2010 Essays

International Responses to the Earthquake in Haiti

Mitchell, Lincoln A.

International assistance following a natural disaster of this sort is not new. It may, however, become more common in the next decades. Unusual weather events will likely be one of the first impacts of climate change which will be felt. Although the event in Haiti was an earthquake with no likely connection to climate change, the general pattern of a devastating natural disaster occurring in a country that has already had more than its share of misfortune which will both cause immediate tragedy and perhaps set that country's development back years may become more common. It seems that this could lead to several outcomes, but two are perhaps the most likely. The first is that as time goes by and these events become, tragically, more common, the wealthy countries, and international organizations will become more expert at providing assistance and coordinating their efforts. The second scenario is that disaster fatigue, or something like it, begins to occur among the governments and populations of wealthy countries.