The Philippines called on Wednesday for donors to invest in a high-tech tropical cyclone early warning system to reduce the large death tolls and economic losses it suffers each year.
Dr Prisco Nilo told the Third International Early Warning Conference that his country may expand the scheme to include a forecast system for landslides following the one earlier this year that buried nearly 1,000 people in the remote farming community of Guinsaugon, about 675 km (420 miles) southeast of Manila.
"Every year about 20 cyclones enter our forecast area and about half of those make landfall in the Philippines, causing hundreds of human casualties and damage to properties. This averages about $100 million a year.
"This may be a small amount for developed countries, but for developing countries with a small economy this is a very significant amount of money which could have been utilised for new development projects," said Nilo, deputy director of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
He said the aim was for a 20 percent reduction in deaths and economic losses by improving forecasts of cyclone paths and warning times to those at risk by 12 to 18 hours. It would also enable officials to give warnings at least 12 hours ahead of floods.
The project would use state-of-the art technology available in developed countries to predict cyclones' landfall and floods. Other aspects include training for decision makers, emergency managers, non-government officials and education programmes for the public.
"In view of the massive landslides recently, we may also have to consider the establishment of an early warning system for rain-induced landslides," Nilo added.
The project, which is seeking an additional 500,000 euros ($600,000) in funding from donors, was one of more than 100 early warning proposals showcased at the Bonn conference, which ended on Wednesday.
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Disaster prevention experts are launching a campaign to "disaster proof" schools to reduce the numbers of children crushed to death in earthquakes or washed away in floods.
Some 18,000 children died in the Pakistan quake in October when their schools collapsed on top of them. Reinforcing the schools would have cost as little as a dollar a child, one aid agency said last year.
The new campaign by the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction will also push governments to introduce lessons on natural hazards and how to reduce the risk of death or injury into the curriculum. It will launch in June in Paris.
There are an estimated 34 million children living in the 20 countries that registered the most deadly earthquakes during the 20th century, ISDR consultant Ben Wisner said.
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The Kingdom of Tonga will be leaving the International Early Warning Conference a little richer. Its plan to protect its people from numerous hazards won a 50,000 euro prize ($60,400) from insurance giant Munich Re, beating off more than 100 other proposals from around the world.
Tonga lies in the Pacific cyclone belt and the Ring of Fire, a zone of frequent quakes and volcanic eruptions. The low-lying islands are also vulnerable to tsunamis and rising sea levels.
"Cyclones are the most common (problem) but we also have our fair share of other natural disasters," said Maliu Takai, deputy director of Tonga's disaster management office.
"Communication is a big, big problem ... the northern-most islands take four days to reach by boat ... Having this project funded is improving our chances of survival."
The project aims to build a hazard communications network. It will improve the collection of meteorological data from remote monitoring sites and the distribution of information throughout the islands, using high frequency radio data circuits.
Tonga relies on the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii to inform it of risks. But Takai said: "If (the warning) comes during unofficial hours definitely we're not going to get it. And more definitely, those in the outlying islands will not get it."
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Hong Kong has come up with a novel way to get the public interested in disaster prevention - a competition to name a tropical cyclone. Imagine Tropical Cyclone Bruce Lee or Tropical Cyclone Jackie Chan rampaging through the region - a formidable thought.
The martial arts stars were among the 25,000 entries. The winners were a more friendly Dolphin and Lion Rock, the name of a local natural landmark. The judges had originally wanted Tropical Storm Kapok - the name of a tree - but this had to be ditched when Thailand pointed out it was a rather rude word in the Thai language.
Hong Kong, which is running a one-year campaign to educate the public on risk reduction, has won brownie points for its successes in disaster education and prevention. Tropical cyclones killed 180 people in 1962. In recent years the death toll has averaged a couple a year.
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Istanbul will have just eight seconds warning if there's an earthquake on the fault line off its coast, disaster experts say. Doesn't sound like much, but there's apparently plenty that can be done in that time. A computerised system can now automatically shut down the metro and power supplies as soon as it picks up a signal.
A similar set-up already exists in California where, for example, the system will also automatically open fire station doors before the quake has a chance to damage the station building and trap the fire engines inside.
Hazard experts think it's likely there will be a significant undersea earthquake near Istanbul within the next 30 years because the other fault lines in the area have already been broken.
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All the sophisticated tsunami warning systems in the world won't help the 328,000 people living in the Maldives if another tsunami comes along. All 202 inhabited islands are just 1-1.5 metres above sea level, and there's no high ground for people to escape to.
It's a problem the government is struggling to find a solution to. Building artificial hills or evacuating people on boats out to sea could be two ways round the problem.
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