ABSTRACT
Many world cities have suffered large-scale disasters, causing significant loss of life, property damage, and adverse social and economic impacts. The types of disasters range from natural disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons, to public health atrocities such as infectious disease pandemics, to terrorist attacks, which could result in greater damage to more vulnerable groups. An ageing population is considered the most vulnerable population group when disaster strikes. Recent examples of natural disasters (e.g., Hurricane Katrina) have confirmed that 75% of the deceased were over age 60. Planning policies and tools have focused on introducing disaster management concepts at the community level to enhance disaster resilience. However, older people’s unique characteristics and disaster perceptions have been underestimated. Hence, the aim of this chapter is to explore the issues for community-based disaster risk reduction (CBDRR) in ageing communities. A literature review of recent studies forms an evidence-based forum for further case studies and field surveys. Studies confirmed the low risk perception and CBDRR awareness of older people and have suggested an inside-out CBDRR framework that integrates older people and local care resources for future effective disaster resilience communities.
