Natural Disasters

A week of disasters.

First is Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, then the Wenchuan Earthquake in Sichuan, China. 2 very different responses from governments. Slow, secretive, stubborn in contrast with rapid, unprecedented openness to external aid.

China's leaders are anxious to repair the public-relations damage they have suffered internationally as a result of the Tibet crisis. Obviously the protest on the international route had been a PR nightmare for the Beijing Olympics and they are keen to avoid the kind of criticism directed at Myanmar.



Rescuers carry an injured from the debris.
By THE HUFFINGTON POST
Published: May 13, 2008

A young boy sits by the wreckage of a home near Kyauktan in Myanmar.

By THE NEW YORK TIMES

Published: May 12, 2008

The first 24 hours after an earthquake or a building collapse are the most crucial when frantic clawing by neighbors, friends and relatives can pull survivors from the rubble. But once those precious hours pass, rescuing survivors becomes more technical and is best handled by specialists. After some 100 hours since the earthquake, the Chinese government had at last agreed to the let in foreign rescue teams into the epicenter. Hopefully, that would be of some help. The team from Singapore had already landed in Chengdu and are heading for Shifang city to begin rescue operation.

A bit of background about the team. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) Operation Lion Heart Contingent is a 55 men team which comprises of the elite Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) members on a 24hours standby to respond to major emergency. Recently (January 2008), they had been certified by the UN INSARAG as the 1st in Asia and only 7th in the world to earn the classification of a Heavy Urban Search And Rescue (USAR) team (the highest certification for an USAR team). DART members specialise in complex rescue operations and had been deployed in many regional disasters since their formation in 1990.

All the best for a successful operation!