Earthquake in Chile
 Editorial Desk The Korea Herald Publication Date : 02-03-2010 
A magnitude-8.8 earthquake hit Chile early morning Saturday, six weeks after a magnitude-7 quake jolted Haiti up north in the Caribbean. The death toll in Haiti is estimated at 220,000 while that of the Chilean tremor remains below 1,000. Why the difference? Chile was prepared while Haiti was not. Is Korea then prepared, we have to ask again.
The surge of water from the epicentre off the coast of Chile caused apprehensions across the Pacific but it left little damage in the alerted areas, from Hawaii to Japan. Korea, shielded by the Japanese Archipelago, was saved from any noticeable surge in water levels this time. South Korea is located in a seismically safe zone, in relative terms, but the country records minor tremors hundreds of times each year - most of them without being felt by people - but the frequency has been increasing in recent years. When the disaster in Haiti was reported in January, government authorities examined our preparedness against earthquake but a general assessment in a few pages were all they produced, just as they had done on previous such occasions. Now with two major earthquakes taking place in an interval of barely six weeks, people wonder if the earth is entering an age of seismological disaster. 
Experts say such fears are not warranted, citing the lack of geological connection between Haiti and Chile. Whatever the tectonic graphs of the planet may reveal, the two disasters are strong warnings to mankind - not only to the residents of the so-called "ring of fire" to which Chile belongs, but also to the rest of the world.
In the case of Chile, its location in the earthquake-prone zone dictated strict construction rules against tremors and strict adherence to them as well as life-long drills to cope with quake emergencies. The South American country has more seismologists and earthquake engineers than anywhere else on a per-capita basis. Their advice is faithfully considered by the government authorities when they make contingency plans. We see a big contrast in Haiti, which had had no serious earthquakes for a century, and one report said there were only three buildings in the capital city of Port-au-Prince with any kind of quake-resistant design. In Chile, the use of steel reinforcement is mandatory even in single-story houses and the result was the unbelievably low casualty figures from the Saturday disaster. 
For some time in Korea, liberal use of glass has been an architectural fashion in the construction of both commercial and official buildings, a clear sign of insensitivity toward natural disaster, not to mention military contingencies. Looking at the forest of apartment blocks across this country, now mostly rising to 20, 30 or more stories, we wonder how much the builders adhered to the quake-resistant building code. Extensive reviews of construction rules in addition to emergency evacuation systems are called for, taking lessons from the disasters in Latin America.
Chile is reputed to be the richest country in South America, with per capita GDP of more than US$11,000, yet it needs huge amounts of outside aid to establish field hospitals, water purification plants as well as rescue manpower. Reports reveal that more than 500,000 houses were destroyed or badly damaged and more are falling down in the continuing aftershocks. The international community provided generous help for the people of Haiti and now it has to turn its attention to Chile. Korea should be one of the first to extend humanitarian aid to the country with which its entered its first bilateral free trade agreement. http://www.asianewsnet.net/home/news.php?id=10434&sec=3 |
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