EARTHQUAKES THE IMPACT ON SOCIETY BRENT DUNCAN

TOPIC How can we help countries, developing countries specifically, after and before an earthquake?

ISSUE Countries are suffering from loss of shelter and buildings, and therefore their economy, government, and unity as a nation destabilizes and weakens.

HOW CAN WE PREPARE FOR EARTHQUAKES? Avoid dangerous activities, such as oil exploration and building dams. Provide solid housing for people. Avoid clustering people in areas prone to earthquakes. Have destinations for emergencies such as an earthquake. (Like a cement church or government building)

WHERE ARE EARTHQUAKES PRONE TO HAPPEN? In the United States, the most common areas for an earthquake are: The Pacific Coast, the West (Idaho, Utah, Nevada), and Hawaii and Alaska. And across the world, they are where ever there are plate boundaries or plate tension. Most Pacific Islands such as Japan and the Philippines experience a lot of earthquakes too.

BUILDING CODES Earthquakes are not only deadly, but they are have a bad track record of causing substantiate damage to an area. One of the biggest problems in developing countries during/after an earthquake is that the buildings and homes are very poorly designed and made out of flimsy material. A good example of that is Haiti in 2010, over a quarter million houses were destroyed, because they were so volatile and flimsy.

BUILDING CODES CONT. “Building codes provide the minimum acceptable standards used to regulate the design, construction and maintenance of buildings for the purpose of protecting the health, safety and general welfare of the building’s users.” – African Service News Places like Italy, although they have frequent earthquakes, do fairly well, because the buildings there are very sturdy and strong.

CALL TO ACTION This pie chart shows how much of the UN Budget goes to each field. 30% Goes to Human Resources, which is roughly 4.3 Billion US Dollars. My Proposal is that the UN provides money and supplies to developing countries to help them build up to code homes that can sustain earthquakes better. The UN does a good job of providing aid to natural disasters, but a lot of time and resources could be saved if we help them before, not after.

CALL TO ACTION CONT They can also provide emergency plans to countries such as Chile or Nepal where earthquakes are frequent. An example would be to build a large, sturdy building in a populated area, and have a plan for the people to follow when they need to use that building for shelter.

CONCLUSION I believe that the demands to build better housing in impoverished countries is not taxing for the UN. Because it is not necessarily adding more cost to Human Resources, but spending it in a smarter way. If we improve the homes of less developed countries, we won’t have to worry as much for the repairs and deaths that will toll after the earthquake.

BIBLIOGRAPHY “Earthquakes – How Safe Are We?” Africa News Service. 10 June Global Issues in Context. Web. 26 May 2015 "Programme Planning, Budget and Accounts." United Nations. United Nations, 7 June Web. 26 May "Importance of Strong Building Codes in Earthquake-Prone States." Disaster Safety. Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, 3 Mar Web. 26 May 2015.