Earthquakes. Are we prepared to manage them?
By marguicha
@marguicha (215405)
Chile
March 2, 2010 5:10pm CST
This Saturday morning there was a huge earthquake in Chile. Since earthquakes are recorded, this is the 5th biggest in the world. Chile also has the dubious honor of having the biggest one, that changed the country´s geography forefer.(Valdivia, 1960).
After that, Chile created an agency in charge of helping and managing these problems as much as they can.
"ONEMI or Oficina Nacional de Emergencias Del Ministerio del Interior (Spanish for National Office of Emergencies of the Interior Ministry) is a Chilean government agency dedicated to the prevention, organization, coordination and information relative to natural disasters. After the 1960 Valdivia earthquake a committee was formed to solve problems caused by the earthquake. However this committee was not dissolved afterwards and in 1974 it acquired by law independent status as governmental office." Wikipedia.
This bovernment agency is in charge of giving immediate help in various natural disasters. It has prepared people and equipment so that they can quickly help other countries who undergo the same problems.
How does your country take care of its natural dusasters? It is well known that Mother Earth gives problems of different kinds throughout the world. Tornados and hurricanes, blizzards and flows, earthquakes, tsunamis and volcano eruptions are some of them.
I am chilean and in this moment this is my only interest. I could not think for a long time of anything else. But maybe our mylot community can learn now what is done in each country and how each country manages in these cases.
Take care and thanks to all of you mylotter friends who have supported me and have prayed for my country at this time.
4 people like this
10 responses
@neildc (17239)
• Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines
3 Mar 10
i can see that your ONEMI is like our NDCC (National Disaster Coordinating Council) which practically has the same functions. this agency is the one who works when there are storms, floods, volcanic eruption and other natural disasters. they provide evacuation and temporary relocation of the victims...
@neildc (17239)
• Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines
4 Mar 10
yeah, it helps though, margz. thanks for the BR. is this some sort of a welcome to our newly found friendship? 
@marguicha (215405)
• Chile
4 Mar 10
Not the BR. I never put a BR just for friendship. 
But most of the responses had to do with the imposibility of domineering nature and that´s not what I asked. Everyone knows you cannot stop and earthquake. What I wanted to know was if other countries had a way of chanelling the help and make it quick.
But most of the responses had to do with the imposibility of domineering nature and that´s not what I asked. Everyone knows you cannot stop and earthquake. What I wanted to know was if other countries had a way of chanelling the help and make it quick.@marguicha (215405)
• Chile
3 Mar 10
I am very glad that your country has this NDCC. Even though, at the time of crisis, everyone wants more than what they can do, it does help a lot.
Take care!
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
3 Mar 10
HI MY Friend, WE have never had a disaster like u have had, I know our goverment didn't get to new orleans like they should have when they had such a horrible thing happen to that city. I thought that was horrible but i was not a george bush fan & blamed him for that. I don't know what our goverment would do here if something happened. We are sitting on a bad fault line & are told over & over we could have a bad quake here. I hope & pray we never find out what the'd do. I hope y'all get all the help u can. hugs.
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
4 Mar 10
Good morning Marg, it was a crying shame the way new orleans was treated. hope u are doind as well as u can. stay safe & take care of yourself. hugs.
@marguicha (215405)
• Chile
4 Mar 10
Hi Jo,
When I visited San Francisco and L.A. in California I could foresee a problem if you had a big earthquake. Most of the houses are not asismic.
As for the management of New Orleans and the Katrina, excuse me, but I think it was a shame. I saw it on the TV and could not understand how they did not manage better, having the big highways they have there. I´m sorry for New Orleans. I visited it twice and fell in love with it. I guess now noone cares to rebuild it. 
1 person likes this
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
3 Mar 10
Hi marguicha!
I trust your family and yourself are now well? I'm not sure how the rescue and help efforts are going for your country as I don't watch the news much. I'm glad though that their is a governmental organization or rather agency set forth to help as much as they can. I know Barack Obama has enlisted the help of everyone to help Chile.
As for here in the USA, there is a lot that is done, people donate, people give blood, people make things for the family affected...
@marguicha (215405)
• Chile
3 Mar 10
All my family and loved friends are ok. Thank you, friend. Some of them got things broken, but that is not important. But the epicentre was south from where I live and there there were many old houses that just crumbled to the floor. Many countries have offered help. I heard last night that a the peruvian president had brought help and that Mrs. Hillary Clinton had come to talk with our President about our needs. Other countries have offered help too. But this is going to be a long and difficult work. I saw that happen in 1960. I was a kid then, but I remember that some girls from the devastated cities came to my school and stayed in Santiago for at least 1 year.
