Earthquake in Washington D.C. ~January 13, 2010

Natural disasters claim the lives of thousands of people every year not just in the United States but all around the world. The most memorable ones that have happened in the past ten years are the Tsunami in 2004 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Haiti’s recent earthquake was devastating to the country because almost all of the buildings were knocked down because in Haiti, there are no building codes that all buildings have to measure up to. Also because all the buildings fell down due to lack of building codes, when falling, the buildings trapped and crushed people underneath them causing several thousand in the country to die.

If this situation would have happened in the United States, more specifically Washington D.C, I believe that the damage would still be the same however we would have the ability to get back on our feet. Just like when Louisiana was almost completely washed away, our country would rose to the occasion and got matters worked out. Though some would argue that it took way too long for the help to arrive, our country still got the work done. Also, Haiti is a very poor country and very underdeveloped. (Not to say that our country is any richer due to the seven trillion we are in debt)In our country we had the insurance to rely on in order to make everything the way it was before. America had the resources to help our neighbors out by giving them things they needed in the time of great need. However Haiti is right next to the Dominican Republic, with which do not have to best relationship between the two of them. Thus, Haiti had to wait for the help of other counties far away rather than right next door to them. Though the deaths have not had an accurate count, officials think there are thousands dead.

That's all for now!
~Ali