Earthquakes in Ghana

By now I'm sure that everyone has heard of the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti last week. Ghanaians have heard it... and are panicking.

This morning I got up and Meg told me that our guard had woken her up at 4:30 this morning because his friend had called him to tell him that Ghana was about to have a huge earthquake. Another friend at school said that her Ghanaian friend called her early this morning with the same news. A student in class this morning was talking about how someone was driving around his neighborhood in a car last night with a bullhorn yelling to everyone to be ready for the earthquake that was imminent. People stayed up all night outside in the roads waiting for the earthquake to strike.

Something to read:
http://www.davidajao.com/blog/2010/01/18/earthquake-scare-in-ghana-is-ghana-prepared/

Yes, Ghana actually does have a history of seismic activity. Is that a cause for immediate alarm? No. Is the earthquake in Haiti a cause for immediate alarm? Not for Ghana. The fact is that no one can predict exactly when an earthquake will strike. If we could, why did so many people have to die in Haiti? In Japan? Anywhere on the Pacific rim? What is alarming to me about the whole situation is the panic caused by a lack of education.

You can't sit around and be afraid of something that MIGHT happen in the future. Ghana has a history that includes earthquakes, yes. So what Ghana needs to do with that information is realize that they need better building plans. They need standards that every builder should have to follow to minimize the damage to buildings - and the people inside them - after an earthquake hits. All you can do is be prepared. You can't predict it but you can be ready when it happens. Ghana needs to build better buildings and educate their people about earthquakes to stop the panic.

Please pray for this country - pray for the people! The last thing this country needs is a bunch of people panicking. I hope that announcers on the radio and new stations help to calm people down today.

Anyway, those are just some of my thoughts. Expect another blog tentatively titled, "Sausage Toes and Dizzying Transition." Stay tuned! :-)