Too Many People in Nature's Way

Ant writes "Wired News report that the dead and the desperate of New Orleans now join the farmers of Aceh and the fishermen of Trincomalee, villagers in Iran and the slum dwellers of Haiti in a world being dealt ever more punishing blows by natural disasters... ... "We rely on technology and we end up thinking as human beings that we're totally safe, and we're not," said Miletti, of the University of Colorado. "The bottom line is we have a very unsafe planet." By one critical measure, the impact on populations, statistics show the planet to be increasingly unsafe. More than 2.5 billion people were affected by floods, earthquakes, hurricanes and other natural disasters between 1994 and 2003, a 60 percent increase over the previous two 10-year periods, U.N. officials reported at a conference on disaster prevention in January. Those numbers don't include millions displaced by last December 2004's tsunami, which killed an estimated 180,000 people as its monstrous waves swept over coastlines from Indonesia's Aceh province to Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, and beyond. By another measure -- property damage -- 2004 was the costliest year on record for global insurers, who paid out more than $40 billion on natural disasters, reports German insurance giant Munich Re. Florida's quartet of 2004 hurricanes was the big factor. But generally it's not that more "events" are happening, rather that more people are in the way, said Thomas Loster, a Munich Re expert. "More and more people are being hit," he said..." I'd also like to point out a project here to find housing for Katrina's victims; it tries to combine lists of sites offering housing, and do a meta-search.

Comments

Finally someone with smarts

[portwojc]

But generally it's not that more "events" are happening, rather that more people are in the way

Simple answer is this. Don't build in these bad areas. Only fools or risk takers build in those places.

Of course then we're dumb enough to help them recover again and again and again. So I guess we're all just as foolish.

Re:Dangerous planet

[IdleTime]

When i arrived on this insignificant planet a few decades ago I quickly understood the flaws, alas, I'm stuck for now, trying to finish my mission before returning home.

You humans are a strange animal. You all are worshipping some strange fantasy fiugures that you belive control your life and will reward or punish you after death! Most of the civilizations of the Universe have left this caveman attitude several million years ago.

And what is with those paper slips you call money that you animals kill each other for? I mean it's not like there is a shortage on paper on thsi planet, esp with speed you destroy the forests, the lungs of the planets and as far as I know, the smal green bills do not breath!

And technology... Oh my! Where do I start? When I arrived I felt like a time-traveller, placed millions of years into the past, I really had a problem adjusting to the inferior way of living, but I have survived, barely!

My last report back home mainly consisted of an analysis why a certain group of animals on this planet was so set on killing each other for no reason. I still don't understand the hatred ssome animals show for other animals, esp the animals with darker skin. Strange planet.... Very strange!