Japan has been hit by one of historys worst earthquakes and tsunamis combined. Many precious lives have been lost and wide-scale damage has been done to Japanese infrastructure. But it has been noted by most experts that this damage could have been far worse had Japans safety protocols and high-level engineering standards had not been in place.
Pakistan is also one of the countries that lie on a seismic fault-line. The fact that the 2005 earthquake hit us so badly can also be attributed to the fact that we have such low safety measures in place. If most buildings are built according to certain engineering standards and earth-quake proofed, the damage done can be mitigated, if not totally avoided.
I urge our government and local development authorities to put these protocols in place and to ensure that our cities are safer for our citizens. It is indeed better to be safe than to be sorry.
LALARUKH SHAH
Lahore
