Nature, Socioeconomics and Adaptation to Natural Disasters : New Evidence from Floods

The authors analyze the determinants of fatalities in 2,194 large flood events in 108 countries between 1985 and 2008. Given that socioeconomic factors can affect mortality right in the aftermath of a flood, but also indirectly by influencing flood frequency and magnitude, they distinguish between direct and indirect effects of development on flood mortality. The authors find that income is negatively associated with the frequency of floods and, conditional on their magnitude, the fatalities they cause in developing countries. However, for developed countries they find that increased income is associated with more fatalities, both directly (conditional on flood occurrence and magnitude) and indirectly through an increase in the frequency and magnitude of flood events. Also in contrast to the literature, they find that the effect of governance on flood frequency and fatalities in developing countries is U-shaped, with improvements in governance reducing the numbers of floods and deaths when governance is weaker but raising them when governance is stronger.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Ferreira, Susana, Hamilton, Kirk, Vincent, Jeffrey R.
Language:	English
Published:	2011-06-01
Subjects:	AGGREGATING GOVERNANCE INDICATORS, AVALANCHES, BUILDING CODES, BUREAUCRACY, BUREAUCRATIC QUALITY, CASUALTIES, CITIZENS, CIVIL WAR, CLIMATE CHANGE, CORRUPTION, COUNTRY COVERAGE, DAMAGES, DATA QUALITY, DEATH TOLL, DEATH TOLLS, DECLARATION, DEMOCRATIC ACCOUNTABILITY, DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS, DISASTER, DISASTER ASSISTANCE, DISASTER PREPARATION, DISASTER PREPAREDNESS, DISASTER PREVENTION, DISASTER RELIEF, DISASTER REPORTING, DISASTER TYPE, DROUGHTS, EARLY WARNING, EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS, EARTHQUAKE, EARTHQUAKES, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE, EMERGENCY HEALTH, EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE, EMERGENCY SERVICES, EPIDEMIOLOGY, EVACUATION, EVACUATIONS, FATALITIES, FATALITY, FLOOD, FLOOD CONTROL, FLOOD DATA, FLOOD DISASTER, FLOOD DIVERSION, FLOOD EVENT, FLOOD FREQUENCY, FLOOD LEVELS, FLOOD MAGNITUDE, FLOOD MANAGEMENT, FLOOD MAPS, FLOOD OCCURRENCE, FLOOD PLAINS, FLOOD RISK, FLOOD STAGES, FLOOD ZONES, FLOOD-CONTROL, FLOODED, FLOODING, FLOODS, GEOGRAPHIC AREA, GOVERNANCE INDICATORS, GOVERNANCE VARIABLES, HURRICANE, IMPACT OF FLOOD, INCOME, INCOME LEVELS, INEQUALITY, INFORMATION SYSTEMS, INSTITUTIONAL MEASURES, INSTITUTIONAL REFORM, INSTITUTIONAL VARIABLES, INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, LANDSLIDES, LARGE FLOOD, LARGE FLOOD EVENTS, LARGE FLOODS, MAJOR FLOOD, MAJOR FLOOD EVENTS, MAJOR FLOODS, MEASUREMENT ERROR, MEASURING CORRUPTION, MEDICAL ASSISTANCE, NATIONAL LEVEL, NATURAL DISASTER, NATURAL DISASTERS, NATURAL HAZARDS, POLITICAL ECONOMY, POLITICAL FREEDOMS, PUBLIC SECTOR CORRUPTION, PURCHASING POWER, PURCHASING POWER PARITY, RECONSTRUCTION, RIVERS, SOCIOECONOMIC DATA, STORM, STORMS, TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE, TRANSITION ECONOMIES, TRANSPARENCY, TROPICAL CYCLONES, URBANIZATION, VOLCANOES, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION,
Online Access:	http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20110630170010 https://hdl.handle.net/10986/3488
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