ODI theme pages highlight key narratives in international development and humanitarianism. To view some of our other theme pages, choose from the list below.
Our work is carried out within a number of programmes. If you are an individual or organisation wanting to work with ODI, visit the ODI Programme pages.
A mother sits at a makeshift home in Myanmar, May 2008.
Souce:Reuters/Sstringer (MYANMAR) courtesy Alertnet www.alertnet.org
Natural disasters are human crises that are precipitated by natural events. The list of trigger events is all too familiar and includes not only droughts, floods, earthquakes and, cyclones, but also biological hazards, such as the threat posed by epidemics.
The root causes of the human disaster triggered by such natural hazards include a mix of political, social and economic factors which determine who lives where, under what conditions, and with what degree of exposure to hazard. Concepts of risk and vulnerability are central to the analysis of such exposure, and to people’s ability to withstand and recover from the related shocks.
The results can be devastating on many levels, from the national economy to the individual household. The agenda of humanitarian and developmental concern spans prevention and mitigation, preparedness and relief responses, recovery and rehabilitation. It also includes resilience and sustainable livelihoods in hazard prone areas. Climate change and the apparently growing incidence of meteorological hazards give even greater urgency to this agenda, and particularly to disaster risk reduction (prevention/mitigation). The Myanmar cyclone of 2008 was a stark reminder of the critical importance of prevention and early warning: as with the 2004 Tsunami and other high impact catastrophes, most lives were lost in the initial impact. Getting ahead of the crisis 'curve' is challenging in rapid-onset disasters, more feasible in slow-onset crises like drought. But the barriers to effective prevention and response are as much political and bureaucratic as they are financial and technical.
The work of ODI on natural disasters is led by the Humanitarian Policy Group, with more sector-specific research being undertaken by Programmes across the Institute.
Beyond the damage: probing the economic and financial consequences
of natural disasters
This joint meeting of ODI's Humanitarian Policy Group (HPG) and International
Economic Development Group (IEDG) launched the report by Charlotte Benson
and Edward Clay 'Understanding the Economic and Financial Impacts of Natural
Disasters' published by the World Bank.
'Beyond the blame game'
This meeting aimed to create space for discussion in order to look for
and capture lessons at a stage when these questions are still being actively
debated. It aimed both to inform on-going policy and programming in Niger
and elsewhere in the Sahel, and to contribute to wider discussions about
early warning, disaster prevention and disaster response, including reform
of the humanitarian system and challenges to current development models
in such environments. London, 4 October 2005.
