GLOBAL NATURAL DISASTERS EXACERBATE THE GLOBAL HOMELESSNESS PROBLEM

February 2012

Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, University of

North Carolina, USA

NATURAL DISASTERS EXACERBATE HOMELESSNESS

A natural disaster can cause an abrupt change in the local state of homelessness that can linger for years to decades to generations

THE HOMELESS: A NOT-SO- INVISIBLE GLOBAL PROBLEM

At present, exacerbated by poverty, war, terrorism, and natural disasters, an estimated 100 million people (1.4 % of the “world community” ) are homeless.

THE HOMELESS: A NOT-SO- INVISIBLE PROBLEM IN INDIA

An estimated 2 million are homeless in India, some of whom are 5th and 6th generation.

THE HOMELESS: A NOT-SO- INVISIBLE PROBLEM IN THE USA

An estimated 560,000 people are homeless in the USA.

A HOMELESS PERSON IS MORE LIKELY---

• To die in their 40’s,---2-3 decades earlier than others

• To be psychotic

• To be homocidal

• To be addicted to drugs and/or alcohol

• To be diabetic

HURRICANES, TYPHOONS, AND CYCLONES

NEW ORLEANS, LA: AFTER 2005’S HURRICANE KATRINA

THE HOMELESS STILL REPRESENT AN EXTIMATED

4 % OF NEW ORLEANS’ CURRENT POPULATION

ONE OF 12,000 LIVING STILL UNDER INTERSTATE 10 IN NEW ORLEANS

PATH OF CYCLONE NARGIS: MAY 2-3, 2008 :

NEW HOMELESS

TEMPORARY HOUSING FOR NEW HOMELESS: MAY 10, 2008

EARTHQUAKES

DECEMBER 26, 2004 BANDA ACHE EARTHQUAKE & TSUNAMI

DECEMBER 26, 2004 INDONESIA EARTHQUAKE-TSUNAMI DISASTER

• MILLIONS DISPLACED FROM HOMES

• BILLIONS OF DOLLARS NEEDED FOR RESPONSE, RECOVERY, AND RECONSTRUCTION

INFUSION OF “STAPLE” AND “HOPE”

DURING RECONSTRUCTION IN THE SICHUAN PROVINCE

MAY 12, 2008: THE BEGINNING OF A GLOBAL PROCESS TO

CREATE TURNING POINTS FOR EARTHQUAKE SUSTAINABILITY

"DON'T LOSE HOPE"PREMIER JAIBAO: CHENGDU

According to the State Council Information Office, about 5,461,900 houses collapsed, 5,932,500 houses were seriously damaged, and another 21 million may need repairs.

• The official death toll stood at 69,197 as of Wednesday , July 9th, according to the State Council Information Office .• The number of injured and missing stood at 374,176 and 18,379 respectively

PORT AU PRINCE: 1.8 MILLION IN A NATION OF NINE MILLION

SOCIETAL IMPACTS

• The lives of 3 million+ Haitians were adversely impacted by the collapse of thousands of buildings and a corresponding abrupt increase in homelessness.

600,000 IN HAITI STILL HOMELESS

REALITY CHECK

Haiti still needs everything: Robust shelters and housing,

Infrastructure, A port, An airfield, …

PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE

8:50 AM OCTOBER 8, 2005M7.6

10 KM (6 MI) DEPTHAT LEAST 30,000 DEAD

COLLAPSED SCHOOLS AND HOSPITALS

2.5 MILLION HOMELESS

OCTOBER 8, 2005 PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE

PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE: ISLAMABAD

LONG-TERM NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED DURING RECOVERY

• NEED: 2 TO 3 MILLION NEW DWELLINGS THAT ARE EARTHQUAKE RESILIENT.

• NEED: NEW SCHOOLS THAT ARE EARTHQUAKE RESILIENT.

• NEED: NEW HOSPITALS THAT ARE EARTHQUAKE RESILIENT.

• NEED: NEW INFRASTRUCTURE THAT IS EARTHQUAKE RESILIENT.

FLOODS

RIVERS BURST BANKS AND BREACH DAMS IN CENTRAL EUROPE AFTER WEEKS OF

RAIN

POLAND, HUNGARY, GERMANY, CZECH REPUBLIC, …

MAY – JUNE, 2010

The heaviest rains in over a decade forced thousands along rain-

swollen rivers in Poland, Germany, and Hungary to evacuate from their

homes, breached dikes and sand bag dams, damaging homes, and

infrastructure, and leaving thousands homeless

INUNDATED VILLAGE

NORTHWEST PAKISTAN (AND AFGHANISTAN) HIT BY

CATASTROPHIC FLOODING AFTER PROLONGED

MONSOON RAINS

JULY 28-AUGUST 23, 2010

ONE-FIFTH OF PAKISTAN AFFECTED

Over 1,600 Pakistanis died (and probably many more) and more than 20,000,000 were impacted, including 3,500,000 children, as rains swelled rivers, inundated

villages, and triggered landslides, causing entire villages, roads, and

bridges to be swept away and other areas isolated.