In spite of the magnitude of the earthquake, there weren´t so many casualties. The worst was produced by the tsunami that followed because it was the end of summer and there were many, unaccounted for, people camping near the beaches and seashore.
Take care!
@Biomechanoid (2923)
• Estonia
3 Mar 10
Well, first I feel sorry for that terrible catastrophe that had hit your country recently.
In my country there are no such powerful natural disasters. We never have any strong earthquakes and we also don't have any volcanoes, hurricanes of floods. All we have is some storms occurring here in summer. They bring some strong wind and lots of rain, but usually pass without any serious consequences. That's why there is no need to take on some preventive measures for these disasters. Of course our rescue teams have regularly exercises on solving different critical situations, but that's all..
@marguicha (215405)
• Chile
4 Mar 10
It is wonderful to live in a place where there are no big disasters. This earthquake in my country is going to cost us millions of dollars (that we don´t have, of course.
@ayushbanka (88)
• India
3 Mar 10
hey friends today due to advancement of technology we have overpowered everything.. but there is a bitter truth behind this thinking...
no doubt we have managed to determine the probability of earthquakes and other disasters but we are unable to contol that immense power of nature...
thousands of people die in earthquakes all over theworld which shows that we are prepared but not properly...
@marguicha (215405)
• Chile
3 Mar 10
I was thinking more about how your country reacts to a crisis such as that. I never meant to say that we would be able to control nature. My country is an earthquake country. We live every day with the idea that an earthquake can come at any time. When many years pass without a mayor quake, the odds get worse about a big one coming.
@marguicha (215405)
• Chile
4 Mar 10
We are doing our best. And already seven countries have come with help and others have offered it.
@dawnald (85135)
• Shingle Springs, California
2 Mar 10
Judging from hurricane Katrina, there's a lot of room for improvement in this country. After the Northridge earthquake, many things were back to normal after a week or two, ie water, gas, electricity. But it was months before the freeways were repaired and years before some buildings were repaired or demolished. And that was a fairly "small" quake.
@marguicha (215405)
• Chile
3 Mar 10
I stayed close to the TV during the Katrina because I had been twice to New Orleans and found it an impresive city. I felt (and still feel) that the amount of money and management of the problem was very bad, specially coming from a country that has so many means. I understand that there are still lots of things to do after over 4 years and don´t know why your government doesn´t spend there part of the money that spends in troops that go to to fight to other countries. The terrorist act the 11th of September took a lot less lives that the Katrina. Yes it seems that the only ones that remember the Katrina are the people who used to live there. Sorry if I´m getting in something that is not my business.
I thought about it once more after your response.I quote you: "years before some buildings were repaired or demolished". Charity must start at home.
1 person likes this
@Baluyadav (3643)
• India
3 Mar 10
hi,friend,there may be methods to reduce earthquake hits,floods...but over all i think human being can't fight with NATURE,TIME and he never dominate the nature...if we suppress one issue,there may be a chance of araising another problem which we never see before..[like in living things-Ecological balance]
In Germany they took many measures to reduce negative effects of earthquakes like changes in the mode of constructing houses etc...still there is a problem...
so what i mean to say is we are puppets and God is master in playing the show....
Any how all mylotters prayers are with you and your country.I hope the recovery will br faster and become normal life.
@marguicha (215405)
• Chile
3 Mar 10
Hi friend,
I was not meaning to say we can dominate nature. I wondered if your country, for instance, has an office of some kind that can go to help quickly and give a sort of first aid in different ways. The ONEMI I was talking about (here in Chile) can get hold of some food and water rations that are sent quicly with military planes if it´s posible. The same occurs with campaign hospitals and momentary dwellings.
Take care!
@indhunair (259)
• India
3 Mar 10
comparing you people,earth quakes little bit low for us,but floods are seen here,on that occassion we all one unity and do survive our people,anydisorders coming also we together giving that surfed people,first aids,physical mental help,we have done it.
@Dhamodhar (97)
• India
3 Mar 10
I feel too bad about this instance,its all natural calamities we cannt do any thinh
even though we discover many technoloy we cannt stop this natural disaster
but our government take many steps to prevent the people,only we can pray to
these people and we can do some help woth our extent,sorry ya iam feel very bad to talk these
