"A Shared Tragedy in South-East Asia"

The tragic aftermath of Sunday's massive earthquake in the Indian Ocean is a reminder that the biggest threat to human security is not ourselves, but the environment we live in and for the most part take for granted. My family in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia wasn't affected as much to this incident but still have yet to confirm with some of my other friends whom have families in the northern part of Malaysia (Penang, Kedah, Perlis and Perak) whom did see some disaster. I spoke to my mom on Monday night (Tuesday afternoon, KL time) and she said they are okay, nothing major to be concerned about in the city area but there were reports of slight tremor that was felt in some of the tall high-rise buildings in KL. The coastal/beach areas like Penang and Kedah were hit badly and had some major fatality. Compared to the worst-hit areas of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and India - and even that of neighboring Thailand - the losses in Malaysia have been mercifully small. I should think those in Malaysia are rather fortunate that they did not bear the full brunt of the massive earthquake/tsunami and spared the worst.

It is a well-known fact that earthquakes, volcanoes, typhoons and other forces of nature which strike countries in the region with tragic regularity tend to bypass Malaysia. It is the fact that they have not experienced the devastating effects of such natural calamities that makes it difficult to come to terms with what has been the worst natural disaster in Malaysia's history. It serves, therefore, as a salutary reminder that we are not immune to the unpredictability of the elements and the vagaries of fate. It makes it all the more imperative that we are well prepared to handle every imaginable disaster, however remote the possibility.

While not much can be done to prevent movements in the earth's crust or changes in climatic conditions from wreaking their havoc, a lot can still be done to mitigate their devastating effects. In this context, it will not be out of place to consider setting up an early warning system for tsunami. If there was no justifiable need for such a wave warning system before, that is certainly not the case now. We cannot afford to be caught unawares in the future.

moi spoke out loud on 12/28/2004 11:52:00 AM

[0] told me everything loud and clear