The future of Disaster

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Last night, my time, around 2 or 3 am, an 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit Japan, which was followed by a tsunami and a dozen or so “aftershocks.”  The largest earthquake was the first, but the aftershocks haven’t been small situations, either.

Lucky for the Japanese, the government invested billions of dollars into an early detection and alarm system.  You can see, below, how investments in technology probably saved thousands of lives by alerting Japanese citizens moments before the earthquake arrived.

Depending on the distance to the epicenter of the earthquake, the alarm gives the people more or less time to get ready.  It could be a 10 second warning or, like yesterday for people in Tokyo, an 80 second warning.  This may not seem like much, but it is enough for people to turn off gas lines, pull cars over, get out of elevators, lower construction cranes or stop surgeries that are in progress and create/find cover.  These warnings are aired over television and radio stations, but can also be texted to phones, tweeted via Twitter or blasted over internet lines.  An example below (notice the amount of time the person has before the earthquake gets going):

The thing about Japanese that is fortunate for them is their preparedness.  They have been working on their early warning system for earthquakes and tsunamis for the last ten years and they have spent the last two decades fortifying their skyscrapers with the latest in seismic retrofitting technology.  Their buildings can actually sway like palm trees, as you can see in the following video:

The really cool thing about technology is that, although there may not be a long enough connection to get a phone call to a loved one, there may be enough connection to send off a text message, or send a tweet out to one’s friends.  This is the sort of thing that is happening more and more around the world as crises occur. 

A new happening is the internet’s answer to the “lost persons board” often found in town centers after devastating events.  Google has set up a “Crisis Response” where people can post “I am looking for someone” or “I have information about someone.”  This is a huge help in these areas for families or friends to search to find loved ones.

Tweets, Facebook groups, and text messaging are also wonderful, quick ways for a person to donate a small amount of money or a rescue or aid organization without the group having to create a television ad or organize extra volunteers for a large amount of incoming calls.

Make SURE that you do not text or allow anyone to have any of your money information until you check the validity of the organization.  MSNBC has a great article about WHAT TO THINK ABOUT BEFORE YOU DONATE MONEY.

MSNBC also has some Organizations that are Accepting Donations HERE