Natural disasters may lead to the outbreaks of infectious diseases because they increase the risk factors for infectious diseases. We discuss the conditions under which disasters might be a stimulating force and when they might lead to development setbacks. Locally, the recovery from Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans has had been very different for different social groups, with both over-recovery and under-recovery occurring simultaneously and in close proximity. Globally, there is evidence that poorer countries are not systematically stimulated by disaster shocks and may even be driven into poverty traps by certain disasters. These large-scale and long-run trends disguise the fact that disasters have very different development outcomes for different societies. Disasters are macro-economic shocks, fundamentally similar to the banking shock that lead to the current global recession and, in the same way require external capital stimuli to overcome and that stimulus can result in stronger economies after recovery. Longer term, outdated and inefficient public and private infrastructure destroyed in the disaster can be replaced by up to date, efficient systems that permit the economy to function more effectively, so that post- disaster growth can exceed pre- disaster levels. Applied to disasters the notion is that, in the short term, disasters can stimulate certain industries such as construction with capital flows coming into the disaster region from outside sources such as central government or international aid that can stimulate the economy. The process involved may be akin to the “The gale of creative destruction†first described by the economist Joseph Schumpeter.
While it might seem counterintuitive, evidence from long run macro-economic data suggests that when natural extremes are especially destructive to human societies, and earn the title “ natural disaster†they can actually have a beneficial effect on development. When is a natural disaster a development disaster when is a natural disaster not a disaster?Įxtremes of nature like hurricanes, droughts and earthquakes influence human welfare in a variety of ways. Teacher sections include vocabulary, an answer key,… It contains both student and teacher sections.
Natural Disasters is a reproducible teacher book that explains what scientists believe to be the causes of a variety of natural disasters and suggests steps that teachers and students can take to be better prepared in the event of a natural disaster.
Reproducibles.ĮRIC Educational Resources Information Center Natural Disasters: Earth Science Readings.
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