Disasters, Disaster Management and Economic Development

DISASTERS, DISASTER MANAGEMENT AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Disaster can de defined as an occurrence which brings about serious or severe distruption to the functioning of a society in terms of survival and livelihood systems, causing widespread human, material, environmental, economic and infrastructural losses which may exceed the coping capacity of the individuals, groups, communities governments and companies. Disasters when they occur always make people vulnerable to the hazards resulting from such occurrence thereby overwhelming their capacity to cope with the resources at their disposal. Disasters usually result in loss of lives, livelihood, property, health, economic, social;, physical cultural and environmental assets of persons, business, communities and cultures.

It is pertinent to mention that disasters can be classified according to their cause, speed of onset (sudden or slow) and whether or not they are due to acts of nature (natural disasters) or acts of humans (man-made disasters).

However it must be noted that this classification (natural or man-made) is often contested, because it is generally believed that human actions do sometimes if not most of the time precipitate or instigate some natural disasters.

To put disaster in an understandable context we need to note that disasters are about hazards, risks, vulnerabilities loss and capacity.

Going further it has been established that disasters;

• Cause loss of lives and property.
• Lead to displacement of thousands of people.
• Affect human environment and its systems.
• Impact negatively on the economy security, education and social life of the nation.
• Requires huge financial resources to manage or mitigate before, during and after.
• Can be predated using modern technology and traditional methods.
• Can be prevented, mitigated or generally managed to reduce impact.

Hazard/Risk Profile of Nigeria

ABIA / Command conflicts, Erosion, Rainstorm, Flood, Cholera, Road accidents, Landslide, Kidnapping, Industrial disaster
ADAMAWA / Flood, Command conflict, Bomb explosions/Insurgence, Cholera, Measles, Rainstorm, Road accidents.
AKWA-IBOM / Flood, Conflicts, Cholera, Oil spill, Road accidents, Kidnapping
ANAMBRA / Conflicts, Flooding, Kidnapping, Erosion, Landslide, Road accidents, Rainstorm, Cholera, Industrial disaster.
BAUCHI / Conflicts, Bomb explosions/Insurgence, Cholera, Measles, cerebra-spinal meningitis, Flood, Fire, Road accidents.
BAYELSA / Conflicts, Kidnapping, Insurgence, Flood, Oil spill, Pipeline vandalisation, Coastal erosion, landslide, Environmental degradation.
BENUE / Conflicts, Flood, Cholera, Rainstorm.
BORNO / Bomb explosions/Insurgence, Cholera, cerebra-spinal meningitis, Measles, Flood, Desert encroachment, Armed conflict.
CROSS RIVER / Flood, Cholera, Coastal erosion, Conflicts, Oil spill/Pipeline vandalisation, Environmental degradation.
DELTA / Conflicts, Insurgence/Militancy, Kidnapping, Flood, Oil spill/Pipeline vandalisation, Environmental degradation, Road accidents, Cholera.
EBONYI / Conflicts, Erosion, Landslide, Flood, Cholera, Road accidents, Rainstorm.
EDO / Flood, Conflicts, Kidnapping, Erosion, Landslide, Road accidents, Oil spill, Cholera.
EKITI / Flood, Rainstorm, Erosion, Conflicts, Road accidents.
ENUGU / Conflicts, Fire, Flood, Erosion, Landslide, Kidnapping, Cholera.
GOMBE / Conflicts, Bomb explosion/Insurgence, Cholera, cerebra-spinal meningitis, Measles, Flood, Fire.
IMO / Flood, Landslide, Erosion, Kidnapping, Conflicts, Rainstorm, Road accidents.
JIGAWA / Flood, desert encroachment, cerebra-spinal meningitis, Cholera, Measles, Road accidents, Famine, Fire.
KADUNA / Conflicts, Flood, Bomb explosion/Insurgence, Rainstorm, Measles, Cholera, cerebra-spinal meningitis, Road accidents, Aircraft accident, Fire
KANO / Conflicts, Flood, Bomb explosion/Insurgence, Rainstorm, Measles, Cholera, cerebra-spinal meningitis, Aircraft accident, Road accidents, Fire.
KATSINA / Cholera, cerebra-spinal meningitis, Measles, Flood, desert encroachment, Famine.
KEBBI / Flood, Cholera, cerebra-spinal meningitis, Measles.
KOGI / Flood, Erosion, Rainstorm, Conflicts, Cholera, Road accidents.
KWARA / Flood, Erosion, Conflicts, Cholera, Road accidents.
LAGOS / Flood, Rainstorm, Oil spill/Oil pipeline vandalization/Explosion, Road accidents, Aircraft accident, Conflicts, Coastal erosion, Ocean surge, building collapse, Fire, Environment degradation, Industrial disaster.
NASARAWA / Conflicts, Flood, Measles, Cholera.
NIGER / Flood, Cholera, Bomb explosion/ Insurgence, Conflicts, Measles, Road accidents.
OGUN / Flood, Fire, Rainstorm, Road accidents, pipeline vandalization, Pipeline explosion, oil spill, Industrial disaster, Aircraft accident.
ONDO / Rainstorm, Flood, Coastal erosion, Oil spill, Environmental degradation, Conflicts, Road accidents.
OYO / Flood, Rainstorm, Building collapse, Cholera, Conflicts, Road accidents, Industrial disaster.
OSUN / Flood, Rainstorm, Conflicts.
PLATEAU / Conflicts, Flood, Erosion, Aircraft accident, Cholera, measles.
RIVER / Flood, Coastal erosion, Ocean surge, Conflicts, Kidnapping, Building collapse, Road accidents, Oil spill, pipeline vandalization, Environment degradation, Cholera, Aircraft accident, Industrial disaster.
SOKOTO / Flood, desert encroachment, cerebra-spinal meningitis, Cholera, Measles, Fire, Road accidents.
TARABA / Conflicts, Flood, Bomb explosion/ Insurgence, Cholera.
YOBE / Conflicts, Bomb explosion/ Insurgence, desert encroachment, Measles, cerebra-spinal meningitis, Cholera.
ZAMFARA / Illegal mining/Lead poisoning, Conflicts, cerebra-spinal meningitis, Cholera, Measles, Fire,desertification.
ABUJA / Flood, Bomb explosion/ Insurgence, Building collapse, Road accidents, Fire, Aircraft accident.

