http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/10/opinion/10ghosh.html
Recent experience has demonstrated in spectacular ways that rich,
technologically advanced nations are not invulnerable to extreme
weather. What has also been demonstrated, but more quietly, is that a
nation need not be wealthy or technologically advanced to be well
prepared for natural disasters.
A case in point is Mauritius, a small Indian Ocean island in a zone
that meteorologists call a =93cyclone factory.=94 The islanders have
evolved a sophisticated system of precautions, combining a network of
cyclone shelters with education (including regular drills), a good
early warning system and mandatory closings of businesses and schools
when a storm threatens. It=92s been a remarkable success: Cyclone Gamede
of 2007, a monster of a storm that set global meteorological records
for rainfall, killed only two people on the island.
