Economics of DRR

For the urban coastal city of Hong Kong, typhoons are a regular occurrence from May to October. Consequently, Hong Kong’s infrastructure is designed to cope with the strong winds, floods, and storm surges they bring. Recently, however, the territory experienced two powerful storms in consecutive years. In 2017, Super Typhoon Hato struck the region, and in the following year, the city witnessed Super Typhoon Mangkhut, the strongest typhoon since 1983. But Hong Kong suffered lower economic losses from both storms when compared with the neighboring Guangdong region and the city of Macau, thanks partly to its well-coordinated response and resilient infrastructure.

For a growing number of populations around the world, facing a future of more frequent and extreme disasters will only be possible if more funding is channelled towards adaptation and disaster risk reduction, writes Mami Mizutori.

The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction today issues a new report “International Cooperation in Disaster Risk Reduction” which highlights low levels of investments in disaster prevention and disaster risk reduction for the world’s most vulnerable countries.

The Caribbean’s fragile economy is being battered by the pandemic that is keeping tourists from its tropical beaches and leaving heavily-indebted countries ill-prepared to cope with violent hurricanes and other emergencies, say experts.