FAO says additional efforts needed to tackle natural disasters like tsunami
Published on: Tuesday, December 23, 2014
BANGKOK: Countries in the region are better prepared to deal with tragedies like the Indian Ocean Tsunami, but there is still room for improvement, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said Monday."What we and our member countries have learned and now see in place is impressive, but there is still more that can and should be done to prevent and mitigate disasters," said Hiroyuki Konuma, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific. The Asia-Pacific region is most vulnerable to natural and climate-induced disasters, he said, looking back to 10 years ago when a tsunami claimed the lives of more than 200,000 people in South and Southeast Asia.
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During the 10-year period from 2003 to 2013, some 200 million people in Asia and the Pacific were affected each year by natural disasters ranging from the 2004 tsunami to cyclones, floods and typhoons, said FAO in a statement.Roughly around the same period (2001-2010), the cost of these disasters for the region averaged US$34 billion (RM119 billion) each year, it said. It said while some member countries badly affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami are now better prepared for disasters before they strike and better positioned to respond after they do, a recent FAO-sponsored workshop with Asean members stressed additional actions that are needed to further increase resilience to disasters.It said the workshop concluded that the effects of rapid population increases and urbanisation, coupled with an eroded natural resource base and climate change, mean climate-induced events pose the highest risk for the Asean region.
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FAO said much has been learned since the tsunami of 2004.Early disaster warning systems and clearly marked tsunami evacuation routes are evident in some countries such as Thailand which, following the tsunami, established the Department of National Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, it said.
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"It's clear that many countries in the region are now better prepared to reduce the risks and mitigate the damage of natural disasters such as tsunami and typhoons and protect their agriculture and food systems," said Konuma. "The most recent example is Typhoon Hagupit that struck the Philippines earlier this month, where the authorities' early warnings to farmers and fishermen to take pre-emptive action helped ensure that the damage would be far less severe than a year earlier when Typhoon Haiyan ripped through the centre of the country."In the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, flood protection dykes have been built and there is a nationwide early warning system for flooding, FAO said. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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