South Asia Earthquake

Then most people think of earthquakes they don't usually think about Pakistan, Northern India and the remote sections of China; they typically think about the pacific rim (the ring of fire). Well another region of the world where there are potentially some very violent earthquakes is just that region. Over the weekend there was a magnitude 7.6 earthquake in the area causing massive devastation and loss of life. Most of the people reading this have never experienced an earthquake and those that have know it's a scary thing to be in. Now imagine living in one of these regions where the buildings haven't been built to withstand such an event; that would truly be scary.

So when I heard about this I was shocked that only a handful of people had lost their lives; well that was over the weekend and the death toll is now into the thousands and is probably going to continue climbing. The region isn't know for it's seizmic... or however you spell the bloody word... activity. But when you think about it the Indian subcontinent is moving north driving up the Himalayas, there has to be some powerful forces at work to produce that. Well the experts were predicting the quake and it wasn't nearly as powerful as it could have been.

The US government just gave 50 billion to rebuild in the wake of the Katrina disaster but only pledged 50 million to their alies in this devastated region. I haven't heard of what Canada or other countries have contributed but this is a major disaster that's affected millions. I understand that the people in your own country are a priority but helping those in need should definitely be up there. The 50 million will probably barely cover the basic necessities in the region (then again I might be wrong and it will be enough) for those of you that can please donate to the red cross.

Links
S Asia's deadly Himalayan fault
American Red Cross

Categories: Disaster, South Asia, Earthquake, Red Cross