Forest Hills Central
New Zealand
United Nations Development Program (UNDP): Disaster Risk Reduction
With special attention towards risk reduction in coastal areas such as the Caribbean or Philippines and areas affected by major tropical storms such as those of 2019 or Cyclone Gita whos winds reached 143 mph and killed two people. New Zealand would like to help reduce the number of deaths from these storms to essentially zero and ensure that people who are most affected by these storms get the help they desperately need. Engineering solutions to these problems are necessary in this day and age so as to limit suffering around the world and strengthening ties between nations and peoples.
The refugees from these countries are flooding New Zealand such as those from Kiribati Or other smaller islands that have been hurt by increased tropical storms and other natural events such as sea level rising by 3.4 mm each year caused by climate change. New Zealand has a history of helping refugees especially those of climate due to the fact that we find our roots in the overpopulated land of Britain seeking refuge from other factors. Disasters are quite rare except for the occasional earthquake or flood such as the Christchurch earthquake in 2011. The road infrastructure within New Zealand is quite good for an except for direct routes which are hindered by mountains and our other odd geographic features and we would like to extend this infrastructure to other less developed countries who cannot afford it causing more disasters in these areas. Usable roads are essential to any infrastructure and to help areas with disaster reduction by moving equipment and supplies that are essential to any cleanup or relief effort.
New Zealand would like to put forth efforts to help increase infrastructure and help aid countries who are in desperate need of solutions to the growing problem of natural disasters. We would like to implement a system to define the risk each area possess and their ability to deal with the problem, those who countries are at high risk and low ability to deal with the problem will receive more aid for infrastructure than others whom can help themselves. We also need to reach more than just this solution we need to get to the root of the problem dealing with the factors that are causing these natural disasters and figuring out ways to engineer solutions tailored to each specific problem and problem area.
- William McDonald
