Much like over-exposed banks, many countries have ignored big risks from natural hazards and must now take urgent steps to protect people from disasters, Reuters quoted a United Nations official as saying today. Margareta Wahlstrom, U.N. assistant secretary-general for disaster risk reduction, said that governments should encourage "more wise behaviour" among millions of people who live in areas vulnerable to earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and fires. The December 2004 tsunami, which killed as many as 230,000 people in Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and the Maldives, served as a wake-up call for the aid community about the need to prepare for the worst impacts of natural disasters. The International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), a U.N. agency based in Geneva, estimates that natural disasters cost the global economy $181 billion last year.
