tsunamis

[cellio]

Within the first couple days of the Indonesian quake/tsunami six(ish) years ago, death tolls over 100,000 were being reported (final count was over 200,000).

Within the first couple days of the Japanese quake/tsunami, death tolls in the hundreds were being reported. (Of course, we're not done yet.)

The difference in ability to predict and effectively react between wealthy and poor nations is striking. Three orders of magnitude? Yikes. We in the better-off nations usually send aid after the fact, but it really makes me wonder what we could do before the fact to help less-developed nations build better defenses.

Comments

Yes but . . .

[osewalrus.livejournal.com]

A few differences. First, the quake that triggered the 2006 Xmas Tsunami was out to sea. There was no warning until the first waves hit. Here, tsunami precautions follow a quake of this magnitude automatically. Second, the Indian Ocean did not have a tsunami alert system because the likelihood of tsunamis in that region is very low, as compared with the part of the Pacific Ocean where Japan lies.

Still, the ability to engineer for disaster and recover from disaster is important, and is an important element of development.

Re: Yes but . . .

[cellio]

Thanks. I thought that even though the Indonesian quake was farther offshore, its higher magnitude meant it was still felt clearly. I could be wrong about that.