"Physical infrastructure, land-planning and the size of informal settlements are the biggest factors determining the impact of disasters on cities," said NMSI Arambepola, director of Urban Disaster Risk Management with the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre in Bangkok, in a report by the Guardian UK Development Network.
"With so many people migrating to the cities, many of the most vulnerable urban populations settle in the more disaster-prone areas where no one else wants to live."