As we know , natural disasters have devastated the earth throughout history, and in the last decade , we have seen

just about everything --tsunamis, storms, famines, earthquakes and floods.

Recently , there has been much speculation about the year 2012 being the year of doomsday. Many religions, calendars and prophecies point to Dec. 21, 2012 as the end of the world. One of the main theories driving this prophecy is that the Mayan calendar ends on Dec. 21, 2012. The recent increase of natural disasters in recent years have also lead countless people into believing the end of the world is really approaching.

Coming back to Earthquakes which are also known as temblors and they can be so tremendously destructive, it s hard to imagine they occur by the thousands every day around the world, usually in the form of small tremors. Some 80 percent of all the planet's earthquakes occurs along the rim of the Pacific Ocean, called the "Ring of Fire" .

Last year, the 9.0 magnitude earthquake that shocked Japan off the Pacific coast of T hoku triggered a major tsunami which brought destruction along the Pacific coastline of Japan's northern islands and resulted in the loss of thousands of lives and devastated entire towns.

Besides from the Tohoku earthquake , there was also the 2004 tsunami that was caused by earthquake due the shift of the plain of the geographical fault in Sumatera. In fact the earthquake caused the underwater volcano to erupt, thus forcing the waves to surfed up to the extent of more than 30 meters above sea level and with each wave accumulatively pushing each other resulting in massive thrust forming tsunami. That tsunami alone killed more than 250,000 people, mostly near Aceh.

Apart from that, most of the coastal areas between South East Asia and Asia major are affected by the earthquake-borne tsunami devastating cities and killing living things without mercy. Indonesia, Thailand, Phillipines, Ceylon were deeply affected and Malaysia was not spared either.

With the current atmospheric changes, New Zealand was the next victim. It was indeed shocking that earthquake which was then an extinct vocabulary in New Zealand is now a constant reminder to the country folks. Christchurch was badly hit by earthquake and apart from destructions of buildings, lives were also lost.

Having said that, I am sure you all have felt one way or the other the tremors that hit Sumatera. It is as if the earthquake syndrome will be enticed as a common factor for the rest of us and sad to say it may even be a routine-experience from now on. We may also need to get ourselves prepared for such catastrophe by enlisting ourselves in defensive course in earthquake aftermath and more importantly to research on the pre-emptive measures as what the old maxim relayed: Prevention is Better than Cure is indeed an excellent advice to follow.