Dialogue: Bruce Deam

Bruce Deam

11 Oct 2010

Bruce Deam is an Anglican who knows a thing or two about earthquakes. He was an earthquake engineering lecturer at Canterbury University until mid year, and with his expertise in seismic behaviour and design of houses, he has a good working knowledge of most things related to earthquakes. Spanky Moore caught up with him to see how earthquake engineering and faith mesh.

The Canterbury earthquake happened along an unknown fault line that had kept quiet for thousands of years. How can we prepare for such unexpected emergencies?
The earthquake engineering community have been preparing for an event like this for a long time. We studied the geology and knew there could be faults like that one, how it would affect our infrastructure and how to prepare our emergency teams. We tried to convince our leaders that they needed to put regulations in place. The point is this was not unexpected; the time and location were only loosely defined but we were anticipating something like this. I am sure you can see the parallels in preparing for Christ’s return….

Some people look at our earthquake, or others that have killed people, and wonder where God is in the midst of all this destruction. How do you make sense of earthquakes in light of your faith?
Earthquakes are caused by physical process and will occur whether we are here or not. We can choose to observe our surroundings and prepare for the risks posed by earthquakes, as well as snow, winds, floods and fires. Today, we can usually choose to live somewhere else (with a different mix of risks). I personally liked Bishop Victoria’s reminder that God is in the community and love expressed as we clean up after the destruction. I take courage that our loving Father doesn’t abandon us when we make poor choices.

What lessons do you think the earthquake has taught us as the church?
We need to be wiser with our investments in infrastructure. This can be difficult when we have inherited it from previous generations rather than a new venture. In either case, when we are planning, we need to listen carefully to the experience of others and pass on our own knowledge to other communities who could be in similar situations. We also need to be better prepared to respond to and help our communities after major events like this.

As Canterbury begins to rebuild, arguments are beginning over whether we should restore old buildings or just start from scratch. What do you think?
That is a tough call, and will vary between communities. Rigid stone is not the ideal material for buildings in our ‘shaky isles,’ but it is a significant part of our cultural fabric and heritage. To some, the event and its changes will eventually be regarded as a blessing, but not without considerable heartache and tension and for a considerable time. Communities need to gather all of the facts they can so they can make informed decisions. And, of course, those decisions need firm foundations of prayer and vision.