Catastrophes, cataclysms, and calamities are the topic of the week here at the NDD.
When I witness from afar the past 2 earthquake/tsunami combination disasters, the recent one off Japan and the one in 2004 in the Indian Ocean, I am struck how education raced catastrophe in both cases. Both are immense disasters, both overwhelmed the affected area far beyond their ability to respond in time. But there seems to be a huge difference between the two.
In the 2004 Indian Ocean event there was no immediate warning to citizens close by in Indonesia and Thailand and no warning to citizens hundreds of miles away in Sri Lanka. Close to 230,000 people died in the land areas around the rim of the Indian Ocean.
In the 2011 Sendai event warnings were given immediately to the entire population of the region and the country. The millions who lived in the affected area knew to get to higher ground almost as soon as the earthquake struck. Those who were hundreds of miles away in Hawaii and even further on the west coast of North America knew well in advance about the Tsunami. So far the death toll, in a much more populated area than the epicenter of the Indian Ocean event, is hovering around 1/10 of the other event.
Why is that? It’s because of education. Education was crucial in knowing how to set up a warning system and how to evacuate. It wasn’t perfect, too many people died. Yes, money has a lot to do with it, I know. The blame game can be played out against capitalists, politicians, and many others. But, no matter where the blame is laid, the more educated we are about any subject, especially those that can adversely affect millions, the better chance we have in the race against catastrophe.
Drawing © 2019 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
Quote by H. G. Wells, 1866-1946, English author