The mission of the World Bank is to fight poverty. An important part of this mission is providing assistance to prepare for and recover from natural or man-made disasters that can result in great human and economic losses. Indeed, developing countries suffer the greatest costs when a disaster hits - more than 95 percent of all deaths caused by disasters occur in developing countries; and losses due to natural disasters are 20 times greater (as a percentage of GDP) in developing countries than in industrialized countries.

Poorly planned development can turn a recurring natural phenomenon into a human and economic disaster. Allowing dense populations on a floodplain or permitting poor or unenforced building codes in earthquake zones is as likely as a natural event to cause casualties and losses. Similarly, allowing the degradation of natural resources increases the risk of a disaster.

In this connection, the World Bank's Disaster Risk Management team aims to reduce human suffering and economic losses caused by natural and technological disasters. We do this by helping the World Bank provide a more strategic and rapid response to disasters and promoting the integration of disaster prevention and mitigation efforts into the range of development activities.

Please send an email to the Disaster Risk Management team at drm@worldbank.org with questions you may have about its services and products that support World Bank clients, projects, and programs.