It is a study in contrasts that I’m sure kept civil, structural, and architectural engineering students busy this last semester- the two major earthquakes that struck Haiti and Chile earlier this year. It’s not hard to remember both of these tragic events, the utter devastation in Haiti and the tsunamis in Chile. Millions were donated for relief, headlines were made by those who gave up everything to serve. Add the fact that both of these occurred a month apart and many believed that this was it, that Christ’s return was imminent.
But look past the emotional response. Look past the headlines that caught all of our attention. Look at the details. The Haiti earthquake was a magnitude 7 (for comparison, the famous Northridge earthquake was only 6.7) and the earthquake off the coast of Chile was 8.8. While those numbers look close, because of the way the scale is set the Chilean earthquake was nearly 500 times as powerful as Haiti’s. There were an estimated 230,000 casualties from the Haitian earthquake compared to only 521 in Chile and elsewhere along the South American Pacific coast.
Yes, you read that right, roughly 200,000 more casualties for an earthquake almost 500 times less powerful. Let that sink in and you’re bound to ask, “why?” Location is part of it- the Chilean quake was off the coast versus near Haiti’s capital. But even with the resulting tsunamis, the death count would have been expected to be higher. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami claimed nearly the same number of lives as the earthquake in Haiti. (Though even there, location- how far off the coast- played an important role) But location doesn’t tell the whole story.
Early reporting of the earthquake in Chile noted that because of frequent seismic activity, Chileans knew how to respond to the earthquake and much of the infrastructure was modernized to be earthquake-proofed. But earthquakes in Haiti are not rare, so the personal response should have been similar. The key difference then was infrastructure. Sadly it’s no secret that Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. And that the earthquake epicenter was near a densely populated area, it becomes obvious why there was such a difference in casualties. When it comes right to it, buildings in Chile were simply built stronger.
“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.“ (Luke 6:46-49)
The Three Little Pigs teaches us that what we build with determines whether we can stand up to the big bad wolf. But Christ teaches us that it is more important what we build on. When thinking about strength, I could not help but reflect on Jesus. My strength is worthless if I’m not relying on His. He is my rock and my foundation. I’m comforted to know that so long as I build on Him as a foundation, I may be shaken but I will not fall. An infrastructure built on Christ is earthquake-proof.
This post is part of Bridget Chumbley’s Blog Carnival. This week’s topic is “strength“. Head on over there to read other insightful posts from a diverse array of bloggers.