EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Technical Deep Dive on Seismic Risk and Resilience

Every year, approximately 70,000 people die worldwide from natural disasters. Most of these deaths are caused by building collapse during earthquakes, and the great majority occur in developing countries. Earthquakes also push approximately 4 million people into extreme poverty every year. Earthquakes test the strength of societies, governments, and the built environment.

The objective of this report is to make recommendations for the Government of Saint Lucia (GoSL) for the formulation of a country-specific comprehensive disaster risk finance (DRF) strategy, based on the assessment of the legislative, financial management, fiscal, and insurance market environment in Saint Lucia.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• CSA technologies are diverse and can be adapted to the needs of individual countries, farms and farmers.

• Lack of training and knowledge is the biggest barrier to CSA adoption

• There is no one-size fits all CSA solution, instead CSA is most effective when it is implemented beyond the farm-plot level, in an integrated way that recognizes competing sectoral priorities and prevailing conditions.

Summary

On May 2, 2008, Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady Delta and swept across the region toward Yangon. By the time the storm had passed, it had killed over 140,000 people, tearing apart families, destroying homes, and shattering livelihoods. In the months and years following Nargis, communities, supported by the national and international aid community, worked to rebuild their lives and repair the devastation that the cyclone had caused. Homes were rebuilt, paddy field walls repaired, and new fishing boats purchased.

In Cairo:
Riham Mustafa
Phone: +(202) 2461-4230
E-mail: rmustafa@ifc.org

In Washington, DC:
Laura MacInnis
Phone: +1 (202) 473-6978
E-mail: lmacinnis@ifc.org