The international Red Cross/Red Crescent is rethinking its disaster relief plans in light of global warming. The number of geophysical disasters, such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, has remained fairly steady over the past decade. But disasters caused mainly by weather — including avalanches, landslides and extreme temperatures — have more than doubled in the second half of the last decade.

In its World Disasters Report 2001, the Red Cross says that rather than concentrating on rebuilding damaged infrastructure, aid efforts should be directed at ?rebuilding people?s livelihoods.?
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