If there was ever a starker example on how a good government and strong regulations saves lives, it is the comparison between the damage and death in Hait and Chile.
Haiti's earthquake was 7.0 and resulted in 200,000 deaths. Chile's earthquake was 8.8 or about 500 times greater and resulted in about 300 deaths.
It's early for the Chilean quake,so more deaths may be reported but it's 1,000 times LESS deaths for a quake 500 times GREATER.
Why is this?
Some factors are geographical and thus unavoidable, Chile's earthquake was deeper and further offshore, Haiti was closer to land. Haiti has a denser population. But one big factor is that Chile has better government.
Chile has building codes that require earthquake safety be built in and those codes are enforced.
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"When you look at the architecture in Chile you see buildings that have damage, but not the complete pancaking that you've got in Haiti," said Cameron Sinclair, executive director of Architecture for Humanity, a 10-year-old nonprofit that has helped people in 36 countries rebuild after disasters.
Sinclair said he has architect colleagues in Chile who have built thousands of low-income housing structures to be earthquake resistant.
In Haiti, by contrast, there is no building code.
Patrick Midy, a leading Haitian architect, said he knew of only three earthquake-resistant buildings in the Western Hemisphere's poorest country.
Even if building codes are considered 'too expensive' and 'restrictive to free enterprise', there are other ways good government helps. Chile had a better infrastructure, not just better roads and hospitals, but an organized response plan.
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Chileans are well versed in what to do during earthquakes, with drills part of every child’s schooling. "Just in case" attitudes, which might seem obsessive in other parts of the world, are the norm here. One woman says she turns off the gas valve every time she leaves the house, just in case a quake strikes when she is out.
The Chilean National Emergency Office, which coordinates emergency responses, stresses that Chile is among the world’s most seismic. On its website the agency spells out how to prepare in the event of an earthquake.
It's a stark lesson for politicians who crusade for 'less government'.