Experts say Asia prone to disasters<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse, Singapore<\/p>\n
Asia is the most disaster prone region in the world and
\ngovernments must develop a culture of preparedness for
\ncalamities, experts at a conference here said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Rapid urbanization has increased the vulnerability of Asian
\ncities to disasters, experts from the Asian Disaster Preparedness
\nCenter (ADPC) said in a paper presented at a conference here on
\nmaking Asian cities safer.<\/p>\n
"In Asia, we are faced with the challenge of dealing with an
\nurbanizing population in a most disaster prone region. Disasters
\ncausing huge loss of life and property in the region result in
\nsevere setbacks to the development process," said Aloysius Rego
\nand Christine Apikul in their paper.<\/p>\n
"Asia is the most disaster prone region in the world," they
\nsaid, citing data showing that the region accounts for 42.6
\npercent of the total number of disasters worldwide.<\/p>\n
Between 1992 and 2001, an average of 46,000 people were killed
\nand 180 million people affected by disasters annually in Asia,
\nthey said.<\/p>\n
"This represents nearly 75 percent of fatalities and 90
\npercent of the world's affected population every year," they
\nadded.<\/p>\n
Over the past three months alone, there was an earthquake in
\nIndonesia, flashfloods and landslides in Thailand, as well as
\nsevere flooding in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.<\/p>\n
A powerful typhoon hammered South Korea and drought has hit
\nmany parts of India.<\/p>\n
Complicating the natural calamities is the rapid growth of the
\npopulation of Asian cities.<\/p>\n
By 2030, more than 50 percent of Asia's population is
\nprojected to live in cities, up from 37 percent currently, they
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
"As cities grow, economies grow, more houses are built, more
\ninfrastructure are constructed, and often times marginalised
\npopulations are pushed to more vulnerable areas, the disaster
\nrisks increase," they said.<\/p>\n
However, while cities are increasingly vulnerable to disasters
\nthey are vital economic engines and the proceeds from the wealth
\nthey create could be used to lessen the impact of these
\ncalamities.<\/p>\n
The paper proposed that Asian city authorities adopt a
\ncomprehensive policy approach in dealing with disasters to
\n"mitigate" their impact. Such a policy should be put in place
\nbefore a disaster strikes, when it has already struck and during
\nthe recovery and reconstruction phase.<\/p>\n
In the past, Asian governments responded only to emergencies
\nas they occurred, "with hastily arranged ad hoc relief
\noperations" by bringing biscuits and blankets to the stricken
\npopulace, the authors said.<\/p>\n
Training and public awareness should also be promoted on the
\ncommunity, provincial and national levels, they said.<\/p>\n
However, many national disaster management offices in Asia
\n"remain relatively weak, under-funded and under-staffed both in
\nnumbers and qualifications," they said.<\/p>\n
"They are often still narrowly focused on the relief and
\nresponse operations instead of long-term mitigation activities
\nthat require the cooperation and coordination of other government
\ndepartments," they added.<\/p>\n
The authors suggested the development of a "culture of
\ndisaster mitigation" across social sectors and levels by
\npromoting general awareness.<\/p>",
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