Inclusion

In order to save more lives when disaster strikes, we must improve the way we handle evacuations. Focusing on people with special needs, using high-capacity vehicles, providing adequate shelter and improving damage forecasts feature among the key considerations.

A village in the Udapayar district of Nepal, vulnerable to the annual monsoon and flash floods, is starting to recover. A project started in 2014 involved the construction of an embankment that minimizes the risk of flooding and awareness raising on flood risk management. Since the start, the local economy has strengthened and livelihoods are protected.

Accurate storm forecasting can provide warning several days in advance of landfall, improving the ability to prepare and ultimately save many lives. Still, the loss and damage from a tropical storm is harder, as it depends on both the severity of the storm and the vulnerability of the area affected. As coastal communities grow, forecasting technology needs to improve.

While the country has cut poverty rates in half since 1999, Tajikistan is facing an increasing number of disasters across the country. To safeguard socioeconomic gains and development, the World Bank has partnered with the government of Tajikistan to strengthen the country's critical infrastructure in some of its most vulnerable regions.

A researcher at Old Dominion University's Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center (VMASC) has examined why some people choose to ignore evacuation orders during a disaster. Reasons include a distorted perception of risk, financial vulnerability, feelings of invincibility, medical fragility, and the desire to protect property and pets.

In times of disaster, the media's responsibility in terms of reporting includes a fair portrayal of victims and making their voices heard. The media can achieve this by portraying the most affected populations, showing how vulnerability is not natural as opposed to hazards, highlighting response efforts by civil society, and focusing more on long-term recovery.

The Indian state of Gujarat has plans to move 15 villages that were affected by floods last year, in an attempt to tackle the increasing frequency and intensity of flooding. Relocating is a temporary solution, but from a long-term perspective Indian local governments will need to improve their flood mitigation measures.