Is it quite good that not many were killed during the earthquake in Mexico?”
The Chilean earthquake that hit during the early morning hours of February 27 has brought searing images of devastation; and international news coverage has shown scenes of looting and arson incidents occurring in its immediate aftermath. In Chile, criticism of the government’s response is widespread. Many are wondering whether numerous deaths and severe destruction could have been prevented; whether the government’s emergency response and rescue to this natural disaster was speedy and effective; and why law and order broke down in the earthquake’s aftermath. Criticism has focused on the failure by the central authorities to alert coastal populations of the impending tsunami, its delayed and timid reaction to unrest in the most devastated region in the south (where most of the looting has taken place), and its slow initial distribution of essential supplies. By providing a comparative perspective that considers both the magnitude of the natural disaster and Chile’s governance character
7.2 Earthquake Kills 2 in Mexico Near U.S. Border A strong 7.2-magnitude earthquake that has killed at least two people sent jolts hundreds of kilometers from the quake’s center in the western Mexico-U.S. border region. Reports said most of the damage from Sunday’s earthquake happened in Mexicali, the capital of Mexico’s Baja California state, and in the town of Calexico in the U.S. state of California. Mexicali emergency official Alfredo Escobedo said the quake collapsed a house, killing one person. About 100 other people in the city were injured. He also said a car hit and killed a man in Mexicali after he ran out of his home during the earthquake. Much of the city of nearly a million people was without electricity. The quake brought down power lines and cracked roads. Fire Chief Pete Mercado in the California town of Calexico reported damaged buildings there. The U.S. Geological Survey said the center of the earthquake was in Baja California at a depth of about 10 kilometers, roughl
