History:
General Overview Natural disasters have plagued mankind since the beginning of time. With the advent of modern technology and communication systems, disaster response and preparedness has improved dramatically throughout the centuries and years. Despite this fact, disasters today wreak havoc, especially in places that don’t have strong infrastructure and sophisticated communication systems. The 2010 Haiti Earthquake and the 2004 Tsunami in Southeast Asia are prime examples of disasters that have destroyed ntire cities and regions. Natural disasters will always be inevitable, but two keys areas that the UNDP can help coordinate efforts forare disaster preparedness and disaster response. Examples of natural disasters that are the most detrimental to high-risk areas are droughts, cyclones, floods, and mudslides. However, these particular disasters are also the most predictable to prevent. Although governments, civil society, and communitties to help reduce risk of certain activities to help save lives and livelihoods.5 In general, the 21st century has already seen natural disasters devastate entire nations and regions, leading to heavy economic and human losses. In 2008, more than 300 disasters killed more than 235,000 people, affected more than 200 million others, and caused damages worth USD 181 billion. Certain costs to the damages exacted cannot even be quantified, such as the enormous toll on lives, livelihoods, social services, and the wider community infrastructure. Often, when these disasters occur in the poorest areas of the world, the impact on the most vulnerable populations is disproportionate. Those who are hurt the most are often women, children, and the elderly.6 The effective management of disasters is an integral part of development.
D i s a s t e r m a n a g e m e n t i n v o l v e s understanding and identifying risk factors that cause disasters, such as the exposure and vulnerabilities of society to natural hazards. High-risk countries need
preventative methods that will help reduce
risks, such as early warning system, building
codes, or disaster- sensitive local
governments. For example, the rush for
growth can trigger haphazard urban
development that increases the risk of largescale
fatalities during an earthquake. Other
risks include increasing human settlement
and investment in high-risk coastal areas.
These locations place a greater number of
people in danger of being affected by
cyclones, storm surges, and flooding,
especially given the dangers of climate
change.7
Challenges Posed by Disasters
Specific challenges that disasters
pose to communities include loss of
survival, dignity and livelihood of
individuals. One affected region can have
an impact on risks in another, and vice
versa. By compounding the effects,
particularly vulnerable populations and
high-risk areas are subject to environmental
degradation, climate variability, geological
hazards, competition for scarce resources,
and the impact of epidemics such as HIV/
AIDS. A combination of these factors could
point to a future where disasters wreak
havoc on the world’s economy, its
population, and the development of
infrastructure. For more than 2 decades,
over 200 million people have been affected
by disasters each year.8
