Haitian quake vs the 1994 Northridge quake

Haiti's Tragedy

Excerpts:

We may never learn the precise toll inflicted by Tuesday evening's earthquake in Haiti. But even now it's clear it may rank with the 2004 Christmas tsunami and the 1976 Tangshan earthquake in China as one of the worst natural disasters in living memory.

...

The earthquake is also a reminder that while natural calamities do not discriminate between rich countries and poor ones, their effects almost invariably do. The 1994 Northridge quake was nearly as powerful as the one that struck Haiti, but its human toll was comparatively slight. The difference is a function of a wealth-generating and law-abiding society that can afford, among other things, the expense of proper building codes.

In the long term, the best defense against future natural disasters is to promote the political and economic conditions that can move people out of the slums and shanties that easily become death traps

Comment: More on 1994 Northridge earthquake. Readers are strongly encouraged to give to relief efforts! Here's a list of EFCA Organizations providing Haiti relief. We gave to Baptist Haiti Mission.

Images from the NYTimes: A Closer Look at the Destruction in Haiti