“Disaster Immunity” - A New Concept for Disaster Reduction in Adaptation to Disaster Hazard Intensification

Abstract

We introduce a new “disaster immunity” concept in place of conventional “disaster management capacity” that reflects dynamic transitions in society and nature more accurately than the fixed conventional “disaster management capacity” concept. Because awareness deeply impacts on disaster management, the new concept captures disaster dynamics and could play an important role in disaster reduction. Since global warming involves disaster hazard intensification, it is not enough to simply strengthen existing measures. As an example, Japan responds to particular temperate zone patterns through long-term disaster management infrastructures. Society and nature in Japan have disaster management capacity matching typical temperate zone hazards. A rapid transition to subtropical climate patterns within the next several decades to a century is expected to generate large gaps between disaster hazards and disaster management capacity of human society and nature, leading to an imbalance. Under unstable conditions, society and nature have become increasingly vulnerable due to decreased “immunity.” Increasing “disaster immunity” is thus an urgent and important issue.