Introduction - Reducing Disaster: Early Warning Systems for Climate Change - page 17

Box 1.3 India learns a lesson - October 22, 2013
According to CNN's Jason Miks:
In 1999, 10,000 people were killed when a ferocious cyclone hit eastern India.
A week ago, the same region, the state of Odisha, formerly known as Orissa,
was once again in the crosshairs. This time it was the region's most powerful
storm this century.
But there was a much better outcome.
A million Odishans were evacuated to shelters ahead of time. Only 21
people seem to have lost their lives. Thousands of others were saved. Extreme
climate events may be getting worse, but technology has truly enabled us to
save lives. We're now better than ever predicting the scale of storms and
cyclones and we're better than ever at getting the message out.
Of course you still need a government that manages these situations well, and
for that all credit to the government of Odisha, which has learned from the mis-
takes of 1999.
http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2013/10/22/india-learns-
a-lesson/?iref=allsearch
Reading the rain is not a form of science fi ction. We have the capability to make
accurate forecasts and share this information with communities. But sustained
efforts are needed to refi ne the political and social mechanisms that support these.
More funding is also needed to support the long-term development of early warning
systems. Disaster prevention and preparedness is a fraction of international aid, and
funding is inadequate (Kellet and Caravani 2013 ). The poorest countries receive
less than 20 % of disaster risk reduction funding, while a relatively small number of
middle-income countries receive the majority of the funding. Between 1991 and
2010, disaster risk reduction received only $13.5 billion USD compared to 3.03 tril-
lion USD in international aid (Kellet and Caravani 2013 ). Greater, and better tar-
geted, funding is all the more urgent because we have an ethical responsibility to
issue warnings that prevent loss of life, property, and help build adaptive capacity.
As we write, fi res are again wreaking havoc on Australia. It may be impossible
to prevent climate-related hazards, but we do have the ability to reduce disasters. By
providing people with information and options, no family should ever fi nd itself
clinging to a jetty in the ocean.
References
Bailey R (2013) Managing future famine risks: linking early warning to early action. Chatham
House, London
Banerjee A, Dufl o E (2012) Poor economics: a radical rethink of the way to fi ght global poverty.
New York: Public Affairs