Choose any one natural hazard and prepare a project report on it. Mention the causes of the hazard, its effects, and the measures that should be adopted to cope with it. Provide suitable illustrations.
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Answer:
Data from a variety of sources indicate that approximately 90 percent of all natural disasters worldwide occur in developing countries (Long, 1978). Recent Latin American and Caribbean examples illustrate the magnitude of the problem. When Hurricanes David and Frederick struck the Dominican Republic in 1979, they caused an estimated US$342 million in damage to the agricultural sector (UNDRO, 1980), destroying 80 percent of all crops and 100 percent of the banana crop. As a result, agricultural production fell 26 percent in 1979 and continued to be down 16 percent in 1980. Agriculture accounts for 37 percent of the country's gross domestic product and employs 40 percent of the labor force (USAID/OFDA, 1982). In 1984, the worst floods in Colombia in a decade caused an estimated US$400 million in damage to crops and livestock, while floods in Ecuador in 1982 and 1983 shrank the value of the banana crop by US$4.3 million (UN/ECLA, 1983).
In short, from 1960 to 1989 natural disasters caused over US$54 billion in physical damage in Latin America and the Caribbean. While the information available on the amount of national and international funds committed to reconstruction in response to each disaster is limited, the need to redirect funds to post-disaster work curtailed the availability of funds otherwise targeted for new investment.