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A Global Comprehensive Measure of the Impact of Natural Hazards and Disasters
Author(s) -
Noy Ilan
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
global policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.602
H-Index - 33
eISSN - 1758-5899
pISSN - 1758-5880
DOI - 10.1111/1758-5899.12272
Subject(s) - measure (data warehouse) , natural disaster , natural hazard , index (typography) , natural capital , actuarial science , environmental resource management , risk analysis (engineering) , business , computer science , economics , geography , data mining , ecology , ecosystem , biology , world wide web , meteorology , ecosystem services
Abstract The adverse impacts of natural hazards are typically measured separately by the number of fatalities, of injuries, of people otherwise affected, and the financial damage that they wreak. Without a comprehensive measure of disaster impacts it is impossible to fully comprehend their importance and therefore successfully prepare for them. We propose an aggregate measure of disaster impact, which builds on the conceptual underpinnings of the calculations of Disability Adjusted Life Years ( DALY s) lost due to the burden of diseases and injuries (WHO, 2013). The proposed measure, however, adds a quantification of the importance of destruction of infrastructure, capital and housing into an overall assessment. The index converts all measures of impact into ‘lifeyears’ units. We then analyze worldwide trends in lifeyears lost to disasters and discuss policy implications of these measurements.