During a disaster, a person faces the danger of death or physical injuries. Your properties and possessions may be damaged, and such factors can hamper your physical and mental health. Natural disasters often cause personal and financial difficulties, but have you ever wondered how it can affect human migration patterns?
One of the biggest effects of natural disasters is population displacement. When countries are affected by natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes, people are forced to move out of their homes and seek shelter in other places. Natural disasters force people to flee from their homes. A large number of refugees result in their lack of access to food, clean water, hospitals and education.
Migration is a survival strategy for people dealing with the aftermath of disasters. Let us take the earthquake that occurred in Nepal as an example. In April 2015, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal which caused around 8,500 people to die and left more than 2 million people homeless. Before the earthquake struck, Nepal was in the middle of a labour exportation surge to India and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. This was the largest driving force in Nepalese migration.
After the disaster, hundreds of thousands of people were displaced around the country. There was a mixed pattern in international migration. Some workers returned to their country to help and support their loved ones, while others were forced out of the country as their homes were destroyed. Even though overseas workers were given provision to return back to their country after the quake, the opportunity was underused as many families needed the migrant’s income. Not only that, many families were also forced to send one worker abroad to increase their incomes. This disaster not only impacted the migration of the country but also its economy.
“Disaster displacement represents one of the biggest humanitarian challenges of the 21st century.” - Walter Kaelin, Nansen Initiative.
Works Cited
Heimann, L.H.L. (2015). Climate Change and Natural Disasters Displace Millions, Affect Migration Flows. [online] migrationpolicy.org. Available at: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/climate-change-and-natural-disasters-displace-millions-affect-migration-flows.
Oliver-Smith, A. (2006). Disasters and Forced Migration in the 21st Century. [online] Items. Available at: https://items.ssrc.org/understanding-katrina/disasters-and-forced-migration-in-the-21st-century/.
OneLightCharity (2019). One Light Charity Foundation/Our Cause Natural Disasters. [online] Onelight Charity. Available at: https://onelightcharity.com/the-human-impact-of-natural-disasters/?v=13b249c5dfa9.
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