TROPICAL cyclones frequent the Philippines and Japan every year. Between the two countries, Japan has more people exposed to this natural hazard—22.5 million Japanese or 1.4 times more than the 16 million Filipinos.
But should a cyclone of the same magnitude strike both countries, the death toll in the Philippines would be 17 times higher than in Japan.
The 2009 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction, launched by the United Nations in Bahrain on Sunday, cites Japan and the Philippines as an example that countries that are poor and with weak governance are more risk prone than those that are wealthier and better governed.
Japan has a gross domestic product per capita of $31,267 compared to $5,137 in the Philippines. Japan also has a higher human development index (0.953) than the Philippines (0.771), said the 200-page report, which was prepared as part of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction or ISDR.
The ISDR was launched in 2000 to come up with a framework to coordinate actions to address disaster risks at the local, national, regional and international levels. The Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) urges all countries to make major efforts to reduce their disaster risk by 2015.
Because of the high annual death toll due to tropical cyclones, the UN report puts the Philippines in the high-risk class, or 6.5 on a scale of 10. The Philippines, in fact, ranks second among the Top 10 countries on the Mortality Risk Index for tropical cyclones. Bangladesh is first and India is third.
The report stressed that reducing disaster risk can help reduce poverty, safeguard development and adapt to climate change.
“While we cannot prevent natural phenomena such as earthquakes and cyclones, we can limit their impacts,” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said in the report’s foreword. “The scale of any disaster is linked closely to past decisions taken by citizens and governments—or the absence of such decisions.”
He added, “Pre-emptive risk reduction is the key. Sound response mechanisms after the event, however effective, are never enough.”
For more details of the report, visit the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction website.