Recent events such as earthquakes in Japan and Haiti have left some people worried about how they would respond in similar situations.
In response to these crises and worries, the Arizona Science Center presented “Disasters in Arizona: Are we ready?” on Friday night, an hour-long lecture discussing disasters and how to prepare for them.
“We can’t expect the government is going to come in and take care of everything,” said Edward Kavazanjian, one of the two lecturers and a professor at ASU, to the crowd of about 20. “There is a certain community responsibility and personal responsibility that you need to take to be resilient in the event of a disaster.”
Kavazanjian, who holds a doctorate in civil and geotechnical engineering, and Tim Lant, the research director at ASU’s Decision Theater, emphasized the importance of being prepared and taking the necessary steps to ensure you are prepared in the event of an emergency.
“I think everyone should take a CPR class and a first aid class,” Kavazanjian said. “You never know.”
Lant also recommends people look at Ready America, a government program that helps people get an emergency kit, make a plan and provide information.
Kavazanjian discussed a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, in September 2010 and how quickly the city went back to normal.
“We got there about a week after the earthquake. We were a little disappointed, some of the things we wanted see, some of the earthquake effects, had already been covered up, had already been graded over by the repair crews,” Kavazanjian said.
Lant said that even though Arizona doesn’t have disasters of the same magnitude as the earthquake in New Zealand and Hurricane Katrina, that does not mean there are none here.
“Of course we don’t have tsunamis,” Lant said. “But there are other disasters, like flooding and the heat, plus we have a nuclear power plant.”
Lant also talked about the social side of disasters and how important community is.
“When disasters occur, they affect entire communities, so planning for disasters requires engaging the whole community,” Lant said.
A picture of the Louisiana Superdome, which sheltered approximately 26,000 people left in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, was used to exhibit the importance of community. The picture showed thousands of people sitting on uncomfortable looking cots.
“There’s not really a sense of community,” Lant said. “There is a lot of people sitting who are sitting on their cots. They don’t have anything to do. They’re waiting.”
Lant also emphasized the importance of being prepared enough to avoid the need for a shelter.
“Anyone who has the basic necessities to survive for a couple of days doesn’t have to put up with (shelters),” Lant said.
Although both Lant and Kavazanjian believe preparedness is essential in disaster situations, they said that even the most prepared person can’t prepare for a truly disastrous event.
“Preparedness pays, but in these truly catastrophic events, it’s hard to be prepared and to anticipate everything,” Kavazanjian said.
Contact the reporter at bstehmer@asu.edu
