Haiti Deaths Could Have Been Prevented With Safer Buildings
Trucks dumping bodies in mass graves are shown all over the news. This is difficult to watch, but needs to be done to prevent the spread of disease. Countless decomposing bodies lay all over the streets of Port-au-Prince, Haiti after the massive earthquake hit this unfortunate nation back on January 12.
Why are there so many deaths?
The homes were poorly built due to the lack of building codes. Even if there were building codes, many of those homes would still have been built in an unsafe manner due to the extreme poverty affecting the majority of the Haitian people.
An article posted by CNN a day after the earthquake states: "A study done by the Organization of American States concluded last month that many of the buildings in Haiti were so shoddily constructed that they were unlikely to survive any disaster, let alone an earthquake like the one that devastated Port-au-Prince on Tuesday."
According to the article, Cletus Springer, director of the Department of Sustainable Development at OAS in Washington said that "You could tell very easily that these buildings were not going to survive even a [magnitude] 2 earthquake."
Many third world countries do not have building codes, and the Haiti disaster should be used as a wake up call to start building safer homes in an attempt to prevent deaths of this magnitude. Governments should invest in the creation of programs to educate its people and prepare them for catastrophes like this.
No country is immune to disasters; Haiti is suffering today, and your country could be next. Have a professional inspect your home to make sure it is safe. If it is not, find a way to fix it and give yourself a little extra insurance for yourself and your loved ones.
Follow Technorati