http://edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/15/kobe.disaster.lessons/index.html?hpt=Sbin
CNN.com
Unbreakable: Building disaster-proof cities
By Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Ten months after the Haiti earthquake, there's been little progress on
the rebuilding front
* The rebuilding of Kobe, Japan, following a similarly devastating
earthquake in 1995 could be instructive for Haiti
* Currently half of the world's population lives in cities -- a figure
expected to skyrocket in the coming decades
Kobe, Japan (CNN) -- When I look back on the year 2010, I will remember
spending so much of the year in disaster zones. Between Haiti and Pakistan
alone, I spent months on the ground seeing firsthand the aftermath of an
earthquake and floods.
So much of the discussion in Haiti now is about rebuilding. Yet even 10 months
later, plans seem poorly drawn out and little progress has been made. No doubt
it is a monumental task, but whenever I speak to experts, they tell me it is
worth evaluating the lessons learned in Kobe, Japan.
In 1995, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit the port city and lasted 20 seconds. In
that short period, 200,000 buildings were destroyed and nearly 5,500 lives
lost. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced.
At the time Kobe was cited as an example of "urban planning focusing on
convenience, efficiency and growth while neglecting safety and security." The
question facing officials in Kobe at that time -- is the same one officials in
Port-au-Prince are asking. Can we rebuild a city quickly that is also safer
than the one that was destroyed?
I decided to travel to Kobe to see for myself. After being on the ground, the
answer seems to be "yes." It took 10 years to rebuild here, which is relatively
speedy by international standards. More importantly, the new buildings are
"disasterproof," using techniques to isolate the building from the shaking
ground during an earthquake.
The construction itself relies on metal plates and special materials to allow
movement of the building and to prevent collapse. There has also been a
significant investment in the ecosystem, which can provide natural buffers to
mitigate floods and storm surges.
Another lesson was to decentralize critical urban functions, including
hospitals, so that an entire critical response sector would not be eliminated
during a natural disaster. And, throughout all of this, the survivors of the
earthquake were placed at the center of reconstruction to help design the new
communities on which they would be dependent.
As things stand now, half the world's population lives in cities, and that
number is expected to skyrocket in the coming decades. It is called
urbanization, and health organizations all over the world, including the World
Health Organization, have taken notice. Because of the dense population and
significant building construction, urban areas are the most vulnerable to
natural disasters.
The challenge now for cities like Port-au-Prince is not to just rebuild as
safely and expeditiously as possible -- but to create a city that is safer than
the one before the earthquake. Here in Kobe, there is proof that it can be done.
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