United Nations Development Program
Disaster Risk Reduction
Finland
Anay Moitra
Forest Hills Eastern
Natural disasters appear in many shapes and forms, and the damage performed by them can be extremely costly. According to Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, in 2018 alone, 315 natural disasters were recorded all over the world causing 11,804 deaths. Roughly 68 million people were affected and 131.7 billion USD was lost due to the damage. Disaster risk reduction require a high quality of preparedness and important up-front costs. The United Nations has previously helped recover the devastating impacts of major hurricanes in the United States by reconstructing communities and rehabilitating hundreds of kilometers of roads. According to the United Nations, in 2001, the General Assembly celebrated the International Day For Natural Disaster Reduction, as a vehicle to promote a global awareness of natural disaster reduction, including disaster prevention, mitigation, and preparedness.
Every year, floods and snowstorms generate massive amounts of financial costs in Finland. According to Geology: Natural Disasters, floods result in about ten million euros in damages almost every year even though Finland is well prepared for natural disasters. The Finnish Cooperation Network ensures that disaster risk reduction is a local and national priority, identifies, monitors risk and enhance early warning, builds a culture of safety and resilience, strengthen disaster preparedness and effective response and reducing the underlying risk factors. Finland is part of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) which works towards the substantial reduction of disaster risk and losses.
Finland proposes that the United Nations support countries with multiple natural disasters by providing significant components that help fight natural disasters. Atmospheric monitoring can detect tropical storms many days away, and allow for the evacuation of potentially affected areas with minimal loss of life. Study of seismic activity may allow earthquakes or volcanic eruptions to be foreseen, and can certainly provide early warning of tsunamis; construction techniques can increase the survivability of buildings. Dams can help to control and prevent the flooding of river systems, through the potential for other environmental effects requires careful evaluation of the regional ecosystem. The funding of these materials will be a number of countries, including Finland. These countries are least vulnerable to natural disasters that have less than 5% risk of natural disasters. A number of countries do not have these resources, and possessing the materials would reduce the death rates caused by natural disasters.
- Anay Moitra
