Philippines 3rd on disaster risk index

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is third top country in the world most at risk of disasters, a new study said.

Vanuatu and Tonga placed first and second on the World Risk Index (WRI), which measures social vulnerability as well as exposure to natural hazards and climate change.

The United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) in Germany developed the index, which calculates risk values for 173 countries worldwide.

A report presenting the index was published by Alliance Development Works, a coalition of German development and relief agencies.

“The World Risk Report shows the need to focus in the future more on disaster risk reduction than just on humanitarian aid after an extreme event,” said its editor Peter Mucke, managing director of Alliance Development Works.

“The comprehensive analyses allow to better detect threats and to identify the needs more precisely, as well as to place political demands similarly in affected countries and donor countries,” he added.

The Solomon Islands placed fourth on the index, followed by Guatemala, Bangladesh, Timor-Leste, Costa Rica, Cambodia, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Madagascar, Brunei Darussalam, and Afghanistan.

The top 5 safest countries were identified as Qatar, Malta, Saudi Arabia, Iceland, and Bahrain.

The Philippines got an overall score of 24.32% in the index.

It also received the following marks that contributed to its overall ranking:

Exposure – 45.09%
Vulnerability – 53.93%
Susceptibility – 34.99%
Lack of coping capacity – 82.78%
Lack of adaptive capacity – 44.01%

Philippine experience

The study said the Philippines is one of the countries most highly exposed to natural hazards and climate change.

“In the past, storms and heavy rainfall hit degraded ecosystems: destroyed coral reefs and mangrove and other forests and depleted soils. Thus, natural bulwarks against the threat of disasters are rarely present,” it said.

“In addition, people already feel the effects of climate change. Rainfall variability is increasing and hurricanes are becoming more intense. As a result, salty seawater floods the fields and seeps into the groundwater, damaging the soil and food crops,” it added.

The study said even people living in the country’s cities are strongly affected by natural hazards, particularly floods.

“People without land titles who live close to creeks and rivers are particularly vulnerable, but coping and adaptive capacities are limited,” it said.

The study said extensive disaster preparedness plans, which could have positive results in extreme natural events, are lacking at the local, regional and national levels.

“Although there are individual plans and programmes for disaster risk reduction at the local, regional and national levels, the management of such extreme events is often problematic and demonstrates the limits of existing capacity in these areas,” it added.

The study, meanwhile, cited good disaster-preparedness and protection framework conditions provided in the Local Government Code.

“The law came into force in the Philippines in 1991; it provides for many direct consulting mechanisms and gives citizens, community groups, NGOs, business representatives inter alia the opportunity to submit proposals,” it said.

Underused Local Government Code

However, it added that although the law has been in force for 20 years, “its possibilities are still underused.”

The study welcomed the Philippines’ move to adopt the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act in 2010.

“The adoption was preceded by a fruitful dialogue between the participating organizations, the Government and its ministries, and policy-makers as well as the Congress and the Senate,” it said.

The study also cited a comprehensive strategy agreed on between civil society, NGOs and government agencies in the city of Dagupan in northern Luzon.

“When in 2009, Hurricane Parma caused the worst floods in history, the efforts proved worthwhile: all 150,000 inhabitants survived as a result of good prevention plans. In other cities, however, there were many casualties,” it said.

“The actors involved in the improvement could also share their experiences at the government level and thus provide further impetus for the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act.” –Jojo Malig, abs-cbnNEWS.com