Earthquakes - What can I do to help?

Earthquakes are not going away anytime soon. This type of natural disaster has become commonplace in the news as evidenced by the recent event in Haiti which has been described as among the largest catastrophes of the last 100 years.

In Haiti, medical teams set up makeshift clinics to triage patients on the grounds of destroyed hospital structures and accomplished complicated surgical procedures in inflatable hospitals and tents. Even now, Emergency Management and relief work continues to address the various challenges facing the Haitian people.

In a single month in 2009, earthquakes ranging from 5.2 to 5.9 on the Richter scale hit areas of Indonesia, Nicaragua and Kashmir. Although modern science can tell us when an earthquake is probable, the effects and strength are often unexpected, ranging from a barely noticeable shudder to a devastating quake like the one that hit the Italian town of L'Aquila in April 2009, leaving nearly 300 people dead and tens of thousands more without homes.

The effects of an earthquake go far beyond the initial loss of life or property. The emotional effects can be long-lasting and difficult to heal. One child survivor, remembering her 2006 experience, said, “I'm very afraid to remember.” Her mother and father were crushed to death when their house in Java collapsed. Six-year old Sofiana escaped death because she was playing outside at the time. During the months following the disaster, she received psycho-social counseling to help her come to terms with the emotional trauma.

Despite efforts to provide counseling and therapy to earthquake survivors, there are often not enough resources to help everyone, in both developing and developed countries alike. Mental health institutions don’t always have enough providers to treat everyone who needs it. After the earthquake that killed Sofiana’s parents, health officials reported at least two suicides and several more attempts.

Stories like this can lead to hopelessness and despair…but they don’t have to. In a world where earthquakes can and do happen, it’s unproductive to turn away from reality. Hundreds of amazing resources exist for the purpose of preparing for earthquakes, responding appropriately to minimize damage, and recovering as quickly as possible.

Where can these resources be found? Earthquake response systems fall under the umbrella term “emergency management.” This is a rapidly growing field that entered educational institutions around two decades ago and has been growing ever since. Emergency Management has many different aspects and points of entrance, but experts all agree that in the future more and more emergency managers in government as well as in business and industry will come to the job with college education that includes a degree in emergency management.

For example, Bill Burke, president of the Central United States Earthquake Consortium (CUSEC), is helping with a national catastrophic planning initiative that addresses a 150-mile fault system known as the New Madrid fault. The fault crosses four states, and if there were to be an earthquake, multiple areas would be affected.

“We have about 25 counties in southern Illinois that potentially could be heavily impacted by a New Madrid earthquake,” Burke explained in a 2007 interview by Security Management magazine. “Anything over a 5.0, and certainly a 6.0 or 7.0, would impact those areas potentially seriously.”

How seriously? On the Richter scale, an earthquake over 5.0 can cause slight damage, a 6.0 earthquake can cause destruction in areas up to about 100 miles across in populated areas, and a 7.0 earthquake can cause major damage across large areas. Fortunately, only about 20 earthquakes of a 7.0 scale occur each year. But whether or not one of that scale will occur on the New Madrid fault, and how soon, is impossible to predict. Since he can’t predict it, Burke does the next best thing: he works with FEMA to spread awareness, prepare emergency response teams, and mitigate the potential effects of an earthquake.

“We're starting to look at and work with the local communities on putting together earthquake annexes and having them understand some of the potential impacts,” Burke explained.

Burke happens to work at the state level, but emergency management experts are needed at all levels, from local to federal and global, to help prepare for and respond to earthquakes. Trained nurses are needed to provide care for the injured, manage response teams, and educate the public. Engineers are needed to construct earthquake-safe hospitals so that patients don’t need to be evacuated. Firefighters are needed to respond to earthquake-caused fires and rescue people trapped under rubble.

Whatever your skills and abilities, if hearing about earthquake-related tragedies makes you ask, “What can I do to help?” then emergency management might be a good career track for you. Nowadays, dozens of accredited schools offer excellent programs in emergency management or related fields. And upon graduation, you can look forward to choosing from hundreds of possible jobs in fields that that run the gamut from disaster planning to law enforcement to public administration. Join the thousands of dedicated individuals who are helping to mitigate the effects of earthquakes and other natural disasters.

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