Charlotte Fernández
UKIMEA Press Office,Leeds
The rapid growth in the number of people living in cities and urban landscapes is increasing the world’s susceptibility to natural disasters, according to a new report by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers launched today.
Arup significantly contributed to the 'Natural disasters: saving lives today, building resilience for tomorrow' report by drawing on experts in disaster relief and resilience from nine of its global offices.
The report warns that the unprecedented influx of people to urban areas across the developing world is leading to a large increase in people living in locations susceptible to natural disasters.
About 180,000 people move to urban areas every day. Around 18% of all urban housing is non-permanent or identified as ‘slums’ – which are particularly vulnerable to the impact of extreme natural events.
Many of the world’s largest cities are located in earthquake, storm and flood prone areas and urban land development is leading to the degradation or even total destruction of natural barriers like swamps, wetlands and mangroves.
The report calls for a much greater focus on preparing people for the possibility of an extreme natural event occurring and identifies building disaster resilience into communities as a key action – as opposed to concentrating largely on reactive relief initiatives in response to disasters after they have occurred.
“The shift towards urban living means more people are locating on coasts, more of the land that historically protected communities from floods like wetlands and swamps has been removed thanks to inappropriate development, and there has been a substantial rise in the number of people living in informal settlements or city ‘slums’. This means more people are exposed to the risk of being involved in a natural disaster. Dr Tim Fox, Head of Energy and Environment at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and lead author of the report
As part of the report, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers has made three key recommendations that could help the world become more resilient to the effects of natural events like earthquakes, floods and storms. To view these recommendations and the report in full, please visit the Institution of Mechanical Engineers website.