ASEAN urged to fight natural disasters

ASEAN urged to fight natural disasters

CAMBODIA: The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)
must continue to stand together to help each other handle or even
avert natural disasters, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen told a
meeting on the subject held in Phnom Penh on Tuesday.

The premier opened the ASEAN meeting on disaster management in
the wake of a series of national disasters, including typhoons
and mudslides, that have left members such as the Philippines and
Vietnam reeling in recent weeks.

"I am happy to say that ASEAN nations stand together and
regionally to help each other," Hun Sen told the meeting.

The gathering was ASEAN's opportunity to discuss its united
strategies on natural disasters ahead of a meeting of the world
community on the subject in Kobe, Japan next month.

Hun Sen said his country was currently also facing the threat
of drought, and that the cycle of flood and drought was one
Cambodia knew all too well.

"Almost all ASEAN nations face the threat of natural disasters
every day, particularly Cambodia, where around 80 percent of our
territory lies in lowland areas of the Mekong Basin," he said.

"This makes Cambodia prone to flooding almost every
year...Cambodia is also more severely affected by drought than
other Southeast Asian countries," he said. --DPA