A: Don't be poor. Don't even live in a poor country.
The earthquake in Chile was a magnitude 8.8, as opposed to the 7.0 quake in Haiti. This means it was 500 times bigger. (The calculation, for those curious, is 10 to the (8.8 - 7.0) x 3/2 power, or 10 to the 2.7 power). But the death toll appears be 500 to 1000 times smaller. Something similar happens consistently in earthquakes, hurricanes, and other "natural" disasters-- the event is natural, the disaster is not.
Did you know that calculation off the top of your head, or did you have to look it up?
ReplyDeleteN.