ID :
358357
Wed, 02/25/2015 - 12:56
Auther :

Over Half Or World's Natural Disasters In 2014 Occured In Asia-Pacific Region

BANGKOK, Feb 25 (Bernama) -- Over half of the world’s 226 natural disasters in 2014 occurred in the Asia-Pacific region. Although it was a year without a single large-scale catastrophe caused by an earthquake or tsunami, the region experienced severe storms, cross-border floods and landslides, which accounted for 85 per cent of all disasters. In total, over 6,000 fatalities were caused by natural disasters, compared to 18,744 deaths in 2013, according to the Natural Disasters in Asia and the Pacific: 2014 Year in Review report Approximately 79.6 million people were affected by natural disasters across the region, said the report released by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Wednesday. Economic losses owing to natural disasters in 2014 also remained high, amounting to US$59.6 billion in total, highlighting the lack of economic resilience in the region, it said. The study in the report noted that the highest economic losses in Asia and the Pacific were incurred from river-basin floods (US$16 billion) and Cyclone HudHud (US$11 billion) in India, followed by the Ludian earthquake in China (US$6 billion), and the tropical cyclones Lingling and Kajiki in Japan (US$5.2 billion). The region was found largely unprepared in its response to cross-border floods and landslides. Such disasters, which might very well be on the rise because of climate change, required improved regional information exchanges and the joint coordination of operations for effective early warning and evacuations, it said. ESCAP's findings show how preparedness for severe storm events through effective early warning systems has significantly reduced death tolls. "One important lesson from 2014 is that end-to-end early warning systems save lives," said Shamika Sirimanne, director of ESCAP's ICT and Disaster Risk Reduction Division. "The successful preparation for cyclone Hudhud and typhoon Hagupit lies not only in the ability to predict the movement and intensity of storms, but also the capacity to engage and mobilise vulnerable communities in disaster preparedness," she said. The 41 fatalities associated with cyclone Hudhud, a Category 4 storm, were considered relatively low, as there were 18 fatalities linked to Hagupit, a Category 3 typhoon. According to the report, the Asia-Pacific region experienced five severe droughts in 2014, which affected 31.5 million people. Meanwhile, leaders and decision-makers across Asia and the Pacific are preparing to finalise a new global framework for disaster risk reduction, which will replace the 2005 Hyogo Framework for Action in March 2015, in Sendai, Japan. "The lessons from 2014 clearly show that building resilience remains a key priority in protecting lives and assets in Asia and the Pacific," ESCAP said. -- BERNAMA

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