ABSTRACT
The cyclone that hit Orissa, India, in 1999, caused the total collapse or destruction of 742,143 housing units. 1 About 1 million people were reported as homeless after the earthquake in Turkey that same year, including 70 per cent of the population of Izmit. 2 These disasters are not isolated episodes, but merely examples of similar catastrophes that occur year after year. They result in damage and loss of housing and urban infrastructure with devastating effects on the lives of those affected. Sustainable human settlements development cannot often prevent disasters from happening, but it can help to mitigate their impacts. This chapter first briefly documents the human impacts of natural and human-made disasters, before examining what can be learned from these experiences and reviewing approaches to support post-disaster recovery.
