The Tsunami: Assigning Responsibility

Paper Summary:

Although the tsunami was an unavoidable natural disaster, the death tolls are a sign of government neglect because they could have been avoided or, at least, greatly reduced had the governments of these countries, and especially Indonesia, knowing that their area is sensitive to the risk of tsunami, placed restrictions on construction on coastal areas, developed a regional tsunami warning system, or paid attention to the warnings that a tsunami was about to occur and responded through evacuations. As far as Indonesia, which suffered the highest death toll, is concerned, the tsunami could not have been avoided, but the high death rates could have been, making this government at least partly responsible for the consequences of the tsunami.

From the Paper:

"As the year 2004 came to an end, a devastating tsunami struck the countries of South East Asia. Considered one of the greatest humanitarian tragedies in recent decades, the tsunami killed almost a quarter of a million people and left five million homeless in just a few hours. This natural disaster is considered as the worst one in the last 40 years as the death toll reached about 100 000 dead people and thousands are missing and millions were left homeless "threatened by diseases that are spread through dirty water, mosquitoes and overcrowding" ("How the Deadly..."). Of the twelve countries that were hit by the tsunami, Indonesia had the highest death toll that reached about 80 000. Most people assumed that the tsunami was an unavoidable natural disaster and therefore, none of the governments involved were held even partly responsible for this great loss in life and the devastation of the infrastructure. Most may make this assumption because they do not have the knowledge and background about tsunamis to reach a different opinion but, those who have this knowledge insist that the governments of these countries are responsible for the majority of the deaths. Conrad Lautenbacher, the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, insists, the death toll could have been reduced by at least 85% (" Observing Earth"). The death toll could have been reduced if there had been a tsunami warning system in the region and the governments had applied some well-known rules regarding construction in countries that are vulnerable to tsunami, Although the tsunami was an unavoidable natural disaster, the death tolls are a sign of government neglect because they could have been avoided or, at least, greatly reduced had the governments of these countries, and especially Indonesia, knowing that their area is sensitive to the risk of tsunami, have placed restrictions on construction on coastal areas, have developed a regional tsunami warning system or, paid attention to the warnings that a tsunami was about to occur and responded through evacuations. As far as Indonesia, which suffered the highest death toll, is concerned, the tsunami could not have been avoided but the high death rates could have been, making this government at least partly responsible for the consequences of the tsunami."

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