In the year 2005, natural disasters killed over 25,000 people and caused $57.7 billion in damage worldwide. Besides the obvious, direct impact of natural disasters (such as a tornado destroying a house), there are usually many indirect effects. Although these effects may be less obvious, they are often times more costly and can add years on to the recovery time from a disaster. As people who live in communities that have been devastated by a natural hazard will often say, there is no such thing as a complete recovery, disasters change peoples lives forever.
Disaster Mitigation is the first link in the chain of disaster survival. Mitigation is the process of reducing the severity of the impact of natural hazards through planning. Each hazard requires a specific type of mitigation. In some cases, we can use engineering solutions. Earthquake-resistant construction and devices to hold objects in place such as earthquake straps could at least reduce the impact of a natural hazard. In other cases, the only form of mitigation that is guaranteed to be successful is to limit or not allow human activities where the hazard occurs, such as floodplains, volcanoes and high fire risk...