Extraterrestrial Hazards

Space objects hitting earth may not always be an imminent threat but how will we be prepared when something like that happens? Think about it: unlike other natural hazards, it is almost impossible to prepare for an asteroid strike. Just one collision could wipe out millions of people. Fireballs and earthquakes would also happen as results, causing even more destruction and loss. There is not really a place you could go to be safe. Evacuation may be an option if the exact location of an asteroid's potential strike could be predicted, but even then you would have to evacuate to a place far from home. There would be no turning back. In these situations, it is extremely important for communities to be resilient if an extraterrestrial hazard were to become a natural disaster. 

First of all, humans need to understand that collisions with space objects are inevitable (although rare) because that's just the way the universe works. There are certainly ways to prevent an NEA or NEO from hitting Earth, but it would be ignorant to rely on those tactics alone. Most of them are extremely difficult to do. It does provide some reassurance, especially in a rare case where an 11 mile wide asteroid is headed straight for us. 

Next, we need to know what other hazards an impact with a space object may trigger. Tsunamis, wildfires, earthquakes, and fireballs are all results that could happen away from the site of impact. In order to be resilient, we must take into account everything we know about preparing for each of these hazards and what it takes to rebuild after each one, as well. 

Finally, we must ask ourselves how the human population would and should react to this type of natural disaster. Depending on the object's size and location of impact, it could cause more damage than any other disaster. This would cause a lot of broken hearts and panic. This is where resilience on a national, and even global scale, is most important. 

As always, we can learn from the past. It's one thing to have a scar from a previous wound. It's another to cause the wound to continuously bleed without ever allowing it to heal, or without ever giving it the necessary care for it to heal.