Theme: Disasters
Previous to this input, I was already very aware of natural disasters, especially with the recent Hurricane Matthew that devastated parts of Haiti, the Bahamas and Florida being all over the news and social media.
What I was less aware of, however, was the varying responses by different governments, how some countries were more prepared for disasters than others, and how some governments were not as quick to help their citizens as others.
An example of this is the case studies that we looked at during the Political Factors and Economic Impact workshop.
When a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010, it was devastating for the small, poor island nation. Much of the response for the people in Haiti came not from their own government, but from the US military and other UN nations who sent relief and aid from all over the world. This in itself had many issues, for example a language barrier between the natives and the aid workers as well as many countries promising financial aid but not fulfilling their promises. I found this awful as I had never thought of the government to not prioritise their people’s safety. I researched further different charitable organisations such as CAFOD who aided in Haiti to find out more about what they did in the aftermath. As well as helping to combat disease and give people food and water, they have also been helping with preparations for future earthquakes, such as training farmers to create natural barriers that can reduce the risk of landslides. I think it is vital for Haiti, as well as other less developed countries, to prepare as much as possible for natural disasters.
Alternatively, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck Japan in March 2011, making it the 5th largest recorded earthquake worldwide since 1900.
Japan had preparations in place for the earthquake, but the shock was the Tsunami. The government had issued a tsunami warning 3 minutes after the earthquake and the Prime Minister had an emergency meeting to do what he could to minimise damage. Most of the relief effort was done by the Japanese government, and they did a lot for their people. Social media also provided a massive help using Twitter for updates.
References
Haiti Earthquake-Your Questions Answered (2013) [Online] Available: http://cafod.org.uk Accessed 3rd November 2016
