For urgent disaster situations, 24-hour coverage is provided by staff to ensure the transmission of accurate information across different agencies, and between the disaster area and important response centers. Although these conflicts fluctuate in intensity, their resolution is very difficult, and relief assistance may be necessary to meet emergency needs of civilian populations for long periods. Rapid population growth, coupled with inadequate infrastructure support systems in many developing countries, has increased the number of people vulnerable to natural hazards such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, and volcanoes. Urban areas are expanding, with unsafe habitation in many shanty areas and slums. Population pressures also force people to move onto marginally viable and unsafe lands where natural hazards, such as hurricanes, earthquakes and volcanoes, and their side effects, such as flooding and mudslides, have disastrous impact.
Disaster preparedness requires careful examination of relief and recovery planning.
The results of prevention and mitigation efforts have been very encouraging. Of the 66 disaster-prone countries targeted for disaster prevention, preparedness and mitigation assistance, activities have been carried out in 36 of them. One of the most successful activities has been systematic preparedness training of national and local government officials and community groups in Latin America and the Caribbean. As a result, of these efforts, five of the thirteen targeted at-risk Latin American countries no longer require external assistance for emergencies, except in extraordinary catastrophic situations. Transition Initiatives Countries experiencing a significant political transition or civil conflict have unique needs which are not addressed by the traditional disaster response.