1.9B - Modifying Vulnerability
Strategies to modify vulnerability and resilience include high-tech monitoring, prediction, education, community preparedness and adaptation. (F: models forecasting disaster impacts with and without modification)
Modifying vulnerability means increasing the resilience of a community to increase their capacity to cope. In many cases, prediction, warning, and evacuation are used to move people out of harm's way.
Hi-Tech Scientific Monitoring (used for Prediction)
This is used to modify the behaviour of volcanoes and predict eruptions.
Advantages:
Advantages:
- In most cases, predicting an eruption is possible
- Warnings and evacuation save lives
- Costly, so not all developing world volcanoes are monitored
- May suffer from 'cry wolf syndrome' if predictions are not accurate
- This is where predictions (and evacuation) are wrong, so people are less lively to believe the next one.
- This is where predictions (and evacuation) are wrong, so people are less lively to believe the next one.
- Does not prevent property damage
Community Preparedness and Education
Examples of this are: preparation days, education in schools and earthquake kits. These are boxes of essential household supplies (water, food, battery powered radio, blankets) kept in a safe place at home to be used in the days following an earthquake.
Advantages
Advantages
- Low cost, often implemented by NGOs
- Can save lives through small actions
- Does not prevent property damage
- Harder to implement in isolated rural areas
Adaptation
Moving out of harm's way and relocating to a safe area.
Advantages
Advantages
- Would save both lives and property
- High population densities prevent it
- Disrupts people's traditional homes and traditions