Monday, March 28, 2011

ARTICLE - BRITAIN - MORE FREQUENT DISASTERS

BRITAIN WARNS THAT GOVERNMENTS MUST PREPARE FOR MORE FREQUENT MEGA-DISASTERS LIKE QUAKES
(CP) - AP

LONDON — A British government report says major disasters like the Japanese earthquake and tsunami or Pakistan's floods are likely to become more frequent and global governments must prepare for an uncertain future.

The author Paddy Ashdown, a House of Lords member and ex-United Nations high representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina, said rich nations must help poorer countries to build up their defences against disasters. The report was issued Monday by the international development ministry.

Ashdown said a lack of prior support for Haiti and Pakistan had worsened the impact of recent events there.

He said scientists believe that recent natural disasters were not an aberration, but "the beginnings of a new kind of future in which mega-disasters are going to be more frequent."

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