How to Reduce the Effects of Natural Disasters

One of the most difficult situations a country can face is a major natural disaster. These events, that are entirely outside human control, can cause massive damage and loss of life. The aftermath can ripple into the overall economy. Governments must try to find ways to reduce the effects of these disasters.

Instructions

Reduce risk

• 1

  Conduct a risk assessment both for current buildings and communities, as well as any future construction. Determine the types of risks they might face. For example, if your community is located along the Gulf Coast, you will have to consider the effects of wind and storm surge that might result from seasonal hurricanes.

• 2

  Use the risk assessment to adjust local building codes to meet the risks you might face. Avoid the tendency to minimize the risk to reduce costs. If you build to withstand a Category 3 hurricane, and you get a Category 5, the money you might have saved will seem insignificant.

• 3

  Determine if some areas are simply inappropriate for certain types of structures. For example, if you have a major fault line running through an area, it would be unwise to locate a nuclear power plant or major chemical factory there.

• 4

  Create effective disaster plans. These plans should take into account worse case scenarios. For instance, if the roads that you were going to use to deliver supplies to devastated communities are impassible, the plan needs to have contingencies for getting supplies through by other means.