Just thinking about Haiti and it’s recent earthquake. Millions in aid $ and many people are headed there from the U.S. and other countries to help with the clean-up and medical attention needed.
haitian devastation
Why is the devastation especially bad in Haiti as opposed to a similar sized earthquake that hit California in 2003 (San Simeon) but only caused 2 deaths and 40 injuries? (By the way the 2 deaths came from people who were in “unreinforced concrete buildings”)? Let me know what you think in comments below.
Well, the devestation is especially bad because Haiti is not as rich as California. Money has a lot to do with devestation as bad as that is. America should be helping Haiti because we have alot more money to aid them with. Also, Haiti most likely dosen’t have as good as buildings as we do here. Most people probably built there homes.
Well Said Lacey. why do we have an obligation to aid them just because we have money? (Think about the things we’ve talked about in class)
My Answer:
I think that the damage and devestation was so bad because Haiti is a far less fortunate country than we are. They dont have the money to pay for their own releif efforts, whereas California has more money for health care and food so less people died there. In conclusion, the reason that an earthquake of same magnitude did so much damage is because Haiti is a poorer country.
I think the damage and devistation was so devistating in Haiti because thay are a relly poor and cant pay for their own releif efforts were as california can affored releif efforts and did alot more damage in Haiti because their houses and buildings are not built very good.
Very True Jason……thanks for the post.
Thanks Andrew…..good post
The reason why devastation was so bad, the building structures were not good, well built buildings. They were not properly built and re-inforced like those buildings here in America. When the earthquake hit, their buildings simply crumbled to the ground, because the structures were not built to code like what we have here.
People lost their homes and jobs, People died during the earthquake and people are continuing to die because of lack of water and food. Lots of kids have lost their parents and are wandering the streets looking for help. America is going to Haiti to help is the right thing to do.
The devastation in Haiti was so much worse than in California because they are a poor country. Their buildings don’t have to meet a specific code to make sure that they are strong enough to last natural disasters. The buildings are not built with strong concrete to reinforce the structure. They also don’t have enough money to buy supplies, food, medical equipment,hospitals or any equipment (such as bulldozers) to provide relief to the people. The education level is a lot lower so they also don’t have as many doctors who can treat injuries or any roads built to get to the disaster areas. Because the US has the money and people to get what they need done and fixed I think that we should send people, money, supplies, and equipment to help those people who are less fortunate.
Thanks everyone for your responses. I believe the common theme from everyone is the thought that because Haiti doesn’t have the resources we have in the United States, a catastrophe hits them much harder than it hits us.
I think it’s also very important to note that New Orleans is still cleaning up after Hurricane Katrina from 4 years ago! Many people don’t think too much about them because they aren’t in the news as much as they used to be, but I’m sure the people living there wish they could get more help.
i think that the devistation in haiti was so bad because as every body said, they dont have a lot of money to build good structures like we do. And we feel obligated to help them because of that factor.
(See, I can be smart and nice, when I want to:))
I think that the devastation in Haiti was bad because the people of Haiti had very little to start with… and now what they did have was destroyed. The difference between California and haiti was that California had reinforced buildings and special earthquake proof areas to wait out the earthquake. While Haiti had the roof over there head and a small table to duck under.
I think that the devastation in Haiti was bad because the people in haiti were already poor. And there building were building with cheap materials probably with it being poor and california has special building for earthquakes.
well, I think we should aid them because we have more money because we should create a good relationship with them so in the future if we need help they may be able to help us? if thats an option?
I think that the reason it was so bad in Haiti was because they didn’t have enough protection against earthquakes because they didn’t have enough money to build good homes and buildings. I also think they have a lot more people in a little area who weren’t ready for such a big impact of such a big earthquake.