Warning Signs : Act before Its too late
Lets do some honesty test. Some of the things that hurt us could have been avoided if we didn't ignore some signs right?
Wars, accidents, natural disasters, structural failures etc. All these evils doesn't just happen without warning signs, if adequate attention was paid to all these warnings that must has been there and appropriate actions where taken, majority of these accidents could have been averted.
People may choose to ignore warnings for a variety of reasons, sometimes they may have no real choice and as such denial of the danger may provide peace of mind. To me this is just a case of having hope that the disaster will not happen, which is like playing with fire and hoping not to get burnt.
Lets look at some accidents which had happened but could have been averted if the right actions were taken while the warning signs appear.
2007 Minneapolis Bridge Collapse
Close to about two decades before a sudden bridge collapse in Minnesota killing 13 people and injuring 145 others in 2007, officials at multiple levels of government knew the I-35 Mississippi River Bridge was structurally deficient.
Yet they relied on patchwork repairs and stepped-up inspections that unraveled amid a thunderous plunge of concrete and automobiles.
2010 Hunza River Valley Landslide
About nine months before a massive landslide killing twenty people and destroyed dozens of homes in the Hunza River Valley of northern Pakistan, a humanitarian aid group had warned local officials about the growing risk of landslides in the region.
Salmanuddin Shah, a disaster management specialist at Focus Humanitarian Assistance told the Reuters that much of the losses and damages, if not avoided, could have been reduced had the government promptly responded and got mountain communities and their cattle evacuated to safer grounds.
2016 Uyo church collapse
This particular incident happened in my home town.
On 10 December 2016, the roof of the Reigners Bible Church International, an evangelical congregation, collapsed in Uyo, a city in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, during the consecration or ordination of the local bishop.
The engineers involved had warned the local bishop that using the building was not safe, but he did not listen and went ahead to make use of the building.
This single act of not taking the right actions cost hundreds of lives.
I visited a mall to grab a few stuffs which was on the second floor and i noticed that the building was seriously deflecting, it was very scary and i immediately grabbed what i need and made my way to the ground floor, paid for the items and meet the person in charge of the mall to complain about the deflection. He told me the management were away of it.
I was very shocked that nothing was done about it, and i promised myself never to visit that mall again. The best time to act is now because no amount of apology or blame shifting will bring back the lives that will be lost when the disaster finally happens
You are right, too many people bury their heads in the sand hoping that a disaster doesn’t occur. It’s insanity and senseless; all to save a buck. So much of communities are far too busy with their own lives to make anyone do something about it. It’s how they get away with this outrageous behavior. I’m sorry about the church and lives lost in your home town. It’s tragic and senseless and I wish things happened differently for the families effected. Thanks for sharing my friend. ✌️