Inadequate early warning of disasters

It is not yet possible to predict with any satisfactory degree of accuracy whether, when or where natural disasters will occur, or what is likely to be their impact. It is thus difficult to give adequate warning to the population in danger. The exception is meteorological phenomena likely to cause flooding or wind damage which are somewhat more predictable.

To cite earthquakes as an example, there is no global alert system in existence. Where an earthquake is considered imminent, the information is often of dubious reliability and poorly distributed. Often a country's only source of warning is its own relevant national institute, which may only monitor selected areas, in most cases limited to the area within the county's borders.