Resource information
Today, 370 million people live in cities
in earthquake prone areas and 310 million in cities with
high probability of tropical cyclones. By 2050, these
numbers are likely to more than double. Mortality risk
therefore is highly concentrated in many of the world s
cities and economic risk even more so. This paper discusses
what sets hazard risk in urban areas apart, provides
estimates of valuation of hazard risk, and discusses
implications for individual mitigation and public policy.
The main conclusions are that urban agglomeration economies
change the cost-benefit calculation of hazard mitigation,
that good hazard management is first and foremost good
general urban management, and that the public sector must
perform better in generating and disseminating credible
information on hazard risk in cities.
