Asia’s Disaster Data Shows Need for Leaders to Scale Up Resilience at Sendai Meeting

In the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, one of Asia’s worst disasters ever, Aceh (Indonesia) was virtually wiped off the map. Photo by Richard Abrina
In the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, one of Asia’s worst disasters ever, Aceh (Indonesia) was virtually wiped off the map. Photo by Richard Abrina
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By ADB Blog Team

Thousands of participants will converge in Sendai, Japan from 14-18 March for the 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction to agree on a new global plan to make nations and communities more resilient to natural calamities.

Thousands of participants will converge in Sendai, Japan from 14-18 March for the 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction to agree on a new global plan to make nations and communities more resilient to natural calamities.

Whether it's Afghanistan, where over 300 people have died from landslides in the past two months, devastating earthquakes in South Asia and the People’s Republic of China, or the Philippines, which in November 2013 experienced one of the strongest typhoons ever recorded, Asia-Pacific nations need to better prepare.

In this infographic about recent significant disasters in the region, Figure 1 below shows major disasters by number of deaths since the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines.


Figure 2 below shows how many people were affected by each disaster, with the 2002 drought in India—which affected 300 million—leading the pack.
 
 

In Figure 3 below, we can see how the 2011 tsunami and earthquake in Japan was by far the costliest recent catastrophe in the region, with damages reaching $210 billion.

 

To strengthen disaster resilience in ADB's developing member countries, ADB approved in April 2014 its Operational Plan for Integrated Disaster Risk Management for 2014-2020, with three goals in mind:

  1. Promote an integrated disaster risk management approach in ADB operations.
  2. Strengthen integrated disaster risk management capabilities, knowledge, and resources.
  3. Mobilize more public and private partnerships and resources for integrated disaster risk management.

Recognizing the importance of short- and long-term-term disaster risk reduction and taking the effects of climate change into account, ADB’s plan highlights the urgent need to enhance the management of residual disaster risk, and outlines crosscutting actions to address disaster risk management challenges.

Published: 12 March 2015