scholarly journals The Fiscal Cost of Hurricanes: Disaster Aid versus Social Insurance

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 168-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatyana Deryugina

Little is known about the fiscal costs of natural disasters, especially regarding social safety nets that do not specifically target extreme weather events. This paper shows that US hurricanes lead to substantial increases in non-disaster government transfers, such as unemployment insurance and public medical payments, in affected counties in the decade after a hurricane. The present value of this increase significantly exceeds that of direct disaster aid. This implies, among other things, that the fiscal costs of natural disasters have been significantly underestimated and that victims in developed countries are better insured against them than previously thought. (JEL H51, H53, H84, J65, Q54)

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (s1) ◽  
pp. s48-s48
Author(s):  
Ralph Xiu-gee Man ◽  
David Lack ◽  
Charlotte Wyatt ◽  
Virginia Murray

Introduction:As the incidence of cancer and the frequency of extreme weather events rise, disaster mitigation is becoming increasingly relevant to oncology care.Aim:To investigate the effect of natural disasters on cancer care and the associated health effects on patients with cancer through the means of a systematic review.Methods:Between database inception and November 12, 2016, Embase, ScienceDirect, MEDLINE, Scopus, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and CINAHL were searched for articles. Those identifying the effect of natural disasters on oncology services, or the associated health implications for patients with cancer, were included. Only articles published in English were included. Data extraction was done by two authors independently and then verified by all authors. The effects of disaster events on oncology services, survival outcomes, and psychological issues were assessed.Results:Natural disasters cause substantial interruption to the provision of oncology care. Of the 4,593 studies identified, only 85 articles met all the eligibility criteria. Damage to infrastructure, communication systems, medication, and medical record losses substantially disrupt oncology care. The effect of extreme weather events on survival outcomes is limited to only a small number of studies, often with inadequate follow-up periods.Discussion:To the best the authors’ knowledge, this is the first systematic review to assess the existing evidence base on the health effects of natural disaster events on cancer care. Disaster planning must begin to take into consideration patients with cancer.


Author(s):  
Professor John Swarbrooke

In recent years, the world seems to have seen increasing numbers of natural disasters, affecting coastal tourist destinations as well as places with no connection to tourism. Ritchie noted in 2008 that despite the apparent increases in natural disasters there still seemed to be a lack of research in the tourism field on the management of these disasters covering response, recovery, reduction and readiness (Ritchie, 2008). While things have improved since then there is still some truth in his contention. These natural disasters include extreme weather events such as hurricanes, storms, floods and landslides, and heatwaves as well as disasters in which the weather plays a part, such as wildfires, and disasters that are not linked to the weather at all, such as earthquakes, volcanoes, and disease outbreaks. These natural disasters not only appear to be becoming more frequent but also more severe and sometimes occurring in places which have not seen such things before, and sometimes in major coastal tourist destinations.


2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wim Naudé

This paper employs a systems GMM model using data on 43 Sub-Saharan African countries from 1960 to 2005 to find that natural disasters have a significant impact on migration from SSA, raising the net out-migration by around 0.37 persons per 1,000. No direct evidence was found that natural disasters lead to further migration through impacting on GDP growth. It is however established that natural disasters is associated with a slightly increased probability that a country will be in conflict in a subsequent period. The frequency of natural disasters will not influence the duration of the conflict. It is concluded that natural disasters is an important determinant of migration from SSA. The findings in this paper imply that global climate change, through leading to more extreme weather events, will contribute to further migration from the continent.


Author(s):  
Meinhard Breiling

AbstractGlobal rural value chains relate to business activities in non-central locations all over the world. They contain almost all global agricultural production, a major part of global tourism, and minor shares of industry and other services than tourism. Their generated value is more dependent on climate and extreme weather events than what is the case with urban value chains. Concepts of disaster vulnerability and disaster resilience to rural value chains are presented and followed by a system view on global rural value according to four income groups of countries. A different meaning of disasters becomes perceivable for each income group. We come up with four cases of successful in some aspects controversial alterations of global rural value chains: palm oil value chain in ASEAN, the sixth industry in Japan, rural tourism in Asia, and winter tourism in Austria and analyze the impacts of natural disasters in case studies. The business disturbances are manifold, complex, and not entirely adverse. The value at risk in a given location widely depends on the susceptibility of people and environment to a natural disaster, the costs to repair, and possibilities to innovate. Along with economic growth, disasters accelerate transformations in rural value chains and the strive to become more global while contracting in their local extensions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Russell Kabi ◽  
Hafiz T. A. Khan

