ABSTRACT
The economic consequences of geohazards show an even more dramatic increasing trend (Munich Re, 2007). Some of the reasons for this increase are obvious, others less so. The post-disaster effects can be especially severe in a vast, densely-populated area where sewers fail and disease spreads. Slums spring up in disaster-prone areas such as steep slopes, which are prone to landslides or particularly severe damage in an earthquake. Many of the world’s fastest growing cities are located on coastal land or rivers where climate variability and extreme weather events, from cyclones to heat waves to droughts, pose increasing risks of disaster.
