This is Robert Cohen with the VOA Special English DevelopmentReport.
A United Nations report says better planning could helpdeveloping countries reduce deaths from natural disasters.One-million-five-hundred-thousand people died in natural disastersbetween nineteen-eighty and two-thousand. These includedearthquakes, volcanoes, storms and severe dry periods. On an averageday, one-hundred-eighty-four people die in natural disasters.
These are the findings of a newstudy by the U-N Development Program. An international team ofexperts examined information collected over twenty years. They foundthat disasters put development at risk. And they also found that thechoices that individuals, communities and nations make can createnew risks.
Researchers found that earthquakes killed more people bycomparison in countries with high growth rates in cities. They saythis is mainly because of poor quality housing and crowdedconditions. Flooding caused more deaths in countries with widelyspread populations. Rescue workers have a hard time reachingvictims.
Things like armed conflicts can turn dry weather into situationswhere people starve. Droughts and floods can also increase thespread of disease.
The researchers created a special measure to show that povertyand the risk of dying in a disaster are linked. They call it aDisaster Risk Index. They gathered the number of people exposed todisasters in more than two-hundred nations. Then they compared thosenumbers to the populations of the countries.
The researchers found that only eleven percent of people exposedto natural disasters live in developing nations. However, thesepeople represent more than fifty-three percent of the deathsrecorded.
The study urges governments to develop better city planning. Italso urges them to improve methods to rescue disaster victims. Moreimportantly, the researchers say a strong government structure isneeded. They say this can reduce disaster risks and improvedevelopment.
The U-N researchers say they hope the study will improveunderstanding of the relationship between disaster risk anddevelopment. Their report is called “Reducing Disaster Risk: AChallenge for Development.”
This VOA Special English Development Report was written by JillMoss. This is Robert Cohen.