The humanitarian tragedy in Haiti is perhaps one of the worst disasters in history that even a fully developed and rich nation such as the United States would have trouble dealing with. As the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti is in a much more tragic situation. Its lack of first-rate hospitals, trained medical professionals and no military have made the disaster even worse. The situation is a lesson for all nations on the importance of disaster preparedness to national security.

The probability of a magnitude 6.7 or larger earthquake over the next 30 years striking the greater Los Angeles area is 67 percent. In a few years, Los Angeles could be seeing a Haiti-type natural disaster.

Lessons learned should be studied by our nation's disaster experts and changes should be made to prepare the United States for such events.

Kevin Beck

Henderson, Nev.