Why did the earthquake that struck Chile early Saturday morning—500 times more powerful than Haiti’s earthquake seven weeks ago—cause so much less death and destruction? Why are the people of Haiti mourning 200,000 dead, while the death toll in Chile likely will not exceed 1,000?
The media has consulted plenty of experts to attempt to explain why. CNN featured Dr. Colin Stark of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University. “Poverty is what ultimately kills most people during an earthquake,” he writes.
Dr. Stark gets it.
More than half the population in Haiti lives on less than $1 a day; the average annual income is $1,300. Nearly one-quarter of Haitian children suffer from malnutrition. Only half of Haitians over the age of 15 can read and write, and less than 30 percent reach the sixth grade.
Chile has a literacy rate greater than 95 percent among its residents over age 15. Boys and girls, on average, are in school 14 years. In addition, only 2 percent of Chile’s people are living on less than $2 a day; the average Chilean earns nearly $15,000 annually.
As I said in an op-ed earlier this week in the Seattle Times, both earthquakes have brought immeasurable tragedy in people’s lives. I visited Port-au-Prince a few days following the earthquake, and I met many individuals whose lives were changed forever. I left four days later with a mixture of sadness and anger, the latter because most of the deaths would have been prevented—if Haiti hadn’t been so very poor.
In the aftermath of these tragedies, Chile will need support, but Haiti will need intensive investment, not for months, but years.
World Vision has made a long-term commitment to walking alongside Haitians as they renew and revive their country. What is God calling you to do over the long haul for the poor?
Much of Haiti’s death toll is due to poor constuction practices. In Haiti, many corners are cut when building, in order to cut costs. Essentially people were living in sand castles that came crumbling down, killing thousands.
In the efforts to rebuild Haiti, there has to be a new mindset concerning building code and safety regulation.
i am also saddened by the loss of the world vision workers in pakistan . . .it has been my joy to sponsor since dec. ‘05 . . .i’ve also been able to send occasional extra amounts & plan to do so as often as possible. i had major back surgery in 01/09 & haven’t been able to do extra work since then, but am now looking & will dedicate a good percentage of that money to “my little guy” . . . he’s not that little anymore . . . . i pray constantly & will add the pakistan tragedy to my list . . . with a joyful heart, i remain a servant in Christ . . . blessings, mark
Several months ago, as He so often does, God intersected several events in my life at once (including this book) to call me – over the long haul. I’ve begun a Master’s in Public Health with a Global Health concentration, hoping that in five (short? long?) years or so I’ll have the education and training to be of substantial use to the field.
A few months ago I would have read this blog with great compassion and interest – but now I add to that the beginnings of a solid understanding of the importance of Gini coefficients and how access – or lack thereof – to an adequate water supply impacts education rates. I can’t wait to build on that knowledge, and to see how God would have me refine my interests to His best use.
39,000 population compared to 2 million population MIGHT have an effect on how many people are killed by the earthquake. This makes it sound like it is JUST because they are uneducated / poor. Also, the construction methods in Haiti are for hurricanes and devastating in an earthquake. No doubt, there is a serious issue of poverty and lack of education in Haiti, but the implication here seems deceptive.