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Natural Hazards and Unnatural Disasters: A Survey of the Gendered Terrain of Risk, Vulnerability and Disaster Relief

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Risk, Shocks, and Human Development

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Abstract

The human consequences of natural disasters1 are neither inevitable nor “natural.” Less a single destructive event than a social process unfolding within a particular environmental and social context, a large earthquake, volcanic eruption or flood can unearth the bare inequalities of social development, which place some people more than others at risk, while also undermining their capacity to mitigate, survive, endure or cope with the consequences of such a catastrophe (Enarson, 2000). Against this backdrop, the poor and economically insecure are particularly prone to the negative effects of disasters. Minority groups, the elderly, the disabled, children and socially excluded groups, such as illegal migrant workers and the homeless, are highly represented among this group. Often neglected in disaster preparation and recovery efforts, women and girls are also particularly vulnerable to disasters owing to their socially constructed roles and responsibilities in society.

Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance.

Kofi Annan

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Authors
  1. Roshni R. Menon
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Human Development Report Office of UNDP, USA

    Ricardo Fuentes-Nieva (policy specialist) (policy specialist)

  2. UNDP’s Human Development Report Office, USA

    Papa A. Seck (statistics specialist) (statistics specialist)

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© 2010 United Nations Development Programme

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Menon, R.R. (2010). Natural Hazards and Unnatural Disasters: A Survey of the Gendered Terrain of Risk, Vulnerability and Disaster Relief. In: Fuentes-Nieva, R., Seck, P.A. (eds) Risk, Shocks, and Human Development. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230274129_13

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