The response and effects of earthquakes to them are contrasting in different parts of the world

The response and effects of earthquakes to them are contrasting in different parts of the world. It all depends on the wealth of the country. An earthquake that I have studied in an MEDC is the L’Aquila earthquake. It occurred in L’Aquila Italy on the 6th of April 2009, and an earthquake I have studied in an LEDC is the Kashmir earthquake. This earthquake occurred in Kashmir Pakistan on the 8th of October 2005. The effects and the responses to these earthquakes are completely different.
As Italy is an MEDC, the wealth of the country will be quite outstanding. Wealth is an advantage for preparation of earthquakes. Italy has a civil protection department that train volunteers to help with things like rescue operations when an earthquake occurs. As the buildings in Italy are mostly ancient they are not built to withstand earthquakes, however if they somehow collapse new modern buildings will be built to replace them which would withstand earthquakes. This is an example that shows wealth is an advantage. In the other hand Kashmir is the opposite. Kashmir was a country in which the communication within the community was poor. This means that no planning was done if a disaster occurs, and the buildings in Kashmir are not designed to resist earthquakes. If Kashmir was economically stable at that time, they might have been prepared.
Primary effects occur as a result of the ground shaking, and these effects are different in both MEDS’s and LEDC’s. In L’Aquila around 290 people died due the building collapsing and hundreds of people were injured. However in Kashmir around 80000 people died mostly due to building collapsing and hundreds of thousands of people were injured. The difference between the two is extraordinary. The reason is mostly on the preparation between the two countries. In L’Aquila thousands of people were left homeless and in Kashmir around 3 million people were left homeless. As Italy is wealthier the government and charities have the money to help the people in need. Another primary effect in both countries was the water pipes and electricity supplies being damaged.
Secondary effects occur as a result of the primary effects. A secondary effect that occurred in L’Aquila was an aftershock. This prevented rescue missions from happening and caused more minor/ major damages, such as more building collapsing, and fire in some collapsing buildings caused more damage. In Pagancia a water pipe broke which caused landslide and floods around that area. In Kashmir the effects were worse as it is an LEDC. Landslides buried building and also buried people. These slides also blocked accesses to roads, which prevented people from traveling and attempts to rescue people who were in injured. They also cut off water pipelines, electricity supplies and telephone lines. This means no communication could happen. A lot of people in Kashmir required Diarrhoea and other diseases due to water supply being unclean. As the earthquake occurred near winter the weather conditions were horrific, which caused more causalities and meant rescue and rebuilding operations were difficult.
Immediate responses are actions done right after the earthquake was over. In L’Aquila camps were set up for the people who became homeless. They were provided with water food, shelter and medical supplies. Ambulances, fire engines and the army were sent in to rescue people who were trapped in rubble. Rubble is quite heavy, which makes it difficult to lift, so cranes and diggers were used to remove the rubble. International dogs got involved to locate survivors. As the country is wealthy, money was provided by the government to pay rent, gas and electricity bills. Kashmir was a whole different story. Help didn’t reach certain places for days and weeks, and people had to be rescued by hand without any equipment to aid them. Tents blankets and medical supplies were provided, but didn’t reach the survivors within a month, but not all area was provided. Other countries provided aid and equipment such as helicopters and rescue dogs.
Long term responses are actions that can be done after a long period of time. In L’Aquila the Italian Prime Minister promised the community that he’ll build a new town to replace L’Aquila. Another long term response was an investigation which is going to look into why L’Aquila’s modern buildings weren’t built to withstand the earthquake. In Kashmir about 40000 people were relocated to a new town, as a result of homelessness, however government money has been given to people whose homes has been destroyed so they can rebuild them themselves. The government provided training for the people to teach them how to build houses/building to be earthquake resistant. To help people with long term illnesses new and improved health care centres have been set up in the area, this is a positive for the community.