ABSTRACT
Cities at all stages of development are exposed to increasing economic and environmental pressures and instabilities associated with globalization, urbanization, climate change and resource depletion. A United Nations study in 2011 found that 60 percent of the people living in the world’s 450 largest cities were at a high risk of exposure to at least one natural hazard [1]. Most of these are in South-East Asia, with a few in North and South America, and surprisingly few in Europe and Africa. The specific nature of these shocks and stresses are varied ranging from cyclones, flooding to drought and landslides. The top five mega-cities at high risk to one hazard are Tokyo, Delhi, Mexico City, New York and Shanghai.
