Earthquakes Today – PLSC 359: Global Governance

Today, the media is overwhelmed with talks of war and manmade destruction, things that are done to people by people. While fighting and wars have existed for centuries, there is a certain type of devastation that has been occurring for much longer: Natural Disasters.

This past weekend a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Ecuador, a level that places it as a “major earthquake”, causing massive destruction. (To read more about the different values of magnitudes and what they mean: http://www.geo.mtu.edu/UPSeis/magnitude.html ).

Currently, there are still searches occurring, the death toll is currently at 272 poll, and many are still trapped and injured. While natural disasters have always been present in the world, they continue to make appearances, bringing with them the capability to bring down cities, distract governments and militaries, and flood health centers.

Despite there being methods to predict earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, and many other types of disasters throughout the world, they are not always reliable and such occurrences can catch many people off guard.

While I have thankfully never experienced a storm/disaster of this sort firsthand, the stories that I have heard are frightening. Natural disasters hold a power over society before, during and after the event. With a warning, there is often a rush to evacuate, during, the crushing terror, and after the disaster, the worry for those still missing or injured and emotional devastation for those killed.

To read more about the earthquake in Ecuador, here are a few links:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/17/americas/ecuador-deadly-earthquake/

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/18/world/americas/ecuador-earthquake-deaths.html?_r=0

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/17/ecuador-earthquake-230-killed-magnitude-seven-point-eight

Kim says:

April 30, 2016 at 1:55 am

I am currently taking a class that briefly talked about the sublime and human interactions with nature. This post reminded me of my own experience with the sublime, where you feel for the first time the true greatness of nature around you. Aleah, your comment about trying to predict earthquakes and natural disasters reminded me of that because though our technology may get more advanced, there is something so devastatingly beautiful about the power of nature. I think that instances like these humble men as we are truly just here for the ride.