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This chapter provides an analysis of the interaction between natural disasters and human development. It provides a decomposition of the channels through which “human made disasters with a natural trigger” affect long term growth. It categorizes countries by level of exposure and investigates the approaches which can prevent a vicious cycle between natural disasters and low development. Among highly exposed countries, sustainable development needs to go hand in hand with an increase in resilience through both preparedness and mitigation. The chapter highlights the potential of an adaptive capacity at the institutional level, economic diversification, flexibility in aid disbursement, the use of index micro-insurances, and sustainable agriculture.

Lying in the tropical monsoon area of the North West Pacific, Vietnam is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. It is affected by many kinds of natural disasters such as floods, storms, whirlwinds, flash floods, coastline erosion, droughts and landslides. This chapter aims to reach a better understanding of disasters in Vietnam through a review of relevant case studies, policies, plans and strategies. The focus is on the socio-economic aspects of disastersusing documentary research methods. The study finds that disasters in Vietnam cause grave impacts to economic sectors, increase poverty, adversely impactindividual households and the community as large, cause environmental degradation, and induce serious health problems. The review of disaster prevention, response and mitigation measures in Vietnam points to the importance of public education and community awareness about disasters and of enforcement of legislation and policies on disasters.

Japan is vulnerable to a wide variety of natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, typhoons, floods, landslides and avalanches. Of these natural disasters, earthquakes are the most serious and frequently occurring. In this chapter, after reviewing the two contrasting cases of the Kobe and Chuetsu earthquakes, we discuss the role of public policy in facilitating risk management at the household level in the case of natural disasters. The Kobe earthquake hit the urban centre, where industries and residence are densely located, while the Chuetsu earthquake occurred in mountainous and remote farming areas. A comparison of Kobe and Chuetsu earthquakes shows differences in income, consumption, and other household level socio-economic variables that help us to identify the effectiveness of formal and informal insurance mechanisms.

Overall and insured losses of natural disasters are steadily increasing and reach record highs. The worldwide insurance and reinsurance industry plays an important role to provide immediate financial support to overcome the impact of natural disasters. This chapter provides information about the development of insurance solutions for natural disasters - from a historical perspective up to current insurance schemes, including micro-insurance. It also analyses in detail the impact of natural disasters of the last decades and points out the most affected areas, the costliest and deadliest events, the distribution by peril and the impact in different income groups.

Cuba’s record in responding to natural disasters and emergencies is examined, from 1960 to the present. The formation of the specially trained Henry Reeve Brigade when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005 (to respond to such emergencies) is analysed. Case histories of some of the responses are studied.

The ultimate test of how well prepared a society is to cope with and recover from a crisis is another crisis.The lessons of the economic crisis of 2008 show how long it takes to bring about reforms, and how difficult international co-operation to achieve greater coherence can be. Looking to the future, disasters – global and local – are likely to exceed past trends, challenging the capacity of individual countries to absorb their impact. Cross-border, cross-sectoral, place-based strategies will be difficult for governments to introduce and implement, as illustrated by examples from the past two decades, and by the risks associated with flooding. Earlier in the 20^th century, modern networked infrastructure utilities were seen as a point of vulnerability, but bombing in war did not bring about an expected collapse of urban societies and economies. Instead, this experience highlighted the factors of resilience. Strengthening resilience makes sense but it is not a cost-free strategy. The greatest risk to resilience comes from the fragmentation of society and a loss of social capital.

This chapter explores the role of interhousehold transfers in helping households recover from a natural disaster. I focus on the case of Hurricane Mitch in rural Nicaragua, exploiting the availability of panel household survey data before and after the disaster. The quasi-experimental evidence suggests that interhousehold transfers did increase significantly due to Mitch, especially for the households most affected by the shock. On average, a household that experienced losses equivalent to one month of income due to Mitch, received 57 cordobas (US$4.75) more per month in private transfers (more than 90 percent of pre-shock average monthly transfers). For a household at average income, whose losses amounted to one year of income, these new transfers offset 38 percent of the losses in the eight months after Mitch. Importantly, however, there is evidence that private transfers were partly crowded out by public transfers. Private transfers decreased by 25 cents for every cordoba of public transfers received. These results provide support for the altruistic or insurance models as a motivation for private transfers.

This eighth scenario is marked by low energy prices, weak growth, and global harmony. A series of catastrophic natural disasters bring disparate countries together in humanitarian relief efforts ranging from rescuing victims of floods, droughts, earthquake, tsunamis, and fires. These transnational calamities forge a strong international will towards addressing human security above all. The majority of countries, particularly in the developing world, are incapable of dealing with the wave of climate catastrophes and domestic unrest increases. Some of the more able countries take on an adaptive management approach to mitigating crises. The flood of refugees seeking haven in OECD countries increases, placing a burden on their economies, which are already severely stressed by decades of poor economic management. Energy prices stabilize due to the availability of hydrocarbons and slow growth in energy demand in most of the world. An inability to overcome government inefficiency and rent-seeking behaviour combined with growing domestic unrest prevent China and India from reaching the levels of development experienced by OECD countries in the 20th century. With a few exceptions, low demand globally prevents large-scale investment in cleaner energy technology and most countries choose to burn fossil fuels.

Economic and financial crises, social unrest, wars. and natural disasters are risks which, when they actually materialize, threaten the households of an entire community or nation. The consequences can entail a temporary or permanent decrease in income and, more generally, a worsening of living conditions. What risks have jeopardized the serenity of Italian families? What instruments could have been used in order to safeguard the wellbeing of those exposed to the risk of becoming poor over the 150 years of postunification Italy? Have these instruments been effective? This chapter provides answers to these questions. During the last few decades, Italy appears to be a country in which a relatively modest segment of the population can be classified as “poor,” while an unexpectedly broad segment turns out to be at future poverty risk. In short, even if not, poor Italy is fragile.