Announcements
Announcements
As disasters in Asia-Pacific become more intense, uncertain and complex, the newly released Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2019 states that they are becoming harder to forecast.
In an interview with SciDev.Net, SEI’s Michael Boyland said that although big data technologies are an important part of the response to these challenges, they should not overshadow the need for in-depth understanding of the reasons why different communities are vulnerable in the first place.
Aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, the Philippines 2013. Photo: Oliver Cam.
Authorities are focusing on new technologies to prepare for and respond to natural disasters in Asia Pacific that are becoming more intense, uncertain and complex, according to a UN report released Thursday (22 August).
Recent cyclones, floods and droughts in the region, as well as disasters triggered by rising global temperatures, have not followed past patterns, making them harder to forecast, said the Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2019 produced by the UN’s Economic and Social Council for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
“The report shows that more of today’s events are linked to environmental degradation and climate change. This is generating disasters of increasing complexity and uncertainty,” UN Under-Secretary-General and executive secretary of ESCAP Armida Alisjahbana, said.
Disasters are a major risk in this region and this report shows that, with the addition of climate change, we are running out of time to reduce that risk.
Michael Boyland, Research Associate at SEI Asia, interview with SciDev.Net
Asia Pacific is particularly vulnerable to disasters, with more fatalities, more people affected and larger economic losses than the rest of the world. Between 1970 and 2018, the region, with 60 per cent of the global population, had 87 per cent of the people affected by disasters.
Other publication / Part of the IRDR working paper series, this paper lays out a framework for transforming the relationship between development and disaster risk.
Journal article / This paper presents and tests a conceptual framework for analysing the trade-offs that underpin the relationship between development and disaster risk.
Design and development by Soapbox.
