智利與海地：災難程度為何大不相同

　　The earthquake in Chile was far stronger than the one that struck Haiti last month -- yet the death toll in this Caribbean nation is magnitudes higher。

　　智利地震震級遠高于海地地震，然而海地的死亡人數(shù)卻遠遠高于智利。

　　The reasons are simple。

　　原因很簡單。

　　Chile is wealthier and infinitely better prepared, with strict building codes, robust emergency response and a long history of handling seismic catastrophes. No living Haitian had experienced a quake at home when the Jan. 12 disaster crumbled their poorly constructed buildings。

　　智利比海地富裕，防范也更充分，房屋建造條例很嚴格，急救機制完善，并有著多年應對地震危機的經(jīng)驗。而1月12日發(fā)生的海地地震卻讓海底人措不及防，質量不過硬的房屋也毫無抵抗之力。

　　And Chile was relatively lucky this time。

　　并且這一次運氣也多少幫了智利一把。

　　Saturday's quake was centered offshore an estimated 21 miles (34 kilometers) underground in a relatively unpopulated area while Haiti's tectonic mayhem struck closer to the surface -- about 8 miles (13 kilometers) -- and right on the edge of Port-au-Prince。

　　智利這次地震，震中在海下21英里，周邊地區(qū)人口不多，而引起大面積建筑物倒塌的海地地震，震中更靠近地面——地下6英里——而且就在太子港不遠處。

　　"Earthquakesdon't kill -- they don't create damage -- if there's nothing todamage," said Eric Calais, a Purdue University geophysicist studyingthe Haiti quake。

　　普渡大學的地質學家Eric Calais說：“地震不會造成人員傷亡，不會造成損失，如果根本沒什么東西讓它們去破壞的話。”

　　The U.S. Geological Survey says eight Haitian cities and towns suffered"violent" to "extreme" shaking in last month's 7-magnitude quake, by contrast, no Chilean urban area suffered more than "severe" shaking --the third most serious level。

　　美國地質調查局稱海地有八個城鎮(zhèn)在地震中受到“猛烈”甚至“極度”的震動，而智利城市受到的震動都沒有超過“嚴重”——震動第三級的程度。

　　In terms of energy released at the epicenter, said Calais, the Chilean quake was 900 times stronger. But energy dissipates rather quickly as distances grow from epicenters -- and the groundbeneath Port-au-Prince is less stable by comparison and "shakes likejelly," says University of Miami geologist Tim Dixon。

　　Calais說，智利地震釋放的能量比海地高出900倍，但離震中越遠，能量消散越快。然而，根據(jù)邁阿密大學地質學家Tim Dixon的說法，太子港相比之下，地基不夠牢固，地震來襲時“晃得像果凍”。