Abstract
<p>Taiwan has performed well economically during the past four decades. However, economic development can be profoundly hampered by natural disasters. Sustainable economic development requires environmental resilience. With 23 million people occupying only 13,974 square miles of land, Taiwan is both densely populated and highly exposed to natural disasters: 73.1% of the total population lives in vulnerable areas, and Taiwan is ranked as the country most exposed to multiple hazards (The World Bank, 2005). Storms and floods damage Taiwan frequently, with an average of six typhoons hitting Taiwan annually for the past four decades. Taiwan had the highest occurrence and highest death toll on the natural disaster density indicator (NDDI) in comparison with China, Japan, U.S.A, U.K., France, and the Netherlands from 1985 to 2014. Also, Taiwan’s economic losses during the past thirty years are estimated at $650, 000 per km². This is approximately 5 times that of the Netherlands’ $134,362 and the U.K.’s $135,292, 8 times that of the U.S.A.’s $78,186 losses, and 9 times that of France’s $70,599. Research finds that every dollar invested into disaster preparedness would save $4 to $7 dollars in post-disaster damages (Multihazard Mitigation Council, 2005; The National Academy of Sciences, 2012). Hence, promoting urban resilience policies for disaster risk reduction should become a priority in Taiwan and other Asian nations in the future. Most important is the need of a strong political commitment and leadership to initiate and implement spatial policies toward resilience.</p>
Highlights
Asian nations have inadequate risk and vulnerability information, weak transition from policies and legislation into actions, insufficient budget allocations for disaster risk reduction, and insufficient implementation capacities (UNISDR 2013)
With 23 million people occupying only 13,974 square miles of land, Taiwan is both densely populated and highly exposed to natural disasters: 73.1% of the total population lives in vulnerable areas, and Taiwan is ranked as the country most exposed to multiple hazards (The World Bank, 2005)
Promoting urban resilience policies for disaster risk reduction should become a priority in Taiwan and other Asian nations in the future
Summary
Asian nations have inadequate risk and vulnerability information, weak transition from policies and legislation into actions, insufficient budget allocations for disaster risk reduction, and insufficient implementation capacities (UNISDR 2013). Asia is the highest loss region, accounting for 70% of the world’s losses in 2011. The insured losses in Asia account for only 17% of its losses in comparison with America’s 51% (Munich RE 2012). Taiwan was hit with 3.6 typhoons each year from 1898 to 2010, resulting in annual economic losses of $667 million (NAPHM 2011). According to the World Bank (2005), Taiwan, ranked as the country most exposed to multiple hazards, has 73.1% of its population, or 16.8 million people exposed and living in vulnerable areas. On the World Bank’s list of the top 10 countries exposed to multiple hazards, Taiwan has double the percentage of its population exposed to natural disasters as does the Philippines with 36.4%; approximately 5 times that of Japan’s 15.3%; and 15 times that of Vietnam’s 5.1%
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