Mitigation and risk reduction (case) - Essay Example

Despite the wide range of techniques initiated since the Lisbon earthquake, the increased population density in mega cities has impeded the efficacy of all those tactics. In addition to urbanization, there are several other impediments to preventive strategies. This paper tends to explore various elements that hamper disaster prevention programs in mega cities. Although earthquake is a natural phenomenon that cannot be averted, we can take some precautions in order to mitigate the destructive potential of its aftermath.

The invention of Richter scale has enabled us for computing the magnitude of earthquakes. Today, it is possible to identify frequently earthquake occurring places and the intensity of every earthquake. Modern facilities such as earthquake alarming systems are some of the advancements in this area. However, lack of improved infrastructural deterrence techniques often affects the effectiveness of disaster prevention in mage cities. According to census reports published by Government of Maharashtra (2000) in 1991, 60% of the registered buildings in Mumbai were made up of non-engineered materials such as informal masonry.

It is important to note that Mumbai is categorized under seismic zone 3, which indicates the high vulnerability to the occurrence of devastating earthquakes. The earthquake history of Mumbai reflects that large number of earthquakes occurred across different parts of the city during the last century and even in the last two years. Severe losses had not been reported until 1967 when one attacked Koyna region of Mumbai with a magnitude of 6.3. Large number of buildings was destroyed at this calamity.

Damages of such sorts can be avoided to a large extent only if the city employs geotechnical guidelines for the disaster prevention. The Earthquakes and Megacities Initiative (EMI) reports that “poor governance structures, lack of awareness, and poor professional standards and ethics” are some of the major impediments for disaster prevention in mega cities (cited in Wenzel, 2006). Poor governance implies that different communities and sectors of the society do not cooperate with one another in order to mitigate the impacts of the calamity.

Impediments associated with poor governance are reflected in 2004 Indian ocean earthquake. Its magnitude was between 9.1 and 9.3 and it was recorded as one of the deadliest disasters of world history, which killed nearly 230,000 people (Online Colleges, 2010). The death rate would not have exceeded 200,000 if the various social capital of a community such as media, business, and other civil organizations had coordinately involved in rescue activities. Hence, it is advisable to design proper mechanisms for the effective communication between various social sectors as it would ensure disaster effects mitigation rather effortlessly.

Similarly, paucity of awareness and poor knowledge about risk factor remain to be the major constraint to disaster prevention in mega cities. Evidently, urban people do not have proper awareness regarding the occurrence of earthquakes, and hence they do not know how to respond to such situations. This lack of awareness amplifies the intensity of the calamity since the people in mega cities get totally confused and distorted during such events. For instance, the impact of 2010 Chile earthquake can be attributed to lack of awareness or poor knowledge.

This earthquake continued for three minutes with a magnitude