Disaster Profile of Nigeria 2012 – 2015

DISASTERS / 2012 / 2013 / 2014 / 2015
DEATH / INJURED / DISPLACED / LAND AFFECTED / BULIDING AFFECTED / VEHICLES / DEATH / INJURED / DISPLACED / LAND AFFECTED / BULIDING AFFECTED / VEHICLES / DEATH / INJURED / DISPLACED / LAND AFFECTED / BULIDING AFFECTED / VEHICLES / DEATH / INJURED / DISPLACED / LAND AFFECTED / BULIDING AFFECTED / VEHICLES
Flood / 363 / 540 / 2100 / 350080 / 40000 / 1500 / 22 / 195 / 5060 / 29000 / 2000 / 25 / 44 / 136 / 26800 / 85000 / 1677 / 42 / 32 / 200 / 26800 / 78000 / 1565 / 169
Insurgence / 464 / 645 / 6500 / 86000 / 22000 / 268 / 1554 / 537 / 12900 / 100000 / 10000 / 800 / 2044 / 6600 / 97800 / 120000 / 200000 / 126 / 1786 / 4234 / 879000 / 133000 / 281 / 200
Communal conflict / 217 / 300 / 24200 / 74800 / 42000 / 300 / 1044 / 1439 / 42525 / 60000 / 8000 / 400 / 1998 / 3270 / 12600 / 22000 / 164 / 78 / 1580 / 3340 / 66000 / 18000 / 148 / 78
Building collapse / 20 / 45 / 65 / 40 / 6 / 55 / 139 / 276 / 23 / 6 / 18 / 37 / 200 / 22 / 2 / 20 / 62 / 200 / 46 / 3
Pipeline Explosion/Vandalisation / 30 / 26 / 30 / 4 / 22 / 73 / 3000 / 4 / 33 / 68 / 10 / 47 / 88 / 20
Fire Disaster / 22 / 60 / 200 / 104 / 21 / 14 / 134 / 915 / 269 / 216 / 6 / 27 / 215 / 102 / 10 / 20 / 64 / 60 / 192 / 40
Rainstorm / 1 / 18 / 20 / 16 / 3 / 5 / 30 / 6060 / 32 / 10 / 1 / 4 / 82 / 20 / 2 / 2 / 10 / 32 / 12 / 2
Cholera / 742 / 10397 / 392 / 1434 / 200 / 528 / 48 / 470
CSM / 32 / 104 / 47 / 32 / 40 / 214 / 20020 / 388
Measles / 70 / 120 / 67 / 88 / 52 / 372 / 49 / 380
Boat Accident / 202 / 158 / 21
Air Accident / 169 / 9 / 40 / 4 / 5 / 3 / 16 / 4 / 5 / 14 / 6
Road Accident / 4681 / 7342 / 480 / 10 / 32 / 16820 / 4100 / 6131 / 30 / 44 / 15478 / 4970 / 7860 / 400 / 16 / 51 / 15850 / 4420 / 8340 / 20 / 40 / 16725
Oil Spill / 44000 / 36050 / 65000 / 40 / 10000 / 68000
Others / 51 / 85 / 120

