PH: World’s 3rd most vulnerable to disaster

THE Philippines ranked third out of 173 countries in the world considered as most vulnerable to disaster risks and natural hazards of the United Nations’ (UN) World Risk Index this despite existing laws aimed at disaster mitigation and climate risk.

This was disclosed Tuesday by Senator Loren Legarda as she raised serious concerns on the worsening state of exposure to disaster and climate risks of the country over the past two years.

According to Legarda the Philippines in 2009, placed 12th among 200 countries most atrisk from cyclones, floods, earthquakes and landslides based on the Mortality Risk Index by the United Nations International Strategy on Disaster Reduction (UNISDR).

In 2010, the Climate Change Vulnerability Index ranked the country sixth most climate-vulnerable nation. Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Climate Change, considered the country’s situation alarming because it is happening despite the legal mechanisms in place, such as the Climate Change Act and the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act.

“It is lamentable that despite our efforts to strengthen the country’s defense against the

adverse effects of natural hazards and of the changing climate, we remain high in climate-vulnerability indices. Our policies are all in place, we just need the faithful implementation of these laws,” Legarda noted.

The Senator believes that the UN data should serve as a wakeup call to the government and to realize the danger the country facing.

“The whole world is telling us, matter-of-factly, that we are in great danger every time a natural hazard hits us, yet, it seems we always wait for disasters to happen before we learn the painful lesson that the lack of preparedness against disasters takes a huge toll in our country as more people die and more resources and investments are lost,” she explained.

Legarda also raises the need for the disaster risk reduction and management system to be more proactive, coherent and effective by establishing early warning systems, disaster resilient infrastructures, more prepared communities and link disaster risk reduction and preparedness to development planning.

“We will not train our sights merely on enhancing our capacities to re-build in times of disasters; but rather on reducing risks for our people and building lasting communities,” Legarda added.

World Risk Index 2011 uses four indicators to define countries at risk to natural disasters namely exposure, susceptibility, coping capacities and adaptive capacities. –JEFFERSON ANTIPORDA, Manila Times