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Religion Title: the parable from the New Testament of the 10 virgins. Five unwise virgins asked when the bridegroom would come, the other five wiser virgins went and prepared By Genelle Pugmire Deseret Morning News The ravages of Katrina, the tsunami in Indonesia, volcanoes, earthquakes and drought have a lot of people asking — why so many disasters lately? Is the Earth changing? Brigham Young University geology professor Ronald A. Harris thinks so. He shared some of his reasoning and the need for disaster preparedness during the recent Campus Education Week at BYU. "Too often we bask in our comfortable complacency," Harris said. He compared people today to the parable from the New Testament of the 10 virgins. Five unwise virgins asked when the bridegroom would come, the other five wiser virgins went and prepared. While it may appear that we are having more "acts of God" these days, Harris said there is actually a decrease in some. For instance, the number of hurricane days has decreased from 600 to 400 since 1970. And he claims our constant information on worldwide earthquakes come because during the Cold War seismographs were implanted all over to see when the Russians were testing "the bomb." Even with decreases, Harris still warns that disasters, such as the expected big earthquake along the Wasatch Front are imminent, and like the wise virgins we must prepare for it. Going by averages, right now the Wasatch Front is about 150 years overdue for one. To protect oneself during an earthquake, "ducking and covering is best," Harris said. However, that may not be enough if the building or home you're in is not up to seismic codes. "If we do something we can have a disaster resistent community," Harris said. "We should demand school systems do something. Eighty percent of schools in Utah County were built before seismic codes." Harris gives credit to places like Japan and California who have enforced strong seismic codes. He translated preparedness into a type of equation; hazards + cities = crisis. Areas like New Orleans, Sumatra and Pakistan follow the equation of hazards + vulnerable cities = disaster. "We have the knowledge to protect ourselves," Harris said. "We can prepare a disaster-resistent city." Harris said protection comes from education, preparation, early warnings and rapid response. To help educate residents living along the Wasatch Front a special Web site on earthquake and disaster preparedness has been opened: http://www.utahearthquake.org. Much of the information from Harris' presentation is on the Web site. However, he also reminded the class that lots of people have read about earthquakes and other disasters but still are passive to making the necessary changes in their homes and communities. "A 72-hour kit won't help you if you're dead," Harris said. "We need to change attitudes and prepare for an earthquake, not for what follows."
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