II. DISASTERS IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC: CHALLENGES
4. The Asian and the Pacific region is among the most disaster-prone
in the world. Every year, disasters of all kinds result
in huge loss of lives and property in the region, causing
severe setbacks to the development process. Global disaster
statistics for 1996-2000 revealed staggering economic costs
estimated at US$ 235 billion and 425,000 lives lost (IFRC,
2000). Disasters caused by natural hazards alone reportedly
affected an average of 211 million people per year in the
past decade. Asia bears much of the brunt, absorbing 80
per cent of the total number of affected persons, 40 per
cent of total deaths and 46 per cent of the total economic
losses (CRED, n.d.). Further, the secondary effects and
indirect costs of disasters have also caused long-term effects
on societies, regardless of their level of development.
5. The Asian and Pacific region is affected by almost every
conceivable natural hazard – geological hazards (earthquakes,
landslides and volcanoes); hydrometeorological (floods,
cyclones and drought); and other hazards such as epidemics
and insect infestations. The relative intensity of hazards,
depicted in table 1, brings into focus the fact that out
of 22 countries in the region for which data have
Table 1. Relative intensity of hazards
faced by some countries in the region
S: Severe; M: Moderately severe; L: Low;
S*: Coastal flooding; N/A: Data not available
Source: IFRC, 2000. World Disasters Report
2000, International Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies <www.ifrc.org/publicat/wdr2000>.
been analysed, 15 are severely affected by floods, while
8 are severely hit by drought. Interestingly, the 8 countries
are severely prone to drought also have the same levels
of severity for floods. There are 7 countries moderately
prone to drought, 5 of which are also moderately prone to
floods. Broadly speaking, the region is uniquely characterized
by the coexistence of floods and drought. A brief analysis
of the incidence of floods and drought, in various subregions
and some of the worse-affected countries, is presented in
annex I.
6. In the region, populations vulnerable to disaster risks are increasing. A large cross-section of communities continue to be vulnerable – poverty prevails and population density, even in hazardous areas, is continually increasing. Furthermore, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned that the Earth’s climate is very likely to change over the decades to come, with likely increases in temperatures, sea level rise, heavier rainfall and worse droughts. As anticipated, the extremes of weather variability at the local level that cause floods and drought are likely to (a) reduce the effectiveness of local capacity and indigenous coping mechanisms, (b) enhance the risks to and vulnerability of communities and (c) demand better information support and scientific knowledge to manage them. As disaster vulnerability poses greater challenges, their management emerges as an important development issue, and building national capacities in term of addressing the information needs of stakeholders assumes greater significance.
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