Texas Floods, Mexico Earthquake, Hurricane Irma ... why we do not avoid the effects of natural disasters if possible

[OyaYansa]

Floods in Texas, a powerful earthquake in Mexico, a wake of destruction and death following Irma's passage through the Caribbean and the United States ...
The list of natural disasters in recent days has been really remarkable.
But is there a way to prepare for them and avoid their most damaging consequences?
Everything indicates that yes.
How Hurricane Irma caused the European powers to remember their territories in the Caribbean
In photos: the desolation and floods left by Hurricane Irma as it passed through Cuba
However, the problem is that the alternatives require that politicians, companies and even ourselves change our way of thinking about the future.
Bad habits
According to BBC journalist Amanda Ruggeri, to understand what we could do to avoid the most negative effects of natural disasters, we should start by thinking that sometimes the problem is in the way we see things.
"It would seem that it is part of human nature to postpone preparation for something that we believe is relatively unlikely to happen," he says.

This is particularly true when these preparations cost money.
And is that many people prefer to pay to have a roof for the night, but not for a life insurance policy may not need for years.
Just as many people do not pay for health insurance and then get sick, paying to be prepared for a natural disaster could save you a lot of money in the future.
Ruggeri says that in the United States, for example, one study showed that for every US $ 1 the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) paid for disaster preparedness, it saved US $ 4 in costs of recovery later.

A recent survey of disaster mitigation efforts around the world (ranging from elevating flood-prone homes in Samoa to volcano monitoring facilities in the Philippines) showed that disaster mitigation is, in fact, profitable.
In Mexico one of the problems is the difference that exists between the norms and the urban infrastructures (especially Mexico) and the rural zones.
"There are good building codes in Mexico City, according to the lessons learned, especially after the 1985 earthquake. But this practice has not spread to the rest of the country," Luis Alvarez, director of the Institute of the Autonomous University of Mexico.
How prepared was the infrastructure of Mexico to withstand the impact of the strongest earthquake of the last century
The Florida example
In Florida, the devastation of Hurricane Andrew in 1992 demonstrated the importance of planning for a catastrophe.
The series of policy changes this entailed led to most of the homes in that state now being stronger: they include hurricane-resistant materials, more solid roofs, and reinforcements of concrete pillars.

"After Hurricane Andrew, we passed some very aggressive codes to prevent the effects of the winds," Nichole Hefty, head of sustainability in Miami-Dade County, told BBC journalist Amanda Ruggeri.
"Many builders opposed it and said it was too costly, but we did, and now our community is much more protected than others and we have one of the strongest building codes in terms of protection across the country," he says.
However, with budget cuts, developers who are resistant to regulations and many politicians for whom the future only reaches the end of their mandates, societies often do not consider disaster mitigation as a priority.

The bad example of Houston
Houston has been a recent and tragic example.
How Hurricane Harvey floods in Houston sank Earth's crust 2 centimeters
"The Most Devastating Flood in Houston's History": Emergency in Texas Largest City After Storm Harvey Pass
Part of the reason for the flood is found in that the city is very flat, low and has a poor drainage system.
But there were also other "artificial" motives, such as the recent boom in construction in areas where there previously had been flood protection and deficiencies in building regulations and sewer systems.
According to Amanda Ruggeri, politicians have long been warned that something like this could happen, but they did not act to prevent it.

Another example is the reluctance of individuals, communities and even corporations to protect themselves financially from natural disasters.
Last year, only 26 percent of economic losses from natural disasters around the world were covered by insurance.
And the amount of these losses was remarkable: only in the United States they represented around US $ 210 billion, making 2016 the most expensive year since 2012.
However, many people view natural disasters as unique and sporadic events.

But this cyclonic season has shown that they are not.
In fact, hurricanes are becoming more powerful.
According to NASA, some studies indicate that today, hurricanes increase their power, the speed of their winds and the force of their rains faster than 25 years ago.
How meteorologists do to predict the route of hurricanes like Irma
In 6 Steps: How to form hurricanes like Irma
All this at a time when the world po[CENSORED]tion has increased, as well as property values in hurricane-prone areas, which makes natural disasters extremely costly and more frequent.
But even places that have not been historically prone to hurricanes are not immune either.
Any area is in danger
At first glance, it would seem logical that Houston was not prepared for hurricanes: there is an annual chance of 1 out of 500 that a Category 4 hurricane like Harvey will reach this city.
But three of those powerful storms have already been seen in the past 10 years.

Maybe cities like Houston, and even Miami, will not see hurricanes like Harvey and Irma for another 10, 50 or even 250 years.
But no one has a crystal ball.
That's why we better invest money now in new regulations, zoning codes, drainage systems and stronger dikes to stop high tides.
For natural disasters it is better to be prepared.

[Dark]

Ojala que se recuperen! y que pase la desgracia :'(  Fuerzas ! 

[OyaYansa]

Si amigo, aun estoy impresionada de la forma en que se inundo miami :/ unos de los huracanes mas fuerte que a pasado en mucho tiempo, espero que se recuperen & pasen con fuerza esas desgracias....