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<br />
<br />tion growth and concentration in urban areas;
<br />increasing capital investment coupled with new,
<br />sometimes vulnerable technologies; the large
<br />numbers of unsafe buildings, vulnerable critical
<br />facilities, and fragile lifelines; and the increasing
<br />interdependence of people in local, national, and
<br />international communities. All these factors in,
<br />crease the world's vulnerability to natural haz-
<br />ards.
<br />The scientific and technical applications useful
<br />in mitigating the effects of natural hazards in-
<br />clude: building structures to withstand the actions
<br />of the hazards, preventing or changing the charac-
<br />teristics of the hazards, predicting and warning of
<br />hazards, and identifying and avoiding sites where
<br />hazards are likely to strike most strongly. In
<br />addition, social strategies can mitigate the effects
<br />of hazards: restricting land use; developing emer-
<br />gency preparedness measures; spreading eco'
<br />nomic losses over a large population through
<br />insurance, taxation, and monetary grants; and
<br />restructuring a community so that it is less
<br />vulnerable to hazards,
<br />How are the effects of natural hazards on a
<br />community reduced? The first step is hazard and
<br />risk assessment: determining the types of hazards
<br />likely to occur, their characteristics and con-
<br />sequences, and the vulnerability of the com-
<br />munity. Disaster pteparedness is a second step.
<br />Essentially, it is the detailed planning for prompt
<br />and efficient response once a natural hazard
<br />strikes.
<br />Disaster mitigation is a third crucial step - and
<br />a primary focus of IDNHR activity. It includes
<br />such actions as increasing the earthquake- and
<br />wind, resistance of structures, building dams and
<br />barriers to reduce the effects of floods and
<br />tsunamis, and drafting and enforcing grading
<br />codes to prevent landslides. Hazard prediction
<br />and warnings are also crucial to hazard reduction,
<br />with great potential for reducing loss of life,
<br />Though many hazard mitigation measures are
<br />known, they are often not applied worldwide
<br />because experience in their application or critical
<br />data for their effective use in a particular region
<br />are not available. In addition, many promising
<br />mitigation approaches lack the ongoing research
<br />effort required to develop them and the funding to
<br />apply them, The IDNHR offers an opportunity to
<br />overcome these difficulties,
<br />Along with increasing our understanding of the
<br />physics of various hazards, the IDNHR also
<br />
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<br />
<br />provides an opportunity to address the so-
<br />cioeconomics of hazard mitigation: communicat-
<br />ing the risk and the benefits of applying mitigation
<br />methods before a disaster strikes, encouraging
<br />response to hazard warnings, and maintaining a
<br />hazard-conscious attitude between events. For
<br />each natural hazard, projects are suggested in the
<br />body of this report, Bur they are only the begin-
<br />ning of activities possible during the International
<br />Decade for Natural Hazard Reduction,
<br />
<br />ORGANIZATION AND ACTIVITIES
<br />OF THE IDNHR
<br />
<br />The global scope of the IDNHR demands that it
<br />be launched and administered on an international
<br />basis. Historically, the International Council of
<br />Scientific Unions (ICSU) has served as the body to
<br />promote and execute multilateral scientific proj-
<br />ects through its many affiliates, However, hazard
<br />reduction as pursued during the Decade will
<br />necessarily emphasize engineering capabilities
<br />and social strategies, in addition to scientific
<br />endeavors, Currently, no organization exists to
<br />link these activities on an international level. In
<br />the engineering area, the World Federation of
<br />Engineering Organizations (WFEO) and the
<br />Union of International Technical Associations
<br />(UITA) could contribute to the Decade in concert
<br />with ICSU. But combining these efforts with
<br />international governmental acceptance of the
<br />Decade's goals and means will require the
<br />participation of the United Nations, with its
<br />significant social and political resources,
<br />The United Nations embraces a number of
<br />organizations, each with its own charge. Many of
<br />these, such as the World Meteorological Organiza,
<br />tion (WMO), the United Nations Development
<br />Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Disaster
<br />Relief Coordinator (UNDRO), and the United
<br />Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Or-
<br />ganization (UNESCO), will have a natural interest
<br />in the activities of the Decade, In view of the
<br />complexity of the U.N. system, it may be best for
<br />the United Nations itself to decide how best to
<br />promote the IDNHR in cooperation with major
<br />scientific and engineering organizations such as
<br />ICSU, WFEO, and UITA.
<br />At an appropriate stage, an international coor-
<br />dinating mechanism should be established to
<br />provide a focal point for implementing the Decade
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