Turmoil in the world — from terrorism, to mass migrations, to extreme weather events and climate change — is resulting in growing disaster areas and temporary habitation, such as refugee camps. In 2017 alone, the United States experienced 15 natural disasters that each caused more than $1 billion in damages. Additionally, The International Monetary Fund noted in its 2017 World Economic Outlook report that “the frequency of disasters caused by heat waves, tropical cyclones, and wildfires will increase considerably” in countries of all economic stripes throughout this century. Today most public institutions are organized to deal with disasters after the fact, doling out support and relief as needed instead of allocating more resources to prevention and mitigation.

Given the increasing scale of the disasters and the growing potential of new technologies like Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence that can provide predictive power, to help us imagine the near future. Rather than waiting for natural disasters, there are hundreds of design efforts focused on damage prevention and are presenting new models for others around the world to follow. All of this Design Thinking by city planners, architects and home designers, brands, NGOs and public-private partnerships now making designing for disasters a priority by stepping in with innovations for relief infrastructure that also have legs for everyday use.

Disaster Design Maestros To Monitor

1. Brian Lee’s Aid Necessities Transporter
2. Chao Gao’s C-Water
3. Rahim Bhimani’s Disaster Relief Toilet
4. The Biomimicry Global Design Challenge
5. Concrete Canvas Ltd's
6. Hurricane Impact Windows and Doors Tested
7. Earth DNA & Earth Speaks
8. The Resilience-Based Earthquake Design Initiative
9. Resilient By Design
10. Skyshelter.zip: Foldable Skyscraper for Disaster Zones
11. Disaster Preparation - Life Clock
12.  Nendo's Mobile Battery Charger
13.  Architecture 2030 Commitment
14. Hero Image Source: Civilization 0.000: Floating Power Station

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