoys set up in the pacific to monitor sea levels.SkaredShtles said:
anywhoo, ya know what's really kooky is that i *just* got though reading michael crichton's latest book called, "state of fear" . he based on his theory that environmentalists shove notions of global warming down people's throats and are basically money grubbing communists and in the book there is a radical group of them who plan disasters around the world to reinforce this 'state of fear'. one spefically being an incident where they cause an underwater quake that results in a giant tsunami......kooky i tell you, specially when i just read an article online that talked about how this recent disaster was as bad as it was because of global warming...
Ummmm...... I'm not sure that being in Kansas would be better than being killed by a tsunami........Jeremy R said:
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Now I'm *positive* that I'd rather be killed in a tsunami than get stuck in AR.Sherpa said:
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biggins said:
In the US, it seems to be more of a monetary hit than a loss of life due to better monitoring and mandatory evacuations.
It wasn't always that way -- Galveston Hurricane of 1900.
If a Tsunami hit Florida I don't care how strict the building codes are, you're screwed. Not much elevation man, that thing would flood miles and miles inland.
As far as disasters happening mostly in 3rd world countries. Most of the world is in poverty by our standards. Look at a map and mark out which countries aren't 3rd world, it shouldn't take more than 30 seconds...
Not that modern countries aren't affected. Japan gets more earthquakes and Tsunami action than most. We got tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc... Europe has it pretty easy, maybe they are rich because they aren't slammed by the wrath of nature as often
As far as disasters happening mostly in 3rd world countries. Most of the world is in poverty by our standards. Look at a map and mark out which countries aren't 3rd world, it shouldn't take more than 30 seconds...
Not that modern countries aren't affected. Japan gets more earthquakes and Tsunami action than most. We got tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc... Europe has it pretty easy, maybe they are rich because they aren't slammed by the wrath of nature as often
Not true...SkaredShtles said:
According to the news, WE knew it was coming for about an hour before it hit. We just "didn't know who to call to tell them about it." (quote from the news)
Reminds me of the simpsons where lisa becomes president and Bart handles the national debt.
Dude... France... I distinctly remember writing you a check. Germany, I tried calling you all weekend. And China? What happened to you? You used to be cool!!
China: "We still cool... you pay later, you pay later!!"
Do you have a reference? I'd like to know how we knew if there weren't sensors in that area..... maybe we picked it up on sensors we had in the Pacific?-BB- said:
I doubt even if we knew who to contact if an hour would've done them any good. Although maybe they could've gotten the people off the beaches.
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SkaredShtles said:
Here is one link that says that it took the wave over an hour to reach some spots:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/27/asia.warning.ap/index.html
The department had up to an hour to announce the emergency message and evacuate people but they failed to do so," Thammasarote was quoted as saying in The Bangkok Post newspaper. "It is true that an earthquake is unpredictable but a tsunami, which occurs after an earthquake, is predictable."
more to come...
The loss of life in that part of the world is so high because of the super high population density within a few miles of the coast.
http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/plue/gpw/index.html?main.html&2
http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/plue/gpw/index.html?main.html&2
Yep. Millions upon millions of people living right next to the ocean is a recipe for disaster.........N8 said:
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Our Tsunami detecters work off of pressure at depth, they wouldn't know what was happening an ocean away.SkaredShtles said:
When you have a 9.0 deep underwater you've got a damn good chance of a Tsunami, it doesn't take a geologist to know this....Well it helps
Each unit of the richter scale is an order of magnitude. 9.0 is 10 times as destructive as an 8.0 So this quake was roughly 1000 times as powerful as Loma Prieta (6.7 I think) Scary thought.
Damn, some of that sh*t's going to give me nightmares.Wumpus said:
I think you're making fun of me.......biggins said:and thats why everyone should move to Flagstaff!!!!!!!
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I could see if the scientists were speculating about the existence of a tsunami due to the quake, I just wondered if they had received actual data before it hit that it was on the way......... I was under the impression that they didn't have any sensors so they didn't "know" it was coming.Zark said:Our Tsunami detecters work off of pressure at depth, they wouldn't know what was happening an ocean away.
When you have a 9.0 deep underwater you've got a damn good chance of a Tsunami, it doesn't take a geologist to know this....Well it helps
These are some scary photos from the big Alaska quake of '64. Powerful stuff.
http://www.vibrationdata.com/earthquakes/alaska.htm
Good thing Alaska was/is sparsely populated..........
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