Asia Pacific becoming more vulnerable to natural disasters, says report

UK based Institution of Mechanical Engineers recommends building resilience against natural events as essential for a successful future

The gravitation and mass migration of people towards urban areas has increased the world’s susceptibility to natural disasters, warns a global report by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. The report ‘Natural Disasters: Saving Lives Today, Building Resilience Tomorrow’, highlights the increasing vulnerability of the Asia-Pacific region and the fact that as well as an average of around 200 million people being directly affected by natural disasters every year, the economic impact of these disasters stretches right across the globe – as seen in the wake of the 2011 tsunami that hit Japan. The report also sheds light on the increasing number of people affected by natural disasters but the decreasing the number of people killed by them.

The Institution’s report examines the trend of global urbanisation which is projected to result in 75% of the world's population living in towns and cities by 2050, 95% of the expansion in urban living being anticipated in developing countries. This movement of population into areas such as coastal regions, flood plains and earthquake zones that are typically less resilient to extreme natural events, has been identified in the report as one of the factors, along with degradation of the natural environment that is moving the world towards more natural disasters.

The report cites the recent Uttarakhand flood fury in India as a classic example of the damaging consequence of unplanned and inappropriate development resulting in the habitation of human population in less resilient areas.

Appreciating the immediate criticality to control and effectively manage the pressing humanitarian crisis of natural disasters, the report stresses the need to prioritise the next phase of rebuilding affected communities to be more resilient. This involves putting in place long-term infrastructure redesign and re-engineering, and incorporating knowledge from across the globe on the ways to build preparedness and resilience against future events (often termed ‘building back better’). The report also lauds the effort of Surat administration, located in the Indian state of Gujarat, on their decision to relocate a number of communities from flood-prone land to purpose-built blocks and successfully reducing their physical vulnerability.

Dr Tim Fox, Head of Energy and Environment at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers said:

“When extreme natural events like earthquakes, tsunamis and cyclones with disaster potential do occur, it is crucial that engineers are embedded into early response activities, not only to assess damage and the safety of remaining buildings and structures, but also to ensure a long-term view is taken right at the start of decision making. As was seen earlier this month in India with Cyclone Phailin, given adequate levels of preparedness and resilience, many such disasters could be avoided and lives and communities can be saved.

“Engineering can play a great role in developing the preparedness and in reducing the future impact of natural disasters at various stages. Engineers are critical to planning and developing specific, local resilience as they can assess issues like the availability of potable water and energy, sanitation and hygiene options, transport links for food supplies and the interconnectedness of systems – like water and electricity.”

The report recommends that governments around the world increase their focus on preparing communities and building future resilience rather than just relying on immediate disaster relief; to build local capacity through planning and knowledge transfer and to embed long-term engineering view in the short-term response. It also reveals how the involvement of the private sector can be instrumental in overcoming the challenge of transferring technical ability to the developing nations and their resilience programs.