Conclusion - "Does Humanity have enough Information to Disaster Proof the Planet"

Conclusion:

The earth is dynamic and is ever moving and changing and as a result sometimes can cause catastrophic tectonic disasters in the process which has endangered the lives of millions over centuries of recorded time. The question is posed therefore “Does humanity have enough information to disaster proof the planet?”. To disaster proof the planet is not to stop tectonic events but to proof the planet of the disaster that coincides with these events. Even this is a monumental task that will take decades to achieve. There are many reasons why disaster ‘proofing’ the planet is still far from achievable.

Scientists are still in the early stages of creating methods to predict earthquakes. As mentioned earlier scientists are in the early stages of studying anomalies caused by the compression of rock, these anomalies include electromagnetic, earthquake lights, thermal infrared VLP (very low frequency) radio waves anomalies. These all occur around the epicentre of future earthquakes and into the future these anomalies may be of vital importance of predicting earthquakes though this could be decades away. Though research is being done to understand these anomalies that could warn humanity before an earthquake strikes, the emphases is on minimising damage and death. This will come through both education and implementing warning systems in more areas. Today there are four main tsunami warning systems the Pacific, Indian, Caribbean and Atlantic/ Mediterranean warning centres that are able to send warnings and risks assessment out within minutes of the event occurring.

In addition to this, greater education needs to be used so that people respond promptly when warning system are alerted. Technology has advanced rapidly in the last decade and so we have infrastructure to minimise damage, though education needs to also be implemented. The effects of a lack of education was seen in 2011 when only 58% of the people in the prefecture hit moved to higher ground and out of the way of the Tsunami, this was partially due to the inaccuracy in the size of the Tsunami but also because people didn’t feel they were in much danger. In addition, many tourists in 2004 rushed to the beach as the tide withdrew fascinated by the withdrawing water and then were stranded as the crest of tsunami moved in. So along with warning systems education needs to be put in place.

Furthermore, the conditions of the areas in which disasters have struck are not the same. There are economic and social differences from country to country. In the Indian Ocean 2004 disaster the areas that were struck were developing nations, in addition to this the areas were also low lying. There were no warning systems in place and so even though areas such as Sri Lanka were struck three hours after the initial earthquake, the Tsunami was still unexpected and added to the death toll. As well the infrastructure in these countries was very basic and so refuge couldn’t be found in buildings that were reinforced by concrete or had multiple storeys to climb.  

In 2011 there was the nuclear disaster which has displaced 170,000 people and is causing thyroid cancer in children. Hence we can see that areas hit by disaster are not all the same and need all be treated differently which adds to the issue of ‘disaster proofing’ the planet.

Therefore it can be seen that at the moment we can not disaster proof the planet. Prediction of earthquakes is still decades away and therefore research and development only aims to minimise the risk. As well as this, there are economic and social differences that make it hard to protect the world equally. Finally though, every case is different, in 2004 the area was developing and had no warning system and so the countries hit were taken completely by surprise. In 2011 in a developed country there was a radioactive fallout which had great affect, so it can bee seen that every case is different hence making it impossible to disaster proof the planet.