Poverty and disaster risk reduction

The world's poorest countries are facing increasing fatalities and economic losses from extreme weather events as climate change and a lack of disaster preparedness exacerbate the threats. Governance is critical in stopping this trend, and measures such as improved building codes and insurance schemes are proven to be good strategies.

The impact of disasters depends on the complex interactions that exist between hazards, people’s vulnerabilities, and the social, political, physical, and economic aspects of the context in which they live. Working with disaster risk reduction thereby helps communities prevent, prepare for, and bounce back from disasters.

World Bank studies looking at the impact of hurricanes at national levels in Central America show that economic loss is concentrated in the first year following the event. The results also show that post-disaster assessments could be misleading by not taking indirect impacts and cumulative effects into account.

This paper was prepared as an input to the fourth Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (GAR). It explores progress and documents good practice towards reducing vulnerability to natural hazards and how that risk may shift in the decades to

A new study suggests that US poverty is set to grow if global warming continues unabated. The counties in the south and southern midwest are expected to lose the most. The economic and social costs of climate change are emphasised, and a connection is made between violence rising temperatures. The study concludes that the poorest population will be hit the hardest.

Building flood and drought resilience in rural India and improving the availability of appropriate cultivars of crops alone will not eliminate rural poverty unless the Indian government implements strategies to harvest, conserve and control water according to the differing needs of different agro-climactic regions.

This publication reports on the results of a research study on climate risk insurance. This study contributes to the learning process and the global discussion on addressing climate change risks for the poor. It does so by presenting research results

The world has already experienced three record-breaking hot years in a row, and the rising global temperature could have profound effects for health, work and staple food supplies for hundreds of millions of people, according to climate scientists.

This report warns that the combined human and economic impacts of extreme weather on poverty are far more devastating than previously understood.

This report analyses EM-DAT data of the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters regarding disaster mortality and vulnerability around the world. Of the 1.35 million people killed by natural hazards over the past 20 years, more than half died