M'SIA BLESSED AT NOT HAVING CATASTROPHIC DISASTERS

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 3 (Bernama) -- Malaysia is blessed, in that the country is
only faced with disasters that are not catastrophic in nature, said Minister in
the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Aziz.

However, Nazri said the country experienced its fair share of
disasters,
such as the annual floods during the monsoon season.

He said all disasters could not be easily prevented but the impact could be
reduced through cooperation by various stakeholders.

"Human lives can be saved if information (about disasters) are disseminated
to communities," he said in a ministerial statement when representing Malaysia
at the Third Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction here
Tuesday.

He said the government would not be able to do it on its own, and as such
non-governmental sectors would have to be incorporated as partners in
undertaking disaster-risk reduction.

India's Minister of State, Home Affairs V. Radhika Selvi said the country
was using space and communication technology in a big way to provide support
services for disaster management.

She said India was implementing the largest community-based disaster risk
programme in the world, covering 300 million people in nearly 176 districts of
the 17 multi-hazard states in the country.

She said India had developed a state-of-the-art Early Warning System for
Tsunami and Storm Surge which could track the movement of sea waves and
windstorm on a real basis and provide accurate warning to the administration
for timely evacuation of the people in the event of impending disasters.

"The benefits of the system developed by the Indian National Centre for
Oceanic Information Services shall be available to the countries of South and
South East Asia," she said.

Meanwhile, Iran's head of delegation to the conference Hossein Bagheri said
that to educate the people and increase their preparedness to face earthquakes,
mock exercises were held annually throughout the country, especially at schools
and other levels.

Iran witnessed about 30,000 deaths, following the Bam earthquake in 2003.

Hossein said, among 31 types of disaster in Iran, repeated earthquakes were
the most devastating.

Nepal's Minister for Local Development R. C. Jha said the government was
making concerted efforts towards institutionalising a National Strategic Plan
on Disaster Risk Reduction to reduce the impact of disasters, such as climate
change.

He said dealing with disaster risk was a major development challenge in
Nepal as there were resource constraints.

-- BERNAMA