I was absolutely stunned when the news of the earthquake in Chile appeared on CNN. Coming on the heels of a similar disaster in Haiti, I could not help but think about (a) the importance of transportation and logistics to a disaster relief effort and (b) how difficult it is to plan for an event everyone hopes will never happen.rnThe response by nations around the world to the plight in Haiti was immediate but disorganized. No agency from the Haitian government was able to take control, and the infrastructure was shattered, so there was simply no way to coordinate the arrival of goods and air workers into the country, let alone move them around oncernthey got there. As a result, the goods pipeline quickly clogged until US military forces arrived and brought order to the chaos. Unfortunately, they couldn't do much to overcome the lack of roads, damaged bridges, and wreckage that combined to impede the onward movement of help to those in need. In one important way, things look similar in Chile: the transportation infrastructure is in a shambles. Pictures show broken bridges, collapsed roads and massive fields of debris filling rights-of-way. How does any nation plan for such a contingency?
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