Natural disasters and major risks in Algeria: management and prevention mechanisms

Abstract

Natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods cause loss of life, destruction of infrastructure, housing, and facilities, leading to material, moral, and psychological damage that can last for many years. The fear of natural disasters has grown in many countries around the world, as these disasters have become a threat to life no less dangerous than the damage caused by wars, conflicts, and deadly diseases. This has led us to challenge all circumstances in order to find ways to manage natural disasters, crises, and major risks. Algeria is one of the countries that has been hit by many natural disasters, the most prominent of which are earthquakes. It has relied on temporary and immediate solutions to deal with the aftermath of earthquakes without relying on disaster management mechanisms before and after their occurrence. Algeria, like other countries exposed to these natural hazards, has tried to work to reduce their impact by adopting a legal and strategic system that intervenes during and after disasters. This is done by taking a set of decisions aimed at preventing major hazards and managing them. The Boumerdès earthquake was one of the most important natural disasters that effectively contributed to the revision of the legal and regulatory framework for major risks in Algeria. The huge losses caused by this earthquake necessitated a complete review by the Algerian legislator to develop a preventive strategy before, during, and after the disaster in order to achieve sustainable environmental and economic development.