More on disasters

Yesterday's lunchtime talk by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction cast the recent earthquake in Nepal in a rather different light.

Global emergency response to disasters caused by earthquakes, wind and flooding is improving, but as the third world is developing rapidly, we are increasing the risk of catastrophic losses in the case of a disaster. While wealthy countries like the US stand to lose the most in disasters if you count loss in financial terms, we are largely covered by insurance and have the financial wherewithal to recover. Not so developing countries, especially those termed Small Island Developing States or SIDS.  A cyclone or tsunami that devastates a Caribbean island effectively wipes out a whole country and these countries GDP is so low and financial situation is so precarious that they struggle to rebuild not only homes but also vital health and education services.

The conclusion was that we need to be thoughtful about investing development dollars in a sustainable way to help the beneficiaries become more resilient to disaster - otherwise it was likened to pouring water in a bamboo basket.  My personal takeaway was think twice before you plan on retiring to the Caribbean...