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Friday, December 29, 2006

Taiwan earthquake

The recent earthquake off the coast of Taiwan actually had me thinking...

#1. Did anyone even bothered about the earthquake that measured 6.7 on the Richter scale when it was first struck on 27th Dec?

I don't think anyone outside of Taiwan actually thought much about it, except maybe for the brief moment when a Tsunami alert was reportedly triggered (and subsequently lifted). Nobody cared about the extent of damage the earthquake caused or if anyone was injured or killed in the earthquake.

But there were lots of noise and interest when people realised that their internet connection was affected. Even the news headlines focussed on how internet came to a crawl, how the damaged undersea cables are affecting businesses across Asia and how long it would take to restore the cables...

#2. How we are now so dependant on cables. Yes, if you think about it, businesses are now so dependant on fibre optics that almost everything can come to an almost standstill because the cables were damaged. If they were really severed beyond repair, I wonder what kind of effects it would have on a country's economy...

But strange and illogical when you think about it, no? If it is a city burning or destroyed, I can understand. But cables...?!?

Yes, I guess economy is no longer just about moving tangible products. It is about communication, information and much more...

In case you are still wondering, the Taiwan earthquake did not cause any major damage. That's probably why there was not much coverage on it.

Labels: thoughts

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