Disasters

Take this link for a look at an interesting map that shows where people have suffered the most from natural disasters since 1975:

Territory size shows the proportion of all people worldwide affected by disasters between 1975 and 2004, that live there. Being ‘affected’ includes requiring emergency assistance for basic survival, and catching an infectious diseases not usually found there.

And this from a related NYT story:

A prime factor contributing to increased vulnerability is urbanization, with about one billion people already crammed into what are euphemistically called “informal” settlements in and around cities, better known as slums, and 25 million more moving in each year. These communities are usually built on steep slopes, floodplains or other vulnerable spots. Another is ecological damage, like the loss of mangroves in Myanmar that appears to have allowed the flood surge there to propagate inland more readily. The report projects that human-caused climate change will progressively tip the odds toward more trouble. But it stresses that increasing resilience to disasters can help limit climate risks, as well, even as it reduces poverty and potentially boosts global security.