NATURAL CATASTROPHES: DO WE HAVE TO LIVE WITH THEM?

Hardly a year passes in which at least one country around the world suffers from a large natural catastrophe. The first months of 2010 have already seen a series of severe earthquakes in different parts of the world such as Haiti, Chile, Indonesia, China and Mexico, and a volcanic eruption in Icelan...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCESifo forum Vol. 11; no. 2; p. 3
Main Author Kron, Wolfgang
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published München Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (Ifo) 01.07.2010
Subjects
Catastrophes
Economic impact
Environmental economics
International
Long term planning
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Summary:Hardly a year passes in which at least one country around the world suffers from a large natural catastrophe. The first months of 2010 have already seen a series of severe earthquakes in different parts of the world such as Haiti, Chile, Indonesia, China and Mexico, and a volcanic eruption in Iceland. Winter storms in Europe (Kyrill 2007, Klaus 2008, Xynthia 2009) remind us regularly that billion-dollar loss events are a continuing threat to Europe, as are widespread floods. Great natural events are not avoidable. Great catastrophes are. Catastrophes are inevitably the net result of the effects of extreme natural events and the response to those events. Effective safeguards are both achievable and indispensable, but they will never provide complete protection. The determining factor is awareness that nature can always come up with events against which no human means can prevail. [PUB ABSTRACT]
ISSN:1615-245X
2190-717X