Bethlie Paul survived an earthquake in Haiti when she was 10. Over the next 15 years she made the most of her time.

In December 1989, the United Nations declared Oct. 13 International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction. At the time, the aim was to make disaster-risk reduction part of everyday thinking worldwide.

What does this mean for our approach towards this crisis? Firstly, as Noami Klein points out, crises are often used as opportunities to extend foreign dominance. Aid and money is desperately needed and all sorts of conditions can be attached.

Bethlie Paul, who was pulled from the rubble of a 2010 earthquake in Haiti and later brought to San Antonio to recover, has died following complications of a long-term health condition. She was 25 years old.

While Tuesday's quake and the devastation left in its wake is tragic, it pales in comparison to some that rocked the world in the recent past.

Disaster Tech Lab, a global nonprofit providing communications and disaster response support, confirmed today that it is mobilizing a combined communications and medical response team to Cebu following the 6.