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Even if they are interested in Third World development, they feel that disasters should be left to the relief teams who fly out to offer emergency aid whenever disaster strikes.
In fact, disasters have a significant effect on development. They can damage it badly, at all levels from that of individual households and local communities through to national level. Moreover, development and its consequences are themselves a factor in disasters.
Many people also see disasters as unstoppable, as acts of God: we cannot prevent them, only deal with the consequences. In many cases this is not true. There is a great deal we can do, and much that is already being done, although not nearly enough to cope with the magnitude of the problem.
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Acts of God? A church severely damaged by an earthquake in Colombia. (Click on picture to see enlarged version). |
This booklet tries to explain these topics. It is an introduction to some of the key issues, not a comprehensive coverage of the subject. It contains four short essays by people working in this field.
The first two writers look at the scale and nature of the disaster problem.
John Twigg considers the effects disasters have on Third World communities, and the reasons why some people are more at risk than others.
Charlotte Benson explores the economic impact of disasters and shows how this is often underestimated.
The two authors who follow deal with ways of overcoming the threat of disasters.
John Mitchell demonstrates that some attempts have been highly successful. He highlights the value of working with the communities who are vulnerable and making the fullest use of their own experience of living with natural hazards.
Tony Eades outlines the work of the United Nations International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, now nearing its close, and the contributions of British organizations to these efforts.
Our aim is that, by publishing the booklet, we will raise awareness of these important questions and, in some small way, stimulate greater interest in overcoming disasters.