Balochistan: The earthquake: natural & social

Along with the requisite mourning, there is a tendency to consider natural disasters as a curse about which little can be done. This overlooks the fact that, while the disaster itself may be natural, many of its destructive effects are worsened by human culpability. Tuesday’s earthquake in Balochistan, which has killed more than 300 people so far, illustrates just how important it is to be prepared for disasters before they occur and have plans in place to deal with the resultant problems. The earthquake hit a total of six districts in the province with Awaran by far being the most affected. In the coming hours and days the death toll will surely rise and will be attributable to the severely underdeveloped infrastructure in these areas. Rescue teams are already facing problems reaching the affected areas since road links either do not exist or have been made inaccessible by the earthquake. Communication systems in the province were already far behind those in the rest of the country, thereby exacerbating the problem. There are nowhere near enough hospitals in the area and a serious shortage of doctors, forcing military rescuers to transport people via helicopters to Karachi. Rains in the area have caused even greater complications. All these problems were not caused by the earthquake; the earthquake only highlighted how unprepared Balochistan is to deal with these disasters. The houses in the earthquake-affected areas tend to be mud-built and so cannot withstand the force of the shocks. Enforcing building codes is impossible when people barely have the resources to build homes for themselves in the first place. This is why the earthquake, which measured 7.7 on the Richter scale and four smaller aftershocks, caused so much damage in Balochistan even though larger earthquakes in places like Japan and the state of California that are on major faultlines have far fewer casualties. But quakes on a similar scale have killed tens of thousands in underdeveloped areas here. The 2005 disaster in Kashmir that claimed nearly 100,000 lives is a case in point. The Awaran death toll could have been even higher but for the fact that the district is spread over 21,000 square kilometres but houses only 300,000 people. The sparse settlements prevented death on a larger scale, though the situation is also now proving to be a logistical nightmare whose aftermath may have political repercussions in a province where so much anger festers already. Every effort should be made to avoid such a situation. In the short term, the military and the National Disaster Management Authority will have to try and do what they can to help survivors and ensure rehabilitation. But we cannot afford to let our outrage die down with time. The only way to minimise the damage caused is to prepare for disasters before they happen. We must ponder why we have failed to adequately develop Balochistan – a resource rich province – and meet even the most fundamental needs of its people. The state must improve the infrastructure throughout the country – with Balochistan needing the most help – and provide residents with the bare essentials of life like sufficient hospitals and housing that at least comes close to being earthquake resistant. This was a lesson we refused to learn after the 2005 earthquake killed close to 100,000 people but now we must finally heed nature’s warning.