Famine in India or China no longer kills millions. Cyclones in the Bay of Bengal no longer drown hundreds of thousands. Pandemics no longer lay Europe to waste. But while direct loss of life has been averted, millions of people are now forced to live on marginal lands where their chances of escaping the poverty trap disappear every time a flood or storm surge hits. Disasters are first and foremost a major threat to development, and specifically to the development of the poorest and most marginalized people in the world.
Disasters seek out the poor and ensure they stay poor.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' annual publication, the World Disasters Report , has highlighted the chronic and rapidly increasing vulnerability of poorer countries to disaster. The relationship between disasters and the environment is evolving and gradually being better understood. It is an insidious one. Take, for example, the flooding along the Mekong River in 2000. The monsoon season started early and carried on longer than expected.