Hazards and Disaster

Global trends in natural disasters for the last two decades show that both the number of disasters and the number of affected people are increasing, leading to major environmental and socio-economic costs. Within Asia itself, theHindu Kush-Himalayan region is one of the most complex, dynamic, and intensive risk hotspots with earthquakes, floods, flash floods, landslides and debris flows, droughts, and wild fires as the main hazards. This is due to the physical and socio-economic characteristics of the Himalayan region combined with the changing risk factors such as environmental and climate change, population growth, and economic globalisation. This contributes to hold back the socio-economic development in the region and hampers the progress in poverty reduction. Those who are already the most vulnerable are, and will be, the most affected. In general, climate change is expected to increase the frequency and intensity of extreme events. The noticeable impacts of climate change include the rapid melting of many glaciers leading to immediate risks of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF) with implications for downstream communities and infrastructures and the increase of irregular rainfall patterns with a higher frequency of floods and droughts. In the past the focus has been on on post-disaster response only, which is no longer adequate and effective in dealing with disasters, therefore a shift is occurring in the region, as well as worldwide, from response to prevention, preparedness and mitigation of disasters. Collecting and developing more data and technology alone, will also not be sufficient to improve peoples’ lives. Policy makers and practitioners need to better understand local contexts and needs for improved disaster risk reduction activities.