智利與海地：災(zāi)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(jí)遠(yuǎn)高于海地地震，然而海地的死亡人數(shù)卻遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)高于智利。

　　The reasons are simple。

　　原因很簡(jiǎn)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(yán)格，急救機(jī)制完善，并有著多年應(yīng)對(duì)地震危機(jī)的經(jīng)驗(yàn)。而1月12日發(fā)生的海地地震卻讓海底人措不及防，質(zhì)量不過(guò)硬的房屋也毫無(wú)抵抗之力。

　　And Chile was relatively lucky this time。

　　并且這一次運(yùn)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(yuǎn)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(xué)的地質(zhì)學(xué)家Eric Calais說(shuō)：“地震不會(huì)造成人員傷亡，不會(huì)造成損失，如果根本沒(méi)什么東西讓它們?nèi)テ茐牡脑挕?rdquo;

　　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(guó)地質(zhì)調(diào)查局稱海地有八個(gè)城鎮(zhèn)在地震中受到“猛烈”甚至“極度”的震動(dòng)，而智利城市受到的震動(dòng)都沒(méi)有超過(guò)“嚴(yán)重”——震動(dòng)第三級(jí)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(shuō)，智利地震釋放的能量比海地高出900倍，但離震中越遠(yuǎn)，能量消散越快。然而，根據(jù)邁阿密大學(xué)地質(zhì)學(xué)家Tim Dixon的說(shuō)法，太子港相比之下，地基不夠牢固，地震來(lái)襲時(shí)“晃得像果凍”。