Community Preparedness

Natural disasters appear to be increasing in frequency around the globe. Hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, earthquakes, and pandemic issues appear to be on the rise. Poor and vulnerable populations are often affected by the turn of events in disasters. The Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) has reported that approximately 98,000 people were killed in natural disasters from January through October 2005. Flooding, windstorms, and other natural disasters have fallen into a global pattern, causing destruction and devastation in many of the same areas where previous disasters have already stricken families.

There may be a complex series of factors that relate to the sudden increase in natural disasters and destruction. One theory is based on industrialization and the use of land for housing and ...