1.6. Trends in Disasters and Economic Losses

One is more and more people and buildings and settlements are now being exposed to hazards. More urbanized area we are having more and more populations are living there, concentrated in one pocket and more and more people are at risk, that is for sure, more and more people are exposed.

This chunk discusses how urbanization is leading to a greater concentration of populations in cities. As more people and buildings are located in these urban areas, they become increasingly vulnerable to various hazards, including natural disasters. This increasing exposure to risks can lead to larger impacts during a disaster because more people and infrastructure are affected.

Think of a large city like Tokyo. As the population grows and more buildings are constructed close together, any natural disaster, like an earthquake, has the potential to impact a large number of people and buildings. If the city were smaller or if buildings were more spread out, the impacts might be less severe.

People's capacity, their characteristics, their features, the building characteristics, settlement characteristics, the way it is happening, the unhappiness that unplanned development across the globe particularly in developing countries. Also, in particularly in Asia is, of course, making people more vulnerable than before that is for sure.

This chunk highlights that unplanned urban development exacerbates vulnerability to disasters. Particularly in developing countries and parts of Asia, the rapid pace of development without adequate planning can lead to poor infrastructure, lack of proper shelter, and insufficient emergency preparedness. Such conditions make communities more susceptible to the impacts of disasters.

Imagine a city that expands quickly without proper planning—a new neighborhood is built without proper drainage systems. When heavy rains occur, the area floods significantly, causing damage to homes and displacing families. If there had been better planning, the flood's impacts could have been minimized.

But the most important finding is that structural measures; engineering measures are important, but not enough that is for sure, you can build dikes, bridges, dams but you can make a lot of things like that structural measures, but they are very necessary for infrastructure development to protect and mitigate disasters. But that is not enough; the one great example is 2011 Japan or 1995 Kobe earthquake.

This chunk explains that while engineering solutions like dikes, bridges, and dams are crucial for disaster mitigation, they alone cannot make communities resilient. Events like the 2011 Japan earthquake show that even with advanced infrastructure, the sheer power of nature can overwhelm these protections. Thus, structural measures must be complemented by other strategies, like community preparedness and awareness.

Consider a levee built to protect against flooding. If a heavy rainstorm occurs and the levee is not maintained or designed to handle such an event, it might fail, leading to flooding despite its presence. This shows the need for not just physical barriers, but also for communities to be educated on evacuation plans and emergency responses.

What do we need to do then? we need to make people, increase people's risk awareness, we need to promote preparedness, small thing that if there is a big disaster, is the tsunami you have to evacuate, no other option, people who are living near the coastal side, they have to evacuate when there is a disaster.

This chunk emphasizes the importance of increasing risk awareness and preparedness among communities, especially those in high-risk areas like coastal regions prone to tsunamis. It suggests that basic knowledge of evacuation routes and disaster response can save lives. Ensuring that communities are aware of these risks and preparing them for when disasters strike is crucial for minimizing impacts.

Think about a fire drill in a school. Students practice what to do in case of a fire, so when an actual fire occurs, they know exactly how to exit the building safely. Similarly, educating coastal residents about tsunami evacuation routes prepares them to act quickly during an emergency, potentially saving lives.

So, what is happening is that we need to focus on preparedness, to promote preparedness and risk governance to the people. So, in order to do that, we have many kind of small countermeasures, not a very big issue like we can promote, we can motivate people to buy flood insurance or we can ask people to evacuate during emergency.

This chunk discusses various small measures that can aid in disaster preparedness, such as encouraging people to purchase flood insurance and ensuring they are aware of evacuation procedures. These countermeasures do not require large amounts of resources but can significantly improve community resilience and reduce the economic impact of disasters.

For example, think about how car insurance protects you financially if you're in an accident. Similarly, flood insurance can provide financial support if flooding damages your home. Encouraging families to take this step helps them prepare for potential disaster impacts.

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