All I can think when looking at images from the Turkey/Syria earthquake is how sad it is the combination of populous countries lacking self-determination with the location where they’re situated. Turkey had the funds to be more resilient to earthquakes but lack the self-determination so the money and opportunity is squandered through corruption. Haiti has similar problems, whereas Japan is so much more resilient and has so much fewer deaths. I remember reading about Portugal’s revolution in earthquake resilience too. It’s amazingly stark. It’s another great demonstration of the benefits of a functioning democracy. It will just keep happening until that part is fixed, with more damage each time.
The UK is becoming more vulnerable to natural disasters too over time, especially with the populist and corrupt governments we’ve had lately. Nowhere near enough forward planning considering the environmental changes coming up.
πͺ
I don’t think any governments are preparing appropriately for the coming climate emergency. We’re a shortsighted species with a slant towards personal optimism. In the US we have people building homes on the side of a volcano and creating cities on what is essentially a sand bar. Similar to countries with poor earthquake planning, after it’s over we’ll all shake our heads and say ‘who could have known?’
LikeLike