[mattquiros]

I wouldn't say that like it's that easy. Not a good time to talk politics, but I think that the long history of corruption in the government has a lot to do with the unpreparedness for the disasters (including the preceding earthquake). In fact, there's an ongoing senate hearing on a pretty high-profile scam involving congressmen and, well, the senators themselves (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priority_Development_Assistance...).

How this could have been avoided is likely a touchy subject at the moment. Even the president walked out of his meeting with the local officials to cool his head off from great dismay.