Chile earthquake is testament that preparedness is key to survival

Saturday’s 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Chile could have been far worse in terms of death and destruction, with initial reports tallying more than 700 dead and two million displaced. In perspective, Haiti’s Jan. 12, 7.0-magnitude quake killed more than 200,000 and displaced millions.

There’s a lot of factors—as well as disparities—in the two countries that place Chile’s preparedness in the A-list category (money, education, plans, etc.).

Nonetheless, Chile’s quake is a testament to the science—and art—of emergency management that wherever the four phases of planning, response, recovery and mitigation are employed, that natural disasters—though unstoppable—are becoming increasingly more survivable.

This prime juxtaposition of Chile and Haiti is an excellent example that accentuates this theory.

The Chile quake registered 500 times stronger than Haiti, was 22 miles under ground and spread over a predominantly agricultural area.

The Haiti quake registered 7.0, but was shallower, at only six miles under ground and much closer to populated areas.

Building codes and practices in Chile during the past 20 years have been strictly enforced with a heavy focus on earthquake survivability. Since the mid-1970s, Chile has had 13 quakes of magnitude 7.7 or higher. Most of the poorly constructed edifices already have crumbled in past quakes.

The Great Chilean Earthquake on May 22, 1960, the largest seismic event ever recorded at 9.5 on the Richter scale, produced tsunami waves along the Chilean coast, reaching heights of 80 feet and traveling one half mile inland, causing incredible devastation.

Fifteen hours after the quake struck Chile, a tsunami wave 35 feet high hit Hawaii, killing 61 people. It continued to the Philippines and Japan, killing more than 200. It was because of the 1960 tsunami disaster that the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) was founded in 1968.

When the 8.8 quake hit Chile Feb. 27, the PTWC immediately sent a warning to countries in the Pacific Rim.

As a result, Hawaii sounded the tsunami alarms and evacuated coastal areas for the first time in 16 years. The fact that the tsunami was insignificant this time—with only small waves and no destruction—is not the point.  The evacuation was prudent emergency management based on current and historical data.

Imagine if there had been the opportunity for a “nonevent evacuation” before the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004 in Indonesia—230,000 people might have lived.

Since 1977, emergency managers in Chile have been overseeing Operacion Deyse, supporting earthquake drills three times each year in Chilean schools. All school children, as well as private and public sector employees, are taught, “Drop, cover, hold on.” When an earthquake hits, drop to the ground, get under a heavy desk, table, door frame or sit next to a bearing wall, cover your eyes and head with your arms and hold on until the shaking stops.

It’s simple emergency techniques (and sometimes large policy makers) like these that ensure protection of life and property.

Unfortunately, Haiti had none of this: No preparedness initiatives, no money, little education and lack of a full-functioning society. As a result, it suffered in lives, property, infrastructure and government.

The idiom of being a well-oiled machine undoubtedly rings true in a country that’s prepared for a disaster.

It must be understood, however, that when emergencies happen, there still will be loss of life and property, as well as injuries. However, how countries prepare, respond, recover and mitigate now and in the future determines survivability. Both Chile and Haiti are lessons learned.

After all, no government can control Mother Nature.