Disaster risk reduction

Poverty, vulnerability and disasters are linked - it is most often the poorest that are worst affected and suffer most. Their poverty makes them more vulnerable. Their capacity to cope with disasters and recover from the effects are constrained by their lack of resources.

Disasters rob the poor of their meagre possessions, their homes and livestock and most importantly, their livelihoods. But if those people are sufficiently prepared, and have the capacity to cope and recover quickly, droughts, floods and even earthquakes need not be a disaster.

Practical Action's approach to disaster management is based on research and experience gained over several years in South Asia, Africa and Peru. The work has shown that secure and sustainable livelihoods reduce both poverty and susceptibility to disasters. We have helped poor communities undertake activities which increase their resilience to disasters while strengthening their livelihood strategies, using local knowledge, capacities and resourcefulness, coupled with innovative and appropriate technologies.

Some examples of Practical Action's work in disaster risk reduction:

Preparing for floods in Nepal Early warning systems, protective shelters and strengthened river embankments can help to reduce the impact of disastrous floods in Chitwan, Nepal. Earthquake-resistant housing 'Improved quincha' – a timber and lattice frame design with an earth infill – based on traditional technologies, are better placed to withstand earthquakes.

Resisting the flood waters Practical Action has worked with communities in Bangladesh to develop simple and affordable flood-resistant housing.