Coasts: the high-risk areas of the world

Abstract

No other region is more threatened by natural perils than coasts. Fierce winds, storm surges, large waves and tsunamis expend their destructive energy when they reach the coastline. Constituting, in many cases, the boundary between continental plates, coasts experience earthquakes and volcanic eruptions more frequently. The changing climate poses the threat of sea level rise. Most global trade crosses the oceans; ports are the entry and exit points of a nation’s trade. As a consequence, coasts attract people, businesses and industries. Some coastal regions rank among the top places in the world in terms of population and value accumulation. Enormous catastrophe loss potentials have been created and are increasing. Risk is the result of a natural hazard, the values at risk and their vulnerability. Living with and reducing the risk requires awareness at all levels of society and partnership between the public authorities, the people and enterprises concerned, and the financial sector. Great natural events are not avoidable, great disasters are. Catastrophes are not only products of chance but also the outcome of the interaction between political, financial, social, technical and natural circumstances. Effective safeguards are both achievable and indispensable, but they will never provide complete protection. In order to manage the risks faced by a society, we have to be aware of that.