Chile Versus Haiti

Though the earthquake in Chile was 500 times stronger than Haiti’s, many fewer deaths are expected, but how can this be the case? “Because of its long history with earthquakes, which has contributed to an earthquake ‘consciousness’ in Chile, and infrastructure that is built to higher standards, many hope that Chile will be spared the vast destruction that struck Haiti, even as it deals with one of its worst natural disasters in decades. ‘Chile has a long story of earthquakes, but I think this was the worst ever,’ says Paula Saez, an aid worker at World Vision in Chile. The 8.8-magnitude quake that struck about 200 miles south of Santiago, is being billed as one of the world’s largest in a century, but it will most likely not go down as one of the deadliest. In part, that’s because Chile sits in the ‘ring of fire’ earthquake zone and is accustomed to massive temblors, including the largest on record, which hit in 1960 and registered 9.5. The government says that it might be another 72 hours before the real extent of the damage is known, as telecommunications are down in Concepcion, the city closest to the epicenter of the quake. Also, the earthquake impacted many rural areas, where the population is dispersed and hard to account for. In downtown Santiago, a sense of calm prevailed, after initial panic. Residents began collecting debris that had fallen on the streets and attempted to reopen businesses by midday.”