From the earthquake in Haiti, to floods in Pakistan and China, we have been inundated with images of disasters this past year.
If you think a lot of people are affected by disasters, it appears to be the case. According to the 2010 edition of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ (IFRC) World Disasters Report released yesterday, over 50,000 people can die as a result of earthquakes, and 100 million can be affected by floods in any given year. The most affected are vulnerable persons living in urban areas.
With more than half the world’s population living in cities, and more people than ever living in slums, what does this mean for disaster response? The report found that a billion people around the world currently live in poor-quality housing on dangerous sites with no hazard-reducing infrastructure and no services. The results of this can been devastating. During the Haiti earthquake, poor housing was cited as being one of the causes behind the loss of thousands of lives.
Because of more people living in cities, the report also noted that disaster management plans have to consider new risks, such as an increase of non-communicable disease and urban violence.
You can find the entire report here. What are your thoughts?
Meanwhile, check out the video below by the IFRC about the challenges of urban disaster response.