SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS FOR EFFECTIVE RAPID-ALERT SYSTEMS ACCESSIBLE TO POOREST COUNTRIES TO REDUCE EFFECTS OF NATURAL CATASTROPHES
Press Release
SG/SM/7151
OBV/110
SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS FOR EFFECTIVE RAPID-ALERT SYSTEMS ACCESSIBLE TO POOREST COUNTRIES TO REDUCE EFFECTS OF NATURAL CATASTROPHES
19990928Following is the message of Secretary-General Kofi Annan for the International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction, which will be observed on 13 October:
Natural disasters are among the greatest threats to the security of individuals and human communities. Recent years have clearly demonstrated this, with their interminable succession of hurricanes, floods, fires and earthquakes. On every continent, from the Caribbean to Siberia, through India, China and most recently, Turkey, deaths have numbered in the tens of thousands; victims, in the tens of millions; and material losses, in tens of billions of dollars.
There are those who say that human communities have always had to expect the possibility of natural disasters, and will always have to do so. However, it is increasingly clear that some natural disasters, and will always have to do so. However, it is increasingly clear that some natural disasters are not altogether natural, and that human actions -- such as those giving rise to global warming, deforestation or the destruction of wetlands -- have greatly increased the risk of certain catastrophes.
Furthermore, certain factors are aggravating the effects of disasters. It is no accident that 90 per cent of the victims are in the developing countries. Destitution and demographic pressure are forcing increasing numbers of poor people to settle in areas where landslides, floods and seismic activity are known to be likely. In addition, the precarious living conditions of the most impoverished definitely contribute to increasing the number of victims and extent of the damage. Inequalities, so present in our economic and social lives, are present as well in the face of natural disasters.
To reduce the effects of natural catastrophes, we must continue to develop effective rapid-alert systems and ensure that they are accessible to the poorest countries. We must establish structures to make it possible to send out relief as quickly as possible. Above all, we must build a culture of prevention that will attack the roots of the
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problem. Sustainable and equitable development is the best guarantee against the loss of thousands of human lives. On this International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction, let us therefor remember that promoting development is not only a moral imperative, it is also a viable investment in human security today and tomorrow.
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