Global Report on Human Settlements 2007 - PoA-ISS

190
Natural and human-made disasters
Table 7.9
Disaster incidence and
impacts in Africa
(1996–2005)
Note: For all disaster types,
small events with less than 10
mortalities or 100 affected
people are not included.
Source: EM-DAT, CRED
database, University of
Louvain, Belgium, www.emdat.net
Number of events Mortality People affected (thousands) Economic loss (US$
million, 2005 value)
Avalanches/landslides 11 251 3 No data
Drought/famines 140 4656 173,979 334
Earthquakes/tsunamis 20 3313 361 5824
Extreme temperatures 7 168 0 1
Floods 290 8183 23,203 1880
Volcanic eruptions 5 201 397 10
Windstorms 74 1535 3902 1082
Industrial accidents 49 2785 10 838
Miscellaneous accidents 94 2847 189 23
Neo-liberal policies
… have scaled down
state responsibilities
for risk reduction
and response…
compared to other world regions, but is high as a proportion
of GDP.
Between 1996 and 2005, more people were killed or
affected by volcanic eruptions in Africa than in any other
region, despite incidence (five events) being low (see Table
7.9). Low incidence in Africa is explained by the long return
periods for volcanic eruptions, unlike in other world regions
that are more exposed to volcanic risk. The high loss-to-event
ratio indicates low resilience and this was demonstrated in
the volcanic eruption of Mount Nyiragongo, which destroyed
40 per cent of buildings and displaced 250,000 persons in
Goma (Democratic Republic of Congo) in 2002. 102
African rates of urbanization are the most rapid in the
world, albeit from a low base. The poverty of countries in
this region severely limits household coping capacity and the
capacity of governments to build resilience and undertake
risk reduction. There is a growing and, in some cities, strong
civil society presence that provides coordination for grassroots
actions. The lack of regional governance for risk
reduction is a serious limiting factor preventing
South–South learning across the region. Limited capacity to
regulate industry also means urban settlements in this
region have among the highest rates of industrial disaster
worldwide. Widespread poverty and vulnerability make this
region highly susceptible to the local impacts of global
environmental change. Vulnerability is exacerbated by
conflict, chronic disease and weak governance.
North African countries have higher levels of urbanization
and development than sub-Saharan Africa. Poverty
and inequality remain high; but government risk reduction
capacity is stronger than in sub-Saharan Africa, although in
some states limited civil society presence constrains the
building of resilience outside of state-sanctioned activities.
In this sub-region, risk management is led by technological
and engineering sectors. For example, great advances have
been made in mapping urban earthquake risk and designing
earthquake-proof structures. A lack of focus on governance
and social development has created challenges for implementing
and enforcing codes.
Americas
Across all regions, the Americas experience the greatest
economic loss from natural disasters (see Table 7.10). In
2005, Hurricane Katrina alone caused US$81.2 billion in
economic damage in the US (see Table 7.3). Windstorms
(including hurricanes and tornadoes) are the most frequent
type of disaster, affect the greatest number of people and
cause the highest total economic costs. In turn, windstorms
can trigger flooding and landslides. Indeed, flooding is a high
incidence event that causes the greatest number of deaths
for any disaster type in the region and also records a high
mortality count. In 1998, Hurricane Mitch devastated
Honduras and Nicaragua, killing over 9000 people, many of
whom lost their lives to landslides. 103 The impacts of
volcanic eruptions have been limited despite the region
experiencing 46 per cent of the global recorded events from
1996 to 2005. This suggests good levels of resilience to this
hazard type.
North America is a wealthy and highly urbanized
region. Canada and the US have strong states and active civil
societies providing top-down and bottom-up risk reduction
capacity. Mexico is a large economy with a strong state and
active civil society, but is weakened by extensive poverty and
tensions in governance, particularly related to indigenous
and marginal urban and rural populations. Neo-liberal
policies, particularly in the US and more recently in Mexico,
have scaled down state responsibilities for risk reduction and
response and placed greater emphasis on the role of private
citizens and companies. This has had mixed results for urban
Table 7.10
Disaster incidence and
impacts in the
Americas (1996–2005)
Note: For all disaster types,
small events with less than 10
mortalities or 100 affected
people are not included.
Source: EM-DAT, CRED
database, University of
Louvain, Belgium, www.emdat.net
Number of events Mortality People affected (thousands) Economic loss (US$
million, 2005 value)
Avalanches/landslides 42 1632 203 97
Drought/famines 51 54 15,287 4094
Earthquakes/tsunamis 45 2861 3757 7689
Extreme temperatures 33 1597 4037 5620
Floods 281 38,028 9525 27,903
Volcanic eruptions 23 54 283 22
Windstorms 321 28,110 25,278 234,680
Industrial accidents 39 277 576 1245
Miscellaneous accidents 70 2989 12 1609