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DISASTER AND ECONOMY/DEVELOPMENT

The increasing human and economic losses from disaster are being determined by two interrelated development namely; increasing understanding of the nature and causes of disaster on one hand and in the other hand, the increasing concern with and commitment to activities that could reduce the effect/impact of disaster. This means that more attention should be focused on economic development implication for disaster, and its management in terms of risk reduction, before, during and after disasters in order to sustain the economy well-being of the society.

It has been established that there are economic and social consequences arising from disasters because disasters are known to be intimately linked to human development and we understand that human vulnerabilities are closely associated with specific development condition and processes. This foregoing observation has strengthened the conviction that effective disaster management or risk reduction cannot be achieved without integrating the component of disaster risk reduction into economic or development planning and development processes.

Effect Of Disaster On The Economy And Economic Development

Development

Development is generally viewed as the achievement of economic growth and hence improved living standards achieved through the use of a society’s human, natural and institutional resources. Development means simply improving the society – enabling people to achieve their aspirations. Improving the society include provision of social services, acquisition of economic assets, improved productivity and reducing vulnerability to natural disasters. Low levels of development are thus closely associated with high level of risk and vulnerability to natural disasters.

The key elements of development that relate to vulnerability and disaster risk can be best summarized as follows:

• An economic component dealing with the creation of wealth and the improvement of conditions of material life equitably distributed
• A social ingredient measured as well-being in health, education, housing and employment
• A political dimension including values such as human right, political freedom, enfranchisement and some form of democracy
• An environment dimension: commitment to ecologically sound and sustainable development, which ensures that the present generation, does not undermine the position of the future generation.

Economic development and improvement in the conditions of material life are closely linked with social wellbeing and are key elements in increasing the ability of individuals, communities and society in general to cope with the impact of disasters. Political freedom, enfranchisement and democracy provide society with tools for controlling their destiny by participating in decisions that affect their daily lives, and by demanding accountability from those in power. Through participatory planning mechanisms, groups and communities can ensure that disaster risk reduction measures are factored into development programmes. The environment dimension ensures sound sustainable development practices.

The attributes of development that are introduced briefly above represent ideals to which every people and nation aspires. However, for many people across the globe particularly, ideals remain a dream and a rather remote one. One manifestation of these unattained goals is the increasing number and intensity of disaster triggered by both natural hazards and human condition that generate conflict. At the same time, development efforts and other human activities related to development may and do contribute towards disasters by increasing vulnerability as well as creating new hazards.

Economy/Development--Disaster Relationship

Disaster limit or destroy development /

• Destruction of physical assets and loss of production capacity, market access and input materials.
• Damage to infrastructure and erosion of livelihoods and savings.
• Destruction of health or education infrastructure and personnel.
• Deaths, disablement or migration of productive labour force.

Development causes disaster risk /

• Unsustainable development practices that create unsafe working conditions and degrade the environment.
• Development paths generating inequality, promoting social isolation or political exclusion.

