Disasters: Invest, invest, invest

BONN – Former US President Bill Clinton urged the world yesterday to invest in early warning systems to prevent the massive death and destruction seen in recent earthquakes, tsunamis and other natural disasters.

“Hazards are not disasters by definition. Hazards only become disasters when lives and livelihoods are swept away,” Clinton said ahead of the start of the International Early Warning Conference in Bonn yesterday.”Making communities safer – by better managing the risks of natural hazards – must become a global priority.”The number of people affected by natural disasters has soared in recent decades.Last year, 149 disasters killed 97 000 people, affected more than 133 million and caused economic losses of US$230 billion.Population growth, urbanisation, the expansion of settlements in hazard-prone areas, environmental degradation and climate change had all contributed to increasing vulnerability, said Clinton, the UN’s Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery.The three-day conference will showcase scores of early warning systems.They include systems for warning of quakes in Iran, locust plagues in Africa, cyclones in the Philippines, and landslides in Bolivia.Clinton said the projects carried a price tag of US$200 million – a fraction of the US$10 billion spent each year on humanitarian assistance.”Early warning systems are the key …they do save lives and livelihoods,” he told the conference.A spokeswoman for Clinton said that he saw his job as creating a “culture of prevention”.Clinton highlighted other measures to prevent hazards becoming disasters.These included “hazard mapping” to identify areas of extreme vulnerability, better enforcement of building codes and increasing access to insurance to help survivors get back on their feet.- Nampa-ReutersHazards only become disasters when lives and livelihoods are swept away,” Clinton said ahead of the start of the International Early Warning Conference in Bonn yesterday.”Making communities safer – by better managing the risks of natural hazards – must become a global priority.”The number of people affected by natural disasters has soared in recent decades.Last year, 149 disasters killed 97 000 people, affected more than 133 million and caused economic losses of US$230 billion.Population growth, urbanisation, the expansion of settlements in hazard-prone areas, environmental degradation and climate change had all contributed to increasing vulnerability, said Clinton, the UN’s Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery.The three-day conference will showcase scores of early warning systems.They include systems for warning of quakes in Iran, locust plagues in Africa, cyclones in the Philippines, and landslides in Bolivia.Clinton said the projects carried a price tag of US$200 million – a fraction of the US$10 billion spent each year on humanitarian assistance.”Early warning systems are the key …they do save lives and livelihoods,” he told the conference.A spokeswoman for Clinton said that he saw his job as creating a “culture of prevention”.Clinton highlighted other measures to prevent hazards becoming disasters.These included “hazard mapping” to identify areas of extreme vulnerability, better enforcement of building codes and increasing access to insurance to help survivors get back on their feet.- Nampa-Reuters