Impact of Natural Disasters

A wave of natural disasters has struck a tragic chord globally. From the devastating floods in Philippines to the tsunami-hit South Pacific Islands, the disasters are a potent reminder of man's helplessness against nature.

The "strange" changes in typhoon patterns observed over recent years in Philippines confirm fears of the devastating impact of global warming, climate scientists warned. They point out that serious attention should be given to the factors responsible for a worsening climate situation. A strong global strategy to fight climate change, getting worse by the day because of merciless abuse of the environment is the need of the hour.

Floods, storms, droughts and other climate-related natural disasters drove 20 million people from their homes last year, nearly four times as many as were displaced by conflicts, a new U.N. report said recently. The study tried to quantify for the first time the number of people forced to flee their homes because of climate change. Global warming is increasing the frequency and intensity of storms and otherwise altering weather patterns, so disasters are now "an extremely significant driver of forced displacement globally", it said.

The study said a total of 36 million people were driven from their homes by rapid onset of natural disasters in 2008. The report was compiled jointly by the U.N. office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre(IDMC), a body which normally tracks displacement caused by conflicts. In the Philippines, nearly two million people were forced from their homes by severe storms, China and Myanmar also saw large-scale displacements due to storms.

Last year, more than five million people were displaced by flooding in India, attributed in part to changes in the country's monsoon cycle. Asia accounted for over 90 per cent of disaster-related displacements last year, which the report said "may simply because Asia is the most disaster-prone region."

A World Bank study titled "Climate Volatility Deepens Poverty Vulnerability in Developing Countries" noted: "Extreme climate events influence poverty by affecting agricultural productivity and raising prices of staple foods that are important to poor households in developing countries. With the frequency and intensity of extreme climate events predicted to change in the future, informed policy design and analysis requires an understanding of which countries and groups are going to be most vulnerable to increasing poverty."

Writing in The Economic and Political Weekly(Aug.2009) E.Somanathan and Rohini Somanathan on "Climate Change :Challenges facing India's Poor" pointed out that "Rising temperature, changes in rainfall patterns, and an increased frequency of floods and droughts are likely to have serious effects on rural populations in the absence of policies that actively help these households adjust to their changing geography." Based on the survey data from villages affected by the Kosi flood of 2008, they revealed how households and governments are likely to respond to unexpected weather events. "The flood in Bihar rendered much of the land in the area uncultivable and resulted in large-scale unemployment. The state, while effective in providing immediate relief to flood victims, has done little to help the rural population adapt to their changed geography", they concluded.

Extreme climatic events carries a sinister message for policy-makers from around the world who are busy drafting the climate-change agreements for the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen. The message is :Act now or face the fatal consequences. The series of natural disasters are part of a string of Nature's out-poring of wrath that are growing more frequent and severe due to the rapid raise in global temperature and the world's unwillingness to shift to sustainable development, the use of green technologies and an earnest commitment to curb runaway consumerism.

Nature's dire warnings should make the climate-change negotiators from rich and poor countries alike realize that they can no longer allow themselves to be trapped in the blame game. Time is running out. It is suicidal to keep shifting responsibilities or arguing about the wording. While constantly looking over one's shoulder for fear of losing an inch to their economic rivals. The latest string of natural disasters in this part of the world should also drive home another important message :while policy makers are at loggerheads, it is the ordinary people who lose lives and livelihood, paying the price for their leaders short-sightedness.

World Disasters Report 2009 observed :"The rising dangers of climate change require a response from governments equivalent to the one made to address the global financial crisis."