Development reduces disaster risk /

• Access to safe drinking water and food and secure dwelling places, which increase people’s resilience.
• Fair trade and technology can reduce poverty, and social security can reduce vulnerability.
• Development can build communities and broaden the provision of opportunities for participation and involvement in decision making, recognizing excluded groups such as women, enhancing education and health capacity.

Disaster create development opportunities /

• Favourable environment for advocacy for disaster risk reduction measures.
• Decision makers more willing to allocate resources in the wake of a disaster.
• Rehabilitation and reconstruction activities create opportunities for integrating disaster risk measures.

Vulnerability and poverty

Vulnerability results from people’s exposure to hazard and their susceptibility to hazard impact. It reflects social, economic, political, Psychological and environmental variables, shaped by dynamic pressure (such as organization) that are linked to the national and international political economy.

The converse of vulnerability is capacity to anticipate, cope with, resist and recover from hazard impact. People’s capacity can be realized through collective action within a favourable institution environment (local, national and international) to established societal resilience. Resilience at the community level, often highly evolved may be challenged by new pressures such as climate change and globalization or limited by fatalistic belief system, but can be boosted by appropriate action on a wider scale.

Poverty and vulnerability go hand-in-hand, but do not completely overlap. Not all disasters affect the poorest most, yet poorer people tend to be both more exposed and more susceptible to hazards, suffer greater relative loss to asset, and have a lower capacity to cope and recover. Furthermore, disasters can induce poverty, making better-of people poorer and the poor destitute despite programmes aimed at fighting poverty.

In policy terms this means that poverty reduction can help reduce disaster risk, these requires an in-built, proactive focus on address such risk rather than seeing it as just another constraint to work within. At the same time risk reduction efforts can promote poverty reduction by helping people avoid the impoverishing effects of disasters.

Disaster hold back development

Disasters- including the everyday small-scale ones that go unnoticed by the outside world- affect poverty reduction in several ways. They have macroeconomic impact, directly through physical damage to infrastructure, productive capital and stocks, but also indirectly and in a longer term by affect productivity, growth and macroeconomic performance. These hit the poor hardest for several reasons. Loss tax revenue and diversion of resources into disaster response has fiscal impact affecting state provision of social services, while food prices often increase.

Moreover recent studies suggest that both government and donors tend to fund disaster relief and rehabilitation by reallocation resources from development programmes. Although the impact of any such reallocation is difficult to measure as it is unrecognized in official figures,it can be expected affect the poor disproportionately through adverse effect on poverty reduction effort.

Locally, impacts on poverty and food security can be much more severe and may not appear in national statistics. Disasters stretch coping strategies to breaking point and have long-term effects on livelihoods. High frequency hazards such as drought trigger immediate food crises, but can also have longer-term ‘ratchet’ effects which impede recovery in interim periods, especially when combined with other pressures such as HIV/AIDS, poor governance and conflict.

Disasters are rooted in development failure

Disasters do not just happen – to a large extent, they result from failures of developments which increase vulnerability to hazard events. Failure of institutional developments can be found at all levels, from local and national institutions weakened by skills shortages and corruption, to governance influenced by powerful countries and powerful interests within them.

The global context influences affect disaster frequency and severity in many indirect ways. For example, the mushrooming of ‘new wars’ is not only a feature of the post-cold war global political economy, but also a significant issue for disaster risk reduction because of the many ways violence, conflicts and instability interact with natural and biological hazards.

Development processes may increase exposure or susceptibility to hazard more directly. Increase exposure can result from global level climate change exacerbating extreme weather events, or local level destruction of mangrove which protect coasts from tidal surges. Rapid urban growth may increase exposure to landslides, earthquakes or fires.

Increased susceptibility result from development measures which erode capacity to cope with and recover from hazard impacts. This effect can result from the rapid liberalization of agricultural markets, the running down of state run social protection schemes, or the decline of informal safety net mechanisms associated with some development projects. Poor quality and poorly maintained infrastructure, such as hospitals and flood barriers, may even lead to higher casualties when they fail than if they had not been constructed.