‘The human race is powerless when faced with natural disasters.’ Discuss.

Malcolm Turnbull.,who was the Prime Minister of Australia from 2015 to

2018,has once said that "We learn from every natural disaster. Whether it's a
fire or a flood, we learn something from it so we can respond to the next one
better." One of the worst disaster in human history is the 1931 Yangtze River
floods which inundated almost 70,000 square miles and transformed the Yangtze
into a giant lake and killing around 2 million people.The fear towards natural
disaster is deep-seated in human’s soul and is continuously being
reminded.However, governments around the world has already taken the
initiative to battle.Therefore most opponents would argue that human race is
not powerless when faced with natural disaster.

Human race are helpless when witnessing the deleterious impact of natural
disaster on our economy.In a fraction of second,the hotels built along the
coast line are inundated by the tsunami,homes are crashed away by the
ferocious water waves,the storm uplifted the trees and building.Needless to
mention the dreadful impact on the agriculture sector due to drought which
often last for months,the parched land minimize the possibility of any green
plantation.According to Statista,the economical loss due to natural disaster
events worldwide amounted to about 268 billion U.S dollars.Therefore when
facing with the natural disaster,human efforts are feeble and weak to protect
the static human property.

Moreover,the unprecedented hazard could deprive life of millions of people and

left an unbearable scar in survivor’s heart.The strong willing to survive
seems so meaningless when dealing with natural disaster,during the
earthquake,countless of people have been buried under the building,crashed by
the falling building blocks.The heart-wrenching scene would still affect the
survivor emotionally and mentally.In 2019, 396 natural disasters were
recorded in EM-DAT with 11,755 deaths, 95 million people
affected.Moreover,Six months after Hurricane Sandy, a brief telephone
screening found 14.5 percent of surveyed adults were suffering from PTSD.

Hence the number reiterating the fact human are powerless when facing with
natural disaster.

However,it should be compromised that following the continuous development in

technology,human can deal with natural disaster in a myriad number of
ways.With concerted effort,human are now capable to detect possible occurrence
of natural disaster,and immediately inform the public to take necessary
precaution.The satellite in the space aid for weather forecasting,examining
the rain intensity and wind speed,the possible presence of cyclones and
hurricanes could be known.Furthermore,recently,the The World Meteorological
Organization is participating in a new interdisciplinary Focus Group to
contend with the increasing prevalence and severity of natural hazards with
the help of artificial intelligence (AI).Therefore,actions could be taken
before the terrible disaster.

Furthermore,international cooperation empower people to face with natural

disaster.When a country is affected,other country would not rest on its
laurels,but poised to provide help.After the traumatic losses caused by the
earthquake in Mexico and the volcano in Colombia in 1985, high-level delegates
of the Governments of the
Americas met in Costa Rica in 1986 with representatives from international
agencies, donor countries, and NGOs to examine ways to make international
health relief assistance more compatible with the needs of affected
communities. This implies that human race are not helpless when dealing with
natural disaster.

Additionally,human are always in their quest to be prepared to encounter

natural disaster.Countries like China and Japan,inculcating knowledge about
natural disaster since at primary school.Every year, the school would organize
disaster preparation drill to practice the children’s response to
unpredictable disaster.Moreover,emergency evacuation backup is also available
on the market,consisting food,foldable water bags,first aid kit.There is also
disaster shelter to protect the citizen,and nearly every building consist of
an emergency exit,to prevent malfunctioning of elevator .So this implies that
human are not powerless when facing natural disaster.

Lastly,as some natural disaster is attributed by human’s action to the

environment,so by taking the initiative to mitigate climate change could
effectively prevent the occurrence of climate change.For example,wild fire and
drought are caused by the the average increase in earth’s surface
temperature,destruction of the plantation of mangrove forest,coastal
plantation or the natural ecosystem can aggravates the situation as they aids
in reducing the magnitude and strength of the tidal water waves.Also in the
past 20 years, 90% of major disasters have been caused by weather-related
events such as heatwaves, storms, floods and droughts, according to the UN
Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).

Therefore by taking appropriate,human can even reduce the frequency of natural

disaster.
It must be conceded that in front of natural disaster human race are
powerless when alluded to the drastic economical damage and its ability to
kill millions of people.However,effective actions are being taken,the
detection of any possible natural disaster,international
collaboration,emergency management and reducing natural hazards by solving
the root causes.In the future,with continuous advancement in technology,human
would be more empowered to face with natural disaster.