It is true that the environmental destruction results in greater potential risk from natural disasters especially the poor.
The reason why the poor is more vulnerable to environmental disaster is that, first of all, the lack of warning system. In some country that is poor, they might not have a good system to predict the upcoming natural disaster, while the household might not have the appliances to receive the warning especially in disaster like earthquakes and tsunami. This expose them to greater risk as they cannot escape in time or prepare beforehand.
The second reason is the lack of resources to deal with the aftermaths of the disaster. As the poor might not have enough supply like the first aid kit and water or food to bring with them during the disaster, they might suffer from hunger and thirst, or not able to treat the injuries in time causing potential risk.
The third reason is the lass concrete infrastructures. Buildings built poorly or with low quality materials make them more prone to hazards like earthquake and landslides as the building might collapse when the ground shake or when it is hit by heavy materials. This would result in death and injuries as people might be buried under the concrete or hurt by the materials of the building.
Hope it helps!
