Chile vs Haiti

Chile and Haiti are one of the more common countries to be compared side by side to because they are both small countries, yet completely opposite. Chili is known for its many earthquakes and tsunami's following after, while Haiti "hasn’t had a major quake in about 250 years." The natural disaster's aren't what sets the two countries apart, its the stark contrast between each others economic and social status. 80% of Haitians are in poverty, while only 20% of Chilean people are.This difference leads to how prepared each county was for the earthquake and tsunami's that famously happened in beginning of 2010.

Haiti was hit in January 2010, and hard. It led to a loss of over 200,000 people. "Not surprisingly, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere lacks basic tsunami preparedness, such as warning signs on beaches." says tsunami researcher by the name of Fritz. The tsunami was unexpected, but not the loss. "Many people were killed by the Indian Ocean tsunami because they went down to the beach to view the retreating ocean exposing the seafloor." an expert for National Geographic states. These researchers are giving living proof of how unprepared and lack of knowledge about safety preparation Haiti is. The lack of preparation led to a drastic loss of civilians. A Haitian survivor describes how the lack of financial income effects the outcome of these natural disasters. "Chile has a responsible government, our government is incompetent." Chili also has a government that insists on strict codes for buildings that are made to move with an earthquake; therefore, creating less damage. In fact, Chili had a loss of under a thousand people, whearas Haiti lost 199,000 more. Preparation in every aspect affects the outcome for the people.