NATURAL DISASTERS RISING - PREVENTIVE STEPS ARE THE BEST WAY

Natural Disasters are happening too often and at too many places worldwide these days. This is a real cause for concern. Melting glaciers, earthquakes, landslides, building crashes, they are all happening. Disaster impact statistics show the global trend – there are now more disasters but fewer people die in proportion, even though more population is affected and economic losses are increasing. This is because people are anticipating certain things and preparing in advance. However, it is common sense that this is just not enough.

More than 90 per cent of natural disaster related deaths are to be found in developing countries. A blogger says, “The current aspects of physical exposure of human beings and economic assets have been partly shaped by historical patterns of settlements. Beneficial climatic and soil conditions that have spurred economic activities are in many cases also associated to hazard-prone landscapes. Both volcanic slopes and flood plains areas have historically attracted human habitation. Where settlement patterns have contributed to configure risk scenarios, new forces, such as population growth and increased rural/urban migration, act as dynamic pressures contributing to changing patterns in increasing people’s exposure to hazards.”

Climate change has added immensely to the threat levels of mankind. The depreciation of flora and fauna due to unnatural acts of pollution and greenhouse gas emissions has added a human hand to the destruction of this planet, a syndrome that may not be as far away as we would like to believe.