The effects of disasters on modern societies

World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction, Technical Committee Session C:

In the first part of this document, four authors give presentations on the characteristics of disasters in metropolitan areas; the relation between environmental degradation and disaster risks in megacities; and the scientific approach to risk assessment of of disasters in megacities and international cooperative actions for implementing such risk assessment in megacities in a coordinated manner.

The major focus of the second part is how to cope with the identified risks in modern societies by utilizing structural and nonstructural measures. As examples of the utilization of advanced technologies and modernized social systems for preventing and mitigating natural disasters, four topics are presented including structural engineering for protecting infrastructures from the threats of natural disasters; disaster reduction by means of both monitoring and communication satellite technologies; and disaster management with the help of a developed insurance system at the global level.