This post is part of a series sponsored by AgentSync.
Occasionally, a potentially great disaster ends up worse than expected. While the April 2024 earthquake in Taiwan still took its toll, including 16 deaths, it could have been much worse. Compared to other similar earthquakes with an average magnitude of 7.4, this one was less lethal and less destructive.
For example, the 2010 Haiti earthquake was 7.0 and is estimated to have killed more than 220,000 people, injured more than 300,000, and displaced 1.3 million. When you compare this devastation to the psychologically powerful earthquake in Taiwan, the damage seems small in comparison.
The reason, according to many reports, is the earthquake strengthening measures Taiwan implemented after the last major earthquake in 1999, and some luck. The 921 earthquake, as it is known because of the September 21, 1999 event, killed about 2,400 people, injured 10,000, and left 100,000 homeless. In stark contrast, the April 3, 2024 earthquake killed only 13 people (or 16, according to other sources) and property damage estimates have been reduced from initial estimates of $5 billion to $8 billion. 500 dollars. .
“Taiwan's decades of experience in building earthquake resilience into its laws, structures and society have protected its nearly 24 million citizens from the worst effects of the disaster.”
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The 921 earthquake in Taiwan
To understand the current situation, we must look back to 1999, when a devastating earthquake last struck Taiwan. Unlike today, Taiwan's disaster preparedness and response was severely lacking: a fact often used to explain the destruction and death toll.
Why was the 1999 Taiwan earthquake such a disaster?
According to a Journal of Acute Medicine article, “Evaluating Disaster Response Twenty Years After the 1999 Chi-Chi Earthquake,” Taiwan had no established disaster medical response team, urban search and rescue team, or incident command system. . The lack of these official resources meant that the government's response to the earthquake was chaotic and fragmented.
And it wasn't just a lack of critical personnel and procedures that made the 1999 Taiwan earthquake so deadly and devastating. The small island nation's building codes and building regulations were not up to the task of ensuring buildings could withstand such an earthquake.
How the 1999 Taiwan earthquake caused change
The 1999 earthquake woke up Taiwanese government officials. After realizing that the people were poor, disorganized, and inadequate to deal with disasters, the government of Taiwan began to take measures to prevent the recurrence of this disaster in the future.
Some of these measures included:
- Establishing the first national search and rescue (USAR) team.
- Creating a disaster medical assistance team (DMAT)
- To open six regional emergency centers (REMOCS) throughout the country
- Creating government agencies to coordinate disaster responses
- Improving building codes to require stronger buildings, including taking into account seismic activity when determining the level of safety requirements.
- Constantly adding and changing build codes over time to continuously improve security standards
- Renovating old buildings to meet modern needs
- Conduct ongoing training and exercises for both first responders and the general public
- Creating a system of fines and penalties for construction companies that do not meet the country's strict earthquake strengthening standards
With these new developments, and more, Taiwan hoped to be better prepared to deal with the next big earthquake.
“Sept. The 21st is now a designated day for disaster drills across Taiwan and on this day humorous warning messages about disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis are sent to people's cell phones, as well as schools on islands near the drills to get off the stage.”
Fortunately, all the hard work and investment of time and money paid off when the country experienced the worst earthquake since 1999 in April 2024.
It is important to note that Taiwan's earthquake resistance efforts were not “one and done.” As with any successful public health or safety program, real success comes from continuous improvement and learning from less favorable outcomes. In Taiwan, this includes not only the 1999 earthquake, but others since then, such as one in 2018 that killed seven people and prompted more government action.
Prevention and preparedness seem to work
On the morning of April 3, 2024, Taiwan experienced another massive earthquake. This time, the 7.4 magnitude earthquake occurred about 18 kilometers from the city of Hualien on the east coast of the island. However, unlike in 1999, Taiwan now has the reputation of being one of the most earthquake-prone places in the world, with a level of preparedness that is rarely seen.
Experts from around the world have praised Taiwan for the progress it has made over the past 25 years, which paid off during its recent earthquake event. Although some buildings were still damaged and destroyed, and some lives were still lost, the number of people and property was much lower than anyone expected from such an earthquake.
As for insurance losses, even that turns out to be lower than expected. Just days after the earthquake, CoreLogic Inc., a data and analytics company that predicts insurance losses and reinsurance, estimated that Taiwan would incur between $5 billion and $8 billion in insurance losses. Just a week later, CoreLogic revised its estimate (down!) to just between half a billion and $1 billion in losses.
Perhaps most impressive is the speed with which Taiwan's government and communities are returning to business as usual after a disaster that may have shut down the country for weeks or months. Just days after the quake, CNN reported that stores and restaurants were open and serving customers as if nothing had happened.
Prevention is the key to reducing risk
We've been saying it for a while: Prevention is the new solution. No one should understand this concept better than those in the insurance industry, where we see firsthand how costly losses are year after year, and that taking preventive, risk-reducing measures is one of the best ways to reduce losses (before they lose weight). happened!).
While no one can eliminate 100 percent of all accidents, there is much that insurance companies, governments, and even consumers can do to increase their chances of getting through a disaster with minimal damage.
Taiwan's success demonstrates the effectiveness of an integrated top-down approach to disaster prevention and mitigation. From the ground up, the government created and implemented strict new building requirements, including retrofitting old buildings to meet new codes. From the ground up, public education campaigns taught the public how to react, where to go, and what to do and not do in the event of an earthquake. Together, these methods proved effective when the strongest earthquake since 1999 shook Taiwan and, instead of chaos and massive destruction, the result was efficient, orderly, and minimally damaging – all things considered.
While insurance compliance is not a life-or-death situation like an earthquake, it can still have serious consequences for those who do not prioritize compliance. In fact, it can have a negative impact on businesses that makes it important, but at the expense of growth and efficiency.
If you're looking for a solution that saves money, reduces risk, and creates unparalleled productivity for a manufacturer, see how AgentSync can help.
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