Bangladesh is recognized as one of the high-risk countries in the world that is prone to natural disasters. Due to its geographical location, topography, high population density, poverty and lower adaptive competence it is considered to be highly vulnerable to natural disasters in the world. This study was devised following the super cyclone Sidr that hit Bangladesh in November 2007 and cyclone Aila that hit in May 2009 to assess the impact of extreme weather event like cyclone on health of the coastal population of Bangladesh. A total of approximately 1000 households were selected by using the multistage cluster sampling technique from both villages. The study result shows that diarrheal, skin disease and mental health problems increased after the cyclones. The multivariable analysis shows that age of the respondents, gender, monthly income and educational level of the household heads and number of living children in the family have statistically significant effect on causing health problems before and after the cyclone Sidr and Aila. It can be concluded that extreme weather events like cyclones Sidr and Aila making the lives of the coastal people more difficult and also it increases the vulnerability in the society for poor people, elderly, children and women. Since this is a fairly unexplored research area, more empirical research work is needed to establish the impact of extreme weather events on health of the coastal people in Bangladesh.


2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (4) ◽  
pp. e2018293118
Author(s):  
Lisa M. Dellmuth ◽  
Frida A.-M. Bender ◽  
Aiden R. Jönsson ◽  
Elisabeth L. Rosvold ◽  
Nina von Uexkull

As the climate changes, human livelihoods will increasingly be threatened by extreme weather events. To provide adequate disaster relief, states extensively rely on multilateral institutions, in particular the United Nations (UN). However, the determinants of this multilateral disaster aid channeled through the UN are poorly understood. To fill this gap, we examine the determinants of UN disaster aid using a dataset on UN aid covering almost 2,000 climate-related disasters occurring between 2006 and 2017. We make two principal contributions. First, we add to research on disaster impacts by linking existing disaster data from the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) to a meteorological reanalysis. We generate a uniquely global hazard severity measure that is comparable across different climate-related disaster types, and assess and bolster measurement validity of EM-DAT climate-related disasters. Second, by combining these data with social data on aid and its correlates, we contribute to the literature on aid disbursements. We show that UN disaster aid is primarily shaped by humanitarian considerations, rather than by strategic donor interests. These results are supported by a series of regression and out-of-sample prediction analyses and appear consistent with the view that multilateral institutions are able to shield aid allocation decisions from particular state interests to ensure that aid is motivated by need.


Significance While governments have begun tentative efforts to restart economic activity, the crisis is far from over. It looks sure to shape the main issues of 2021, exacerbating all the major challenges facing the region. Impacts November elections will see Belize start 2021 with a new prime minister, who will have no honeymoon period. Increased civil unrest will pose greater COVID-19 contagion risks, particularly if people travel to protests. Vulnerability to extreme weather events poses risks of natural disasters that could hit agriculture and further strain public funds.


Facilities ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 28 (11/12) ◽  
pp. 502-513 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clive M.J. Warren

PurposeClimate change is predicted to have a significant effect on the frequency of extreme weather events and the occurrence of natural disasters. There is a need for facilities managers to mitigate against potential disruption and prepare for future events. Current practice, however, as illustrated by the literature shows that little risk assessment is currently undertaken with few organisations preparing integrated disaster management plans or business continuity plans to help them meet the challenge. This paper aims to describe the current climate change predictions and the likely consequences for building assets in the face of extreme weather events.Design/methodology/approachThe paper was based on literature review of current climate change data and published research and guidance for facilities managers in preparing risk assessment and disaster plans.FindingsThe research reveals that there exists a divergence between current scientific data relating to potential effects of climate change on the built environment and the level of disaster planning and organisational resilience to extreme weather events.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper provides an overview of the recent changes in disaster occurrence and the potential for increasing climate‐related crisis and disasters which have potential to significantly compromise the ongoing use of an organisation's facilities. The paper concludes that facilities managers need to be proactive in their risk assessment and disaster planning.Practical implicationsThe paper highlights the potential for increased climate change‐related natural disasters. Property assets are likely to be significantly impacted and as a consequence facilities disaster plans should address the issue of natural disaster preparedness. Current literature reveals a limited level of disaster planning is occurring.Originality/valueThe paper provides an important link between current climate change predictions, the increasing levels of natural disasters resulting from climate change and the potential for significant disruption to business facilities. The paper builds on earlier research highlighting the potential for climate‐related natural disaster.


Journalism ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (12) ◽  
pp. 1630-1647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzannah Evans Comfort

The hierarchy of influences model has been used to examine sociological influences on journalistic output originating from both inside and outside the newsroom. While providing useful snapshots of journalistic practice, studies using the hierarchical model have rarely accounted for changes in newsgathering over time. This study examines the emergence of climate journalism in the Philippines, one of the most vulnerable nations to the effects of climate change. Drawing on interviews with Filipino journalists, it finds that journalists struggled to place climate-related stories until after extreme weather events, particularly Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. News articles about climate change continued to grow in the following years, suggesting that a fundamental shift in the newsworthiness of climate change took place.


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