GW : Disasters Getting Worse - Is global warming really to blame ??

Estimated loss of nearly 3 million US $ has been recorded and many people, nearly a million become homeless in US due to Hurricane Gustav. A massive earthquake hit the southwest china and smashed nearly 4 lakhs of home. Richter scale measured this earthquake 6.2. A very pathetic flood in northern india have left million of people homeless there. These are all current disasters which are recorded on a larger scale.



Disasters - Their facts and figures :

As the passage of time, the disasters are getting common. But the interesting part is that these are not because of the reasons we think. Floods and storms have led to many and many worse disasters. It is always expected to blame global warming for all these. The rates of flood and storm like disasters have gone up to nearby 7% in recent decades which was at its extent during the period 2K to 2K7 when it was nearly 8%. The data says that around 75 - 80 % of the people affected by natural disasters in the year 2007 were affected by flood.

We generally blame the climatic changes for these disasters. But there is another bitter truth out there according to the recent news. And it's that : We are getting the most disastrous part of weather mostly because of where we live, not just how we live.

It is found that the people in recent decades have moved to the places near water in mass. The population of Miami-Dade have rised to nearly 1600% from 1930 to last decade. Especially the population of coastal areas has been found to have more changes in their rates. For having more detailed information just go through this link which is exclusively from the national oceanic and atmospheric administration.

Above all, the historical weather datas doesn't show any effect of climate change on the intensities of storms. And if any effect has been seen, then that is much much smaller than the development along the coastlines. The changes that have been seen till now are what we have put in the way of storms. Mass near the coastal lines put us at a certain level of risk always. Firstly, due to gridlock, it is not possible exactly to evacuate the place. Also the developing places don't get early warnings generally, of the disasters going to happen, like the countries America etc. get. Thats why, there's been a more natural disasters in Continents like Asia than In America.

"Human beings have been clearing away our best protections all over the world"- This was said by Kathleen Tierney, the director of NHC (Natural Hazards Center) at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Also she said, "The natural protections are diminishing.... whether you are talking about mangrove forests in areas affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami, wetlands in the Gulf Coast or forests, which offer protection against landslides and mudslides."

But these all doesn't mean we are now hopeless and nothing can be done to protect us now. Good news is that, enacting building codes that are meaningful and by avoiding to keep insurance premiums artificially low in flood zones, would be definitely helpful in getting a bit of releif from these worse happenings.