Persuasive Letter or Career Paper on Geography - Essay Example

As children we were taught about natural disasters. Growing older we witnessed how these could wreak havoc to mankind. We are then reminded about howpowerful Mother Nature really is and how we are so lucky she has been very tolerant of us after all that we have done to the planet. This letter is an appeal to everyone to be diligent in doing their share to save the place we all call our home, our planet unless we want to become a victim of the tragedies brought about by natural disasters. It is specifically addressed to those in government who are in a better position to help out in a larger scale.

We do not want to be part of the statistic. In 2005, the United Nations and government agencies said the tsunami in Indonesia result to a death toll of 169,752 and the number of missing people at 127,294. (CNN) In 2010, it was reported that more than 50,000 people died from the earthquake that hit Haiti while 3 million were in need of help. (The Associated Press) In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan left the Philippines and 4.4 million homeless people in its wake, not to mention the number of deaths and cost of damaged infrastructure.

Do we really want to be in the news this way? We can avoid this. Natural disasters are uncontrollable. Still, we can make sure that when they strike, the damage is not as immense as it has been for the past years. For example, the number of casualties brought about by the tsunami in Indonesia could have been decreased if resort owners were considerate of their surroundings, instead of constructing building structures on almost each and every space available at the waterfront. Trees absorb water.

Maybe there would have been less disastrous consequences had there been more trees and higher ground area where the tsunami struck. The wrath of Typhoon Haiyan was inevitable. But the degree of destruction from the ensuing flooding could have also been minimized if the local government had been more prudent, when developing infrastructure, of the island’s location in reference to the surrounding bodies of water. An aerial shot of Tacloban a place greatly affected by Haiyan showed structures positioned tightly beside each other along the coastline.

The green spaces were way behind the developments. (Mirchandani) The officials failed to consider the effect of flooding or a strong typhoon. Indeed, natural disasters are beyond man’s control. Nevertheless, if man does his share in nurturing the environment, then he would not need to cope with such kinds of devastation in the aftermath of natural disasters. Man’s disregard of nature is making it possible for natural disasters to happen more frequently than before. Again, I would like to make an appeal to all citizens.

Let us not be part of the statistic. Let us do our share in keeping our environment resilient to weather any kind of natural disaster. Reference:Mirchandani, Rajesh. (2013, November 15). An aerial view of Tacloban: The remains of a city. BBC.com. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-24953433CNN. (2005, February 22). Tsunami death toll. CNN.com International. Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/28/tsunami.deaths/The Associated Press. (2010, January 16).

Haiti Earthquake Death Toll: The Devastation in Numbers. The World Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/16/haiti-earthquake-death-to_n_425939.html