4. Natural Disasters and Less Developed Countries

Natural disasters frequently occur across the world, affecting both developed and developing countries. However, some countries are more vulnerable than others. The vast majority of lives lost or affected by natural disasters are in developing countries. Poor governance, external sanctions, poverty, and foreign debt force farmers to burn wood for fuel and to engage in unsustainable farming techniques that drive deforestation and consequently slope processes. Poverty results in migration to urban areas, usually in unsafe areas, the consequences of which can be disastrous (e.g., landslides and debris flows in urban areas). Between 1991 and 2005, nearly 90% of disaster-related deaths and 98% of people affected by disasters were in developing nations. Future adaptation to the increasing impact of weather-related natural disasters due to global climate change will also be more costly in these countries. Developing countries are more vulnerable to natural disasters because people live in areas at high risk from natural disasters (e.g., unsafe urban areas), the housing is poorly built and can be easily damaged in the event of a disaster, countries are not equipped with early warning systems, and they have few assets and a weak social safety network to help them cope with disasters.