Program plan for the partnership for natural disaster reduction. Rev 0

In a matter of minutes, a natural disaster completely changes people`s lives. For example, 9,750 lives were lost in the 1993 Latur, India earthquake, 106,000 homes were destroyed in the 1995 Hanshin-Awajii (Kobe) Japan earthquake, and over 8000 jobs/businesses were either disrupted or terminated during Hurricane Andrew. Worldwide, economic disaster damages have tripled in the past 30 years - rising from $40 billion in the 1960`s to $120 billion in the 1980`s. Potential losses and recovery costs continue to rise because of rapid population growth, urban expansion, and increased new construction concentrated in high-risk areas. In the U.S., economic losses from 1989 to 1994 resulting from hurricanes and earthquakes exceeded more than $100 billion. With the exception of floods, severe windstorms annually cause more damage than earthquakes because they occur more frequently. On average, 350 lives are lost every year as a result of windstorms. Over the last decade, nearly 90% of the property losses have resulted from windstorms and about 4% from earthquakes. The unexpected vulnerability of many homes, the high number of pay-outs by insurance companies, and the resulting difficulties of getting affordable insurance coverage following Hurricane Andrew in Florida further emphasized the need for the United States to aggressively put more efforts into wind-related pre-disaster mitigation. Everyone shares the burden of recovery in the form of increased taxes for federal assistance and higher insurance premiums. In response to these critical national and international needs, the Partnership for Natural Disaster Reduction is defining a national program which has the mission to develop, validate, and implement technologies that will reduce damage to structures, buildings, and infrastructure elements resulting from windstorms, earthquakes, and aging processes