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PH most disaster-prone country in the world: report

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ABS-CBN News

MANILA – The Philippines is the most disaster-prone country in the world, according to a study conducted by two German institutions.<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Devastation in Burdeos, Polillo Group of Islands, Quezon, a day after Super Typhoon Karding made landfall in the island on September 25, 2022. Photo courtesy of Mary Grace Serrano/Oxfam Pilipinas" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/09/29/20220927-karding-burdeos-aftermath-oxfam.jpg"/><figcaption>Devastation in Burdeos, Polillo Group of Islands, Quezon, a day after Super Typhoon Karding made landfall in the island on September 25, 2022. Photo courtesy of Mary Grace Serrano/Oxfam Pilipinas</figcaption></figure></div>The World Risk Index, released by Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft and the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV) at Ruhr University Bochum, said the Philippines is facing the greatest disaster risk of 193 countries in the world based on its exposure and vulnerability to natural disasters.The Philippines has an index score 46.82, followed by India (42.31), Indonesia (41.46) and Colombia (38.37). Mexico, Myanmar, Mozambique, China, Bangladesh and Pakistan round up the list of top 10 countries most at risk of disasters.Dr. Mahar Lagmay, University of the Philippines Resilience Institute Executive Director, said the country is at huge risk of disasters because it is in the typhoon belt of Asia.“When there’s severe weather event like that, it carries along with it hazards. These hazards are namely the strong winds, the floods that are triggered, the landslides that are triggered by extreme rainfall events carried by the typhoon, as well as storm surges. These hazards are the ones that kill,” Lagmay explained.Going forward, Lagmay said the Philippine government should focus more on preventing the ill effects of natural disasters.“There are 4 pillars in disaster prevention and risk reduction, you call it. One is the long-term, preparations, this is called prevention and mitigation, the other is just before the hazard strikes, which is preparedness. And then during the time when the hazard strikes, that’s called response, and then afterwards, it’s called reconstruction and rehabilitation.”“We should really shift from doing more work on response to the long-term preparations planning,” he said.“I would recommend that our planning should incorporate climate change-adjusted hazards. These are the hazards that would happen because of the changing climate, because of global warming, that means that the typhoons will become stronger, carrying stronger winds, carrying bigger floods, triggering more frequent and more widespread landslides, and bigger storm surges.”Lagmay noted that survivors of Philippine natural disasters tend to say that storms that have been hitting the country are worse than the last ones that affected them.“We must anticipate the future events. And to do that, we need science. We need to reflect in our hazard maps which are mainstreamed into the planning process of the communities, the comprehensive land use plans, the local climate change adaptation plans, the climate and disaster risk assessments,” he said.“If incorporated, the people in the community will be able to realize that there’s such a type of hazard that is bigger than what they know or what they have experienced. And if we do that, they can anticipate.”The expert noted that disaster preparedness if important if the country wants to meet its development goals.“We are all at risk from something, and that something might translate to fatalities, to deaths, it translates also to hampering our development, our economic progress. It translates to eating up our GDP.”“Like for example in the span of 10 years, the average of about 3 percent is taken out from our GDP because of disasters. The impacts of hazards. Now, that is a concern because if it hampers our development, then we will not achieve our Sustainable Development Goals,” he said.<div>--ANC, 12 October 2022 </div>

The Philippines is the most disaster-prone country in the world, according to a study conducted by two German institutions.