The Growing Disaster of Displacement

Disasters caused by natural hazards is a recurring phenomenon in our recorded history and has become even more of a topic of discussion in the 21^st century.  The debate on climate change and whether or not we have been experiencing more natural disasters than ever before is an issue of major importance.  While some believe that these natural disasters are cyclical and have little to do with “man-made climate change”, perhaps supporting this theory because of personal interests, the majority of climate change scientists suggest otherwise.  Regarding storms, flooding, droughts, wildfires, heat/cold waves, earthquakes, volcanoes, coastal erosion, landslides, and avalanches, experts, politicians, and the public alike are weighing in on the trends. 

While the increase in general of natural disasters may be a matter of dissent, the impact of these occurrences on the health and wellbeing of the population affected is something that is not up for debate. In 2010 the earthquake in Haiti displaced an estimated number of 1.2 million people, in 2011 the east African drought in Somalia 1.46 million, and in 2013 Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines displaced over 5 million (USAID).  According to one of the latest reports put out by the International Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) almost 22 million people globally were displaced throughout 19 different countries in 2013, which was almost three times more than were displaced by conflict and violence. 

What does it mean to be displaced? The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees defines displacement as "the forced movement of people from their locality or environment and occupational activities."  Depending on the natural disaster, populations may be evacuated (earthquakes, storms) or individuals may relocate over time as they decide that their communities are no longer inhabitable (droughts).  Displaced individuals may flee across international borders (refugees) or remain within their country of residence (internally displaced).  Displacement can range from a couple of weeks to years, temporary or prolonged.  Their travel may be to the community next door or reach far distances.  Individuals can become scattered over rural land or migrate to large cities.  They may seek relief individually or become concentrated within displacement camps.  It can be a one-time occurrence or repeated and frequent.  The range of possibilities in movement for displaced individuals makes it difficult to design and manage adequate relief interventions that address specific population needs.  However, displacement in and of itself leaves populations homeless, impoverished, with a lack of access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation, and vulnerable to disease, malnutrition, discrimination, and violence. 

The main problem in using global statistics on the number of displaced persons by natural disasters is that many fail to capture displacement past the year in which it started, and for those that do, the very act of defining when someone is no longer considered displaced causes confusion.  The Inter-Agency Standing Committee, a forum of UN and non-UN humanitarian agencies, has laid out a framework for internally displaced individuals (IDPs) stating that a “durable solution” to their displacement can be achieved when they “no longer have any specific assistance and protection needs that are linked to their displacement and can enjoy their human rights without discrimination on account of their displacement.” 

The difficulty with this definition is that “assistance” and “needs” linked with displacement are much more complicated than just “protection” and “enjoying human rights without discrimination”.  Displacement is a complex situation that goes beyond management of the acute needs of these individuals.  It requires a definition with a long-term focus because the effects are long-term.  According to the Brookings Institution 2014 report on Supporting Durable Solutions to Urban, Post-Disaster Displacement: Challenges and Opportunities in Haiti, “of those who were displaced in 2010, 74% continue to identify themselves as displaced, even though they were not currently resident in a camp, underscoring that displacement is not limited to camp settings, and the long-term nature of the challenge of rebuilding “home” in the aftermath of disaster.”  Less than just one year later, on the 5^th anniversary of the earthquake, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) claimed that they saw a 94 percent decrease in the number of Haitians displaced.

It is clear from reports, such as that from the IOM, that major international organizations are quick to count “successes” and slow to understand the reality of the long-term consequences of these disasters.  The ramifications of such contradictory reports can have disastrous effects on future aid and attention to the development of communities after the wake of a natural disaster.  There needs to be better post-monitoring and studies that focus on the effects not just directly afterwards, but rather throughout the long-term recovery from these natural disasters.  For instance, why do individuals consider themselves displaced long after having found housing or leaving camps?  Have they seen a decline in access to essential services once they become reestablished?  At what point do they feel safe again? What are the long-term mental effects?  Are they stable enough to find sustainable employment?

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Regardless of our individual views on climate change and natural hazards we cannot deny that significant numbers of people every year are majorly affected by disasters.  Some even estimate that the risk of displacement from these disasters has more than doubled in the last 40 years (IDMC).  Whether the cause is ultimately due to an influx in disasters or a combination with other factors such as population increase, urbanization, and better data collection, a high number of displaced and vulnerable individuals are out there.  And with this growing population it is essential that more effort be made into the understanding of the long-term effects of these disasters, not just the management of them during crisis.  While there may not be a consensus on the increase in natural disasters, they are not decreasing, and neither are the issues surrounding displaced populations.

Global Estimates 2014 People Displaced by Disasters. Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. 2014. Available at http://www.internal-displacement.org.

Supporting Durable Solutions to Urban, Post-Disaster Displacement: Challenges and Opportunities in Haiti. The Brookings Institute. 2014. Available at http://www.brookings.edu.