“The world is not sufficiently prepared to face natural disasters,” say scientists

The world is not sufficiently prepared to face disasters, to which governments too often only react after the fact, deplores a report published on Tuesday which calls for a rethinking of risk management.

In 2015, the international community adopted the Sendai targets aimed at reducing the number of victims and damage by 2030 by investing in risk assessment and reduction, and disaster preparedness, whether earthquakes or climatic disasters reinforced by global warming.

But “it is very unlikely” that the objectives will be met, says the report of the International Science Council, which includes dozens of scientific organizations.

Since 1990, more than 10,700 disasters (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, droughts, floods, extreme temperatures, storms, etc.) have affected more than six billion people worldwide, according to data from the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.

At the top of the list are floods and storms, multiplied by climate change, which account for 42% of the total.