According to a report published by the Economist magazine the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka has been ranked the second-least resilient city among the 25 cities in the world.

New York was placed first, making it the most resilient city, followed by Los Angeles, London and Singapore in the Resilient Cities Index, which was published under the title ‘A global benchmark of urban risk, response and recovery’. Bangkok and New Delhi came in at 20th and 21st.

Laos is ranked the least resilient as per the index, which is prepared based on four pillars: critical infrastructure, environment, socio-institutional, and economic. The Index was developed by Economist Impact and supported by Tokio Marine Group to help policymakers and stakeholders understand risk and design effective policies for urban resilience. Economist Impact developed a benchmark of 25 cities.

The report said that extreme weather events, from hurricanes and wildfires to flooding and heat waves, are becoming more frequent and their effects more devastating. Emerging risks like cyber attacks loom larger as technology dependence deepens.

Our cities are exposed to all of these risks and more. Lives and livelihoods depend on our ability to understand and mitigate the evolving threats to our urban centers. There are three phases to resilience. Preparation and mitigation come first. Understanding the risks, how they are evolving, and taking steps to minimise their impact is essential if cities are to avoid the worst.

The second phase is response, necessitating swift reactions and timely assistance to save lives and diminish the impact when disasters occur. Last is recovery, emphasising the need to learn from tragedies and rebuild stronger, better-equipped communities for future shocks and stresses.

BDST: 2133 HRS, NOV 21, 2023
MSK