The US East Coast was hammered earlier this week by Superstorm Sandy; it was the worst weather disturbance to hit the country in the last century or so.

The past few years have seen ever worsening disturbances strike the US, from Irene of two years ago, to Katrina before that.

It’s safe to say that the debates over climate change will resume in the wake of this week’s deadly superstorm. The growing number of people who have been harmed or whose properties have been lost or damaged by the seemingly freakish weather conditions of recent years have begun to accept that global warming and climate change are realities that we must face.

Governments can turn the horrifying weather phenomenon of recent years into political issues.

They may even agree with the pseudo-scientists and transnational corporations who deny that what is happening today is man-made, that climate change is a figment of our collective imaginations. But no one can deny that more and more devastating weather disturbances – earthquakes, tsunamis, superstorms, heat waves and cold spells – are occurring more frequently, and with more tragic consequences.

In a way, the US can consider itself lucky. It can handle the debilitating effects of Sandy.

For one thing, the US remains the world’s biggest economy. It will not depend on outside help to recover. Reconstruction can begin almost immediately. In the meantime, the federal and
state governments can extend assistance to victims

Its civil engineering can also withstand the strongest shocks. Damaged roads, bridges and structures will be repaired even before the sky clears.

And finally there is the government itself. The US local, state and federal governments are now able to act even before any disturbance strikes. Perhaps they learned a lesson from Katrina, and how the delayed response in providing rescue, aid and assistance to victims resulted in widespread anger. Their good governance is the Americans’ assurance that it will never be a case of every man for himself.

Today, there are safety nets in place that guarantee that help will be available immediately to most everyone who needs it.

The Sandy experience should serve as a warning to every other country in the world. The more prepared a state is, the lesser will be the damage. Fewer lives will be lost if indeed loss of life is unavoidable.

This is important because no country can say with absolute certainty that it will never be struck by the kind of perfect storm that hit the US this week.

Asia’s megacities, earthquakes and tsunamis
In this part of the world, growing economies are creating megacities. Most of them may not be ready for any disturbance that approximates the raw destructive power of Sandy. Call them storms, cyclones or typhoons, but powerful winds and torrential rains can combine to drown overpopulated cities.

And then there is the danger posed by earthquakes and tsunamis. When one follows the other, it would seem to those in affected areas that they face total extinction. In this part of the world, two tsunamis in recent times have caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, and damage to property in the billions of dollars.

Japan is said to have the most disciplined people and society and the most disciplined local governments. It was an article of faith for the people of the world and the Japanese themselves that they are the most prepared for natural disasters. That was proved true in the earthquake and tsunami that hit Fukushima —and made its nuclear power plants there a grave threat. Even then Japan is still suffering from that disaster. And the Japanese government and people are now planning how to be even be much better prepared for disasters. How much more suffering, death and destruction could have happened if Japan were not the disciplined and well-prepared nation that it is.

For the rest of the world, the lesson from Japan and the US East Coast’s experience with Sandy is to work even harder to achieve disaster preparedness and maximum risk reduction.