source: mb.com.ph
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is the most disaster-prone country among five Southeast Asian countries that also includes Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia and Vietnam, a senior researcher fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) said.
The Philippines had 228 weather and climate-related natural disasters in the last two decades, according to PIDS environment researcher Danilo Israel.
From 2000 to 2009 there were 320 climate-related disasters in the five countries, almost twice the 195 that occurred during the 1990s, Israel said.
Relatively, the total number of people affected rose from 69.5 million in the 1900s to 84.3 million in the 2000s, he said.
In his Policy Notes published last 2011, around 15 to 20 typhoons annually occur in the Philippines causing major floods, landslides and other related disasters.
Some of the typhoons originating from the Philippines also travelled westward to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. A few even reached neighboring countries like Japan, China and Taiwan and sometimes caused significant destruction.
Israel suggests that while climate-related disasters are inevitable, each country must invest in national me-teorological and hydrological services (NMHS) that aims to provide accurate and timely weather and climate forecasting data and information for sectors such as transportation, construction, energy, agriculture.
However, operating such services and maintaining facilities is costly, Israel said.
As a solution, he suggested that each of the five countries must collaborate in strengthening its natural hazards and disaster-forecasting capabilities by sharing data and information, and devising a common training and development program among NMHS personnel.
Also, to improve cooperation and coordination, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Lao PDR and Cambodia should conduct intercountry personnel visitation and exchange, as well as conduct common research and development activities particularly on transboundary weather and climate-related issues.
source: mb.com.ph
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Nice post. Thanks for sharing. I hope that preventative measures can be put in place soon. One thing that can be done which costs nothing is each individual take responsibility for their garbage and put it where it belongs instead of throwing it all over the streets, rivers, and everywhere else.
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