ABSTRACT
Catastrophic disasters are becoming more common as people migrate to the hurricane-prone coasts and earthquake-prone areas, sea levels rise, and critical infrastructure becomes denser, as noted in Mileti’s groundbreaking book, Disasters by Design (1999). The United Nations’ 2011 Revision of the World Urbanization Prospects noted that, of the 450 urban areas worldwide with populations over 1 million, 60% are exposed to hazards such as flood, drought, cyclones (including hurricanes), and earthquakes. Floods alone affect 233 major cities worldwide with a combined population of 663 million, while 890 million people are at risk of experiencing one of the natural hazard-driven disasters (UN, 2012). A NOAA study (2004) found that although only 17% of the land area of the United States is in coastal counties, 53% of the U.S. population lived on the coast in 2003, representing a 20% increase in just over twenty years. The population density of coastal counties is 300 persons per square mile, compared to 98 persons per square mile for the nation as a whole (NOAA, 2004).
