[April 28, 2015] Some of the more encouraging stories coming out of Nepal are the many ordinary folks working feverishly to rescue those trapped by the damage of the recent Nepal earthquake. Death and destruction are extensive, danger of aftershocks and more threats to life are very real, but people are stepping up to help.
Those brave folks are giving government leadership time to organize additional relief efforts; medical, food, water, and shelter. The hard work will be massive and will also require disaster mitigation professionals with the right equipment and transportation assets. However, without the quick and continuous response from those locals, the professionals would be working at a great disadvantage.
Surprised? I’ve been to many natural disaster areas (usually only a day or two after) and find the reaction by people in the local area to differ. The type of disaster, whether natural or manmade, is not significant in how people are able to respond.
Two examples will illustrate. Hurricane Mitch in 1998 hit Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua killing nearly 11,000 and leaving 2.7 million homeless.1 In all three countries, residents who were able, jumped in to help and made it possible for professional medical and engineering efforts to assist. The governments were open about the destruction and welcomed relief efforts.
On the other hand, a 2013 earthquake on the Iran-Pakistan border region did not goes as well. The government of Iran put a lid on news from the region, downplayed the casualties, and criticized international efforts to assist.2 Unfortunately due to the closed-nature of the Iranian government not much news flowed out of the region but unconfirmed reports were that locals, as well as police officials, refused to help others who were not members of their tribe.
Disasters have occurred throughout history and yet the immediate response by local citizens has usually been positive and helpful. We value helping other people regardless of where we live. Leaders rise to the surface and organized small groups act to save lives and assist the injured. They are the first-line of defense to greater death and destruction. Our greatest respect goes out to the people of Nepal and the fact that their government has been open about the earthquake’s aftermath. We wish them the well under very difficult circumstances.
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[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Mitch
[2] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/16/iran-earthquake-2013_n_3090799.html