Natural Disasters: Eluding Nature's Wrath

Countries struggle with homelessness in the aftermath of many natural disasters

That’s the message of the World Bank’s Hazard Management Unit, which is working with Developing Countries to plan for potential natural hazards as a development issue, instead of confronting them only as a humanitarian emergency when a crisis strikes.

With extreme weather events occurring more frequently and affecting more people than ever before, proper disaster planning has never been more important.

The Bam earthquake in Iran in December, which claimed 43,000 lives and devastated the city, showed how a natural disaster can change a community’s destiny in the blink of an eye and wipe out years of development initiatives.

Experience shows that steps can be taken to lessen the impact of nature’s fury.

Prevention measures and preparedness—such as building infrastructure capable of withstanding natural hazards and creating contingency plans—can make a significant difference when it comes to defending development from natural hazards. 

Richer, more developed countries are better equipped to deal with natural hazards, which prevents them from escalating into disasters. These countries have safety measures to help avert hazards, better response systems in the aftermath, and insurance mechanisms to offset infrastructure losses. 

Consider the impact of the earthquakes of similar magnitude that regularly strike Peru and Japan: while Peru averages 2,900 fatalities each year, Japan averages 63. Or the impact of extremely heavy rainfall in 1999 on Venezuela and France. Both countries lost some US$3 billion worth of infrastructure, but the death toll was much higher in Venezuela due to landslides, totaling 50,000 people. There were only 123 deaths in France.

Similar discrepancies occur across the world. Most poor countries have not taken a development approach to natural disasters, which are still commonly viewed as a humanitarian issue.

Both the governments and the international donor community are responsible for changing that approach, says Margaret Arnold, acting manager of the World Bank’s Hazard Management Unit.

“The international community responds very well to disasters and always helps the country with emergency needs,” she explains. Yet, Arnold says, “Disaster management should be an integral part of countries’ long-term development strategy.”

By integrating disaster risk management in development and investment decision, countries prone to natural hazards can do a lot to mitigate their impact, she adds.

We explore natural disasters’ key role in development:

Counting the Cost
In the past two decades alone, direct economic losses from natural disasters multiplied five fold to US$629 billion. We take a closer look at the economic impact of mitigation planning.

Reconstruction Process Underway in Bam, Iran
The city is taking steps to move from the recovery stage to a reconstruction phase. Officials predict basic infrastructure will be restored in within 24 months.

Lessons From the Brink
A forthcoming report analyzes the disaster response of five countries: Bangladesh, Honduras, India, Mozambique and Turkey.

Exploring Building Innovations In Turkey
A structural engineer sees hope for homeowners in recycled tires.

Answering the Call to Aid
A young person from the Central Asian country of Tajikistan creates his country’s first Emergencies Resource Center, which is reaching out to students and their families to show them how to help themselves before, during, and after a natural disaster.

Natural Disasters: Resource Links
Additional resources can be found on the World Bank site, as well as the World Wide Web.