The number of deaths caused by natural disasters may be declining, but the number of people whose lives are destroyed as a result is increasing dramatically. There is a possibility that development is exposing more people to disasters. Research examines the costs of failing to prepare for disasters and asks whether risk reduction is an essential condition for sustainable development.

A report by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), ‘World Disasters Report: focus on reducing risk’, examines preparedness and mitigation initiatives from disaster-prone countries across the globe.

These days, natural disasters kill about 800 000 people each decade, far fewer than the two million who died in the 1970s. However, the number affected – by injury, homelessness and hunger – has tripled to two billion over the past decade and direct economic losses multiplied five times. The number of geophysical disasters has remained constant, but weather-related disasters are multiplying. Disasters can wipe out the achievements of decades of development in hours.

The IFRC stresses the importance of local-level preparedness, complemented by national planning. Evidence is presented that the physical and human impacts of disasters can be lessened. When disaster strikes, outsiders may fly in and grab the media limelight, but it is generally the locals who save lives. Of the 50 000 people pulled from the rubble of Turkey’s Marmara earthquakes in 1999, 98 per cent were rescued by locals. A network of 35 000 trained volunteers and the construction of storm shelters has prevented the recurrence of catastrophic loss of life in Bangladesh.

Among the success stories reporting on innovatory disaster preparedness initiatives are accounts of how:

• Authorities and communities in Orissa are organising preparedness drills at local cyclone shelters to ensure villagers know what to do the next time storms strike.
• Groundbreaking vulnerability and capacity assessment in Palestine involves listening to what children view as hazards in conflict zones.
• Community-operated early warning systems are being set up in Guatemala.
• Mangrove planting and disaster-proof infrastructure in Vietnam are reducing the impact of floods and storm surges: when floods struck Vietnam in 1999, only one out of 2 450 flood-resistant houses built by the Red Cross was destroyed.
• Cuba’s response to Hurricane Michelle in November 2001 was a textbook case of effective preparedness: there was only minimal loss of life from the most powerful hurricane for 50 years.

The IFRC warns that failure to invest in preparedness may be contributing to the higher numbers of disaster-affected people (the European Community Humanitarian Office spends only 1.5 per cent of its budget on disaster preparedness, for instance). As more people move into urban areas and slum settlements, huge numbers of the poor are on the disaster front-line. About 12 times more people die per reported disaster in countries of low human development compared with states with high human development status.

The IFRC calls on governments, local authorities, donors and NGOs to work together to:

• integrate disaster risk reduction into the broader development agenda
• appreciate the devastating impact of disasters on poor nations and poor people
• complement the international development targets with disaster risk reduction targets by: halving the numbers killed and affected, increasing the number of governments with dedicated disaster preparedness plans and boosting the quantity of aid spent on mitigation and preparedness
• disseminate the principles of vulnerability and capacity assessment (VCA)
• turn accountability and monitoring into regular, institutionalised practice.

Source(s):
‘World Disasters Report: focus on reducing risk’, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Jonathan Walter (ed), Kumarian Press, 2002 Full document.

Funded by: International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

id21 Research Highlight: 8 May 2003

Further Information:
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
17 chemin des Crets
PO Box 372
CH-1211
Geneva 19
Switzerland

Tel: +41 (22)730 4222
Fax: +41 (22)733 0395
Contact the contributor: wdr@ifrc.org

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Other related links:
'Learning to live with natural disasters: roadmap to a safer world?'

'Flood disasters in India’s West Bengal: are roads and railways to blame?'

'Disaster mitigation and preparedness: too important to be left to governments?'

'Coping with catastrophe: enhancing community capacity to respond'

'Structurally unsound: do SAPs contribute to disaster vulnerability?'