One of the survivors of the Bam earthquake, an 80-year old woman, who had lost 16 members of her family, in her hour of grief and suffering said: "it is a test from God". Indeed all calamities are a test, not only for those who suffered, but also those around them, as to how they managed the calamity and its aftermath. 

To draw a comparison with the Bam earthquake; look at a comparable quake of 6.5 magnitude hitting Paso Robles, California (pop. 24,000) on December 22, 2003, with only two deaths, 40 injured, and only few buildings collapsed. Yet another similar earthquake, 6.6 on Richter scale, occurred in Taitung (pop. 117,000), near Taipei, Taiwan on December 10, 2003, with no deaths and no reported building collapses. 

The large variation in the number of dead in the three quakes is quite an eye-opener, and actually is particularly instructive. Why is it that on 6.6M more than 50,000-died in Bam, Iran and why only two in the Paso Robles, U.S. and none in Taitung, Taiwan? One can have a fatalistic attitude and say it was God's Will, true, it was God's Will, and it always is, and one should repose one's trust in Him. However, amiss is the fact that, that the developing world has not done enough to value human life. At this juncture one is reminded of a man who came to visit Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and said "I will not tie my camel and trust (tawakal) Allah", Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said " tie it and trust (tawakal) Allah" (Tirmidhi). In this case tying the camel was the right thing to do, in order for it not to stray into the desert. However, this does not mean that our trust in God is based on tying the camel. Trust has to be absolute and regardless of our actions, but logical actions have to precede. We are reminded in the Qur'an that "..surely Allah does not change the condition of the people, until they change themselves.." (Ar-Rad 13:11).

This leads me to my point that much-needed building codes have been lacking in developing countries in the region, more so in areas prone to natural calamities such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, or lightening strikes. Even when the building codes are on the books, they are not implemented due to either greed on the part of the contractor, or the owner, or incompetent and corrupt building inspectors. A saying among some seismologists is that: "earthquakes don't kill people, buildings kill people." Therefore, the primary obligation for crafting and strict implementation of building codes is on local, provincial, and central governments. Obviously, any loss of life in a similar tragedy, when knowing specifically that the area is in a tectonically active region, and that there have been previous earthquakes in the same region causing considerable destruction, it is the head of the government who is to be held accountable both in this world and hereafter. No wonder leading a nation is no small task and comes with a heavy responsibility. 

Among some of the recent strong (6-6.9M) and major (7-7.9M) earthquakes recorded on the Richter scale in the region, causing large number of deaths and destruction documented by the U.S. Geological Survey and other credible sources include: 1) January 26, 2001 in Bhuj-Ahmadabad-Rajkot- Gujarat, India, 7.9 magnitude, killed more than 20,000, displaced 500,000, destroyed 339,000 and damaged 783,000 buildings; 2) August 17, 1999 in Turkey-Kocaeli (Izmit) (pop. 196,000), 7.6 magnitude, broke a section of the North Anatolian Fault 1,500 km to the west of this quake and killed 17,000 people, injured 50,0000, and left 500,000 homeless; 3) March 25, 2002 in Baghlan province (pop. 42,000), Afghanistan, 6.1magnitude, caused 1000 deaths and 1500 houses were razed to the ground by resulting landslides; 4) December 28, 1974 in Malakand District (443,000 pop.), NWFP, Pakistan; 6.2 magnitude destroyed villages over 250 square km in the Karakoram mountains; killed 5,200 dead and injured over 16,000; and 5) June 20, 1990 in Rasht-Qazvin-Zanjan, Iran; 7.4 magnitude, over 40,000 killed and 60,000 injured, and made 400,000 homeless; and in Rudbar-Manjil area nearly all buildings were destroyed. 

Granted there are other factors including population density or degree of isolation, intensity and duration of the earthquake, soil type, and economic condition of the affected region, which determine the magnitude of the loss of life and property damage. However, when comparing these earthquakes with those in the developed world and even Taiwan, the huge disparity in the scale of death and destruction is thought provoking. 

After having carefully crafted and honestly implemented building codes and having taken all other logical measures, if then a natural calamity strikes and leads to destruction, then one can turn around and say it was God's Will, as we did all we could to minimize death and destruction. 

What lessons the governments and people of the region learn from the tragedy, and how they prepare themselves for such an eventuality in future is an open question. If pass records are any indication, then it may be business as usual, until the next one. This approach will be inexcusable.