HOW CAN NATURAL DISASTERS BE AVOIDED, OR THEIR EFFECTS AT LEAST REDUCED?
Natural disasters kill more people on a global scale than wars. According to the United Nations, in the last decade alone, natural disasters have caused the deaths of more than a million people, affected 1.8 billion people in terms of loss of health, homes and livelihoods, and cost $685 billion in economic and structural damage. It is virtually impossible to prevent natural disasters such as hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes and tsunamis. Such events are caused by climatic and geological occurrences that are inevitable and cannot be avoided. Hence, our focus should be placed on lessening the severity of the impact they have on every aspect of our lives. We can successfully reduce their damaging effects by implementing effective monitoring and warning systems, building codes, flood defences, comprehensive disaster management plans and educating citizens on disaster preparedness.
The best way to minimise the effects of a natural disaster is to establish early detection systems that allow for advance warning to be given to national and global communities. Sophisticated seismic monitoring networks can identify significant movements of the earth's crust, therefore providing early notification of an imminent volcanic eruption. Close examination of the boundaries between tectonic plates can indicate the build-up and intensification of tension at convergent plate boundaries. While it is impossible to predict exactly when an earthquake will happen, scientists can utilise seismic data to forewarn people that such an event is expected to occur. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has established tsunami warning stations in the United States, and twenty-six Pacific countries have jointly created their own warning system that monitors the ocean floor using data collection buoys. If there had been an early warning system in the Indian Ocean, thousands of people could have escaped the wrath of the tidal waves that affected a dozen Asian countries in December 2004. Monitoring and advanced warning systems are crucial in reducing the disastrous effects which natural disasters can have as they allow sufficient time to carry out necessary preparations to minimise damage to property and loss of human life. They also permit gas networks, transport systems and nuclear power stations to shut down prior to the occurrence of earthquakes and tsunamis, thereby containing gas leaks, the risk of fire, derailments and the release of nuclear energy.
Natural disasters kill more people on a global scale than wars. According to the United Nations, in the last decade alone, natural disasters have caused the deaths of more than a million people, affected 1.8 billion people in terms of loss of health, homes and livelihoods, and cost $685 billion in economic and structural damage. It is virtually impossible to prevent natural disasters such as hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes and tsunamis. Such events are caused by climatic and geological occurrences that are inevitable and cannot be avoided. Hence, our focus should be placed on lessening the severity of the impact they have on every aspect of our lives. We can successfully reduce their damaging effects by implementing effective monitoring and warning systems, building codes, flood defences, comprehensive disaster management plans and educating citizens on disaster preparedness.
The best way to minimise the effects of a natural disaster is to establish early detection systems that allow for advance warning to be given to national and global communities. Sophisticated seismic monitoring networks can identify significant movements of the earth's crust, therefore providing early notification of an imminent volcanic eruption. Close examination of the boundaries between tectonic plates can indicate the build-up and intensification of tension at convergent plate boundaries. While it is impossible to predict exactly when an earthquake will happen, scientists can utilise seismic data to forewarn people that such an event is expected to occur. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has established tsunami warning stations in the United States, and twenty-six Pacific countries have jointly created their own warning system that monitors the ocean floor using data collection buoys. If there had been an early warning system in the Indian Ocean, thousands of people could have escaped the wrath of the tidal waves that affected a dozen Asian countries in December 2004. Monitoring and advanced warning systems are crucial in reducing the disastrous effects which natural disasters can have as they allow sufficient time to carry out necessary preparations to minimise damage to property and loss of human life. They also permit gas networks, transport systems and nuclear power stations to shut down prior to the occurrence of earthquakes and tsunamis, thereby containing gas leaks, the risk of fire, derailments and the release of nuclear energy.
