Introduction
There are many disasters that occur in the cities which put a strain on the limited resources. It is the duty of every citizen to look for ways to help in the reduction and prevention of the occurrence of such disasters. Many cities make plans to create new developments and to make improvements in infrastructure that is already in existence. Setting up a system of disaster prevention is crucial for effectively dealing with the impediments.
Disasters like earthquakes have become a common calamity in many parts of the world including Haiti. This paper describes the obstacles of disaster prevention in major cities, examples of recent earthquake disasters and strategies for addressing barriers.
Impediments to disaster prevention
There are several obstacles that make it difficult to plan before hand for disasters. Some of these obstacles include political instability, competing developmental priorities and lack of information on mitigation of earthquakes.
Due to political instability, polices are not effectively formulated and implemented to have a good prevention system in place. Competing developmental priorities have had negative influence on policy establishments and their proficiency to deal with calamity risk management. Lack of adequate information on earthquakes has led to the inadequate preparedness and prevention of earthquakes .
Examples of recent earthquakes
Some of the recent earthquake disaster includes the one that occurred in Haiti in 2010. The earthquake killed more than 200,000 people. Casualties reported were 300,000 and over 1,000,000 people were left homeless. The earthquake’s epicenter was only 10 kilometers below the ground which contributed to its severity.
In addition, the Kobe Japan earthquake that happened in 1995 destroyed almost 500,000 units of houses and caused severe damage to almost 85% of schools, hospitals and public infrastructure in the region. The facilities of the port took slightly over a year to repair and it took a long time for the highly populated city to resume its normal activities .
Strategies for addressing the barriers of earthquake prevention
Political instability in different cities can be addressed by establishing stable structural institutions that can formulate sound policies and ensure proper implementation so as prevent or reduce occurrence of disasters. Disaster preparedness can be achieved through proper needs analysis so that priorities are clearly outlined.
This will help to set aside funds for prevention plans. Lack of adequate information on preparedness can be addressed through carrying out thorough research and training experts on disaster mitigation .
Conclusion
It might be difficult to control the happenings of nature especially natural disasters like earthquakes. However, measures can be put in place by governments and its citizens to help in the preparedness and prevention of earthquakes. It is important to provide funds for doing research on earthquakes in order to discover areas that are prone to the calamity.
With proper knowledge of earthquake prone areas, preparations can be made to relocate people in order to prevent loss of lives and property in the event that an earthquake occurs. Earthquakes have been experienced in many parts of the world which has resulted in massive loss of lives, property and infrastructure.
It takes many months and even years to recover from the damage caused by earthquakes.Therefore, it is important for governments to invest in mitigation measures to help deal with earthquakes.
Reference List
Earthquake Engineering Research Institute. (2008). Earthquake Risk Reduction: Addressing the Unmet Challenges. The Need for an Interdisciplinary Research Approach. Web.
Fema. (2012). IS-393.A: Introduction to Hazard Mitigation. Web.
Piotrowski, C. (2010). Earthquake in Haiti: A Failure in Crisis Management? Organization Development Journal , 107-112.
Rencoret, N., Stoddard, A., Haver, K., Taylor, G., & Harvey, P. (2010). Haiti Earthquake Response. Web.