Safe in Bed

Although I have not posted a blog for quite a number of days, I am still alive and doing well. I have been busy since people found out that I am one who can give them wise council regarding the safety of their homes. Many many people are sleeping outside their homes. This is true for all classes of people, from the very poor to the foreigners living in nice homes. Nearly all homes have cracks and if you had experienced what those in Haiti did on January 12, you would have wonder if those cracks indicate that the next shake will bring the house down on your head.
Many of the homes I have been visiting are very good structures that will do well in earthquakes bigger than the 1/12/10 event (see note below). People are so thankful when they have someone know is qualified, review their home, and tell them, yes, your home is safe and you have nothing to fear; or yes, the damage is such that it is not safe to stay inside. The problem is that there are millions of structures to assess and it is highly unlikely that there will be enough resources to review these structures before the rainy and hurricane seasons arrive.

1. Note: You know how we call 911 in case of an emergency - then the World Trade Center tragedy occurred - and 911 had a whole new meaning? In France the number to call in an emergency is 112. In Haiti, a former French colony, who’s native language, Creole, is based on French, the emergency call number has a whole new meaning as well.