Living with earthquake hazards in South and South East Asia

A large number of geological studies have shown that most of the Asian regions are prone to earthquake risks, and this is particularly significant in SE Asia. The tectonics of this region allow the geological investigators to argue for severe vulnerability to major and devastating earthquakes in the near future. This remind us of the devastations of Nepal in 2015, of Japan in 2011, of the significant destruction of life and property at Acehnese and Thai coasts in 2004, and of Kashmir and New Orleans in 2005. Such example of destructions could be minimized to a greater extent if proper scientific and administrative framework are established. This was surely lacking in most of the above examples. And previous studies have suggested that scientists and administrative authorities should work together to map the actual vulnerabilities on ground, and simultaneously educate people about the probable causes of earthquakes and how to minimize the destruction. Here we further show that nations with a turbulence political past and an ongoing unstable political problem are more likely to score less on securing its people from disasters. And this score can significantly deteriorate if a nation does not work on eradication of corruption as it can make monsters out of ordinary disasters. We further show that South and Southeast Asian region are relatively young nations that are still in post-colonial period and are largely involved in strengthening of their economies as well as cleaning of the post-colonial problems. While the increasing values of gross domestic product (GPD) per capita and a decent rise in literacy rates are good news to win battle with disasters, these nations have to work really hard to eradicate corruption and spend more on scientific research and awareness about earthquake disasters.