Introduction to Disaster Risk Management

This book presents the three pillars of Disaster Risk Management (DRM): communication, innovation, and science and technology. These three pillars are applied across five dimensions, namely risk identification and reduction, preparedness, financial protection, resilient recovery, and risk-informed investments in South Asia. In the coming decades, the region will experience rapid economic development and population growth, which, combined with the effects of climate change, will increase the likelihood of being affected by hazards. As hazards can negatively impact every sector of the economy and undo years of economic progress, effective measures to reduce the risk must be incorporated into development plans and poverty reduction strategies.

Technological advances have opened up previously unimaginable opportunities to strengthen resilience and improve communications. In South Asia, it has been experienced that the prevention of hazards and the development of emergency plans enabled by advances in communications and space technology can be much more successful and significantly cost-effective than in the past. The use of space technology in disaster monitoring, early warning, and emergency response and for response has shown remarkable efficiency. New approaches to Disaster Risk Management (DRM) are becoming more available due to recent advances in space and communication technology. This book focuses on the use and innovation of space technology and communication for DRM in two specific areas: the Early Warning System (EWS) and the Disaster Information Management System (DIMS).