Natural Disasters: Let us be mindful

On January 12, 2011, the world and Haiti remembered the great devastation which Haiti experienced in the form of an earthquake one year ago. To date, the country, with all the 'promised' international aid and assistance has made very little progress in rebuilding as 800,000 people are still living in tents and make shift dwellings. The makeshift homes are made up of tarpaulin and pieces of cardboard boxes while the lesser quality ones are made up of sheets or other sown together pieces of cloth.

As if the earthquake was not overwhelming enough, later in the year (2010) Haiti was hit with a cholera epidemic where so far about 2,500 people have died. With all the attention that that country has been getting, no semblance of order has been able to take form there so as to benefit the Haitian people in any meaningful way. The general consensus is that the country's political leadership lacks the capacity and is not up to the task to make any real impact in rebuilding the country.

Haiti has not been the only country struck by disaster. Sri Lanka is now feeling the effects of a massive flood in which more than 360,000 of its people have been displaced. Twenty Seven persons died as a result and 12 are missing and fear dead.

Brisbane, Australia's third largest city has also experienced weeks of rain and flooding where more than half of its buildings, both residential and commercial, have been completely covered by flood waters. So far, at least 22 persons have died and 50 are missing. Many residents have had to vacate their homes forcing them to stay with family and friends as 40,000 homes have been affected.

Brazil too has suffered devastation from a massive mud slide. Urban planners have said that the devastation was able to escalate due to the illegal buildings which exist mainly in what we would call "the inner-cities" in the north of Rio de Janeiro. And they too struggle to restore order to their country in which 500 persons have died as a result and vehicles cannot drive because of blocked roads.

With everything that is happening around the world, I cannot help but wonder if our (Jamaica's) time will come. Of course, there might be some scientific explanations and no doubt numerous speculations as to why so many natural disasters are taking place but whatever the reason, we need to be mindful of what is going on around us and help in any way we can.