BANGKOK (AlertNet) - Asia Pacific has seen its fair share of major disasters, but the main threat to the communities in the region comes from an increasing number of localised small-scale disasters, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
From more regular flooding in parts of Manila and Jakarta to impacts from increased number of tropical storms on the coast of Vietnam, the number of such disasters Red Cross responds to has more than doubled in the past four years Â? from an average of 21 per month in 2004 to 51 in 2008, figures from the IFRC showed.
Â?While itÂ?s not necessarily the intensity thatÂ?s always changing, the frequency that is changing, and itÂ?s influenced by many things such as the changing weather patterns and socio-economic issues within the country,Â? Michael Annear, IFRCÂ?s head of disaster management unit for Asia Pacific, told AlertNet.
Â?And thatÂ?s resulting in people needing more and more assistance.Â?
This general trend continued in 2009 with monthly figures increasing although the final tally is not yet ready, Annear said.
REDUCING RISKS
As the fifth anniversary of the Indian Ocean Tsunami draws near, much has been said of the worst single natural disaster in living memory.
Unfortunately, it is the smaller, more frequent scale disasters, away from the eye of the media and hence also possibly away from the eyes of other stakeholders, that have a much higher impact on the communities, said IFRC.
The implications, according to Al Panico, head of IFRCÂ?s tsunami unit is Â?to give the resources, the knowledge and the training to the lowest level responder possible so they could respond and reduce the risks.Â?
He told AlertNet IFRC used to train regional disaster response teams who will be deployed when disasters strike in the region. However, with the increase in localised disasters, IFRC is now training country, district and branch level disaster teams.
Panico was speaking to reporters on Thursday in Bangkok on the launch of IFRCÂ?s latest tsunami progress report.
LESSONS LEARNT
Calling the tsunami Â?the biggest response to a recovery operation since the reconstruction of World War IIÂ?, he said, Â?the biggest lesson learnt and the work that is left to be done now is in risk reduction, to include it in the work we do.Â?
Risk reduction programmes refer to policies and actions that will make disaster prone communities safer and better prepared.
This could range from early warning systems informing communities on how to behave and evacuate in times of disasters, to waste management, urban land use planning and reforestation.
Â?A huge amount have been done to improve the technology around early warning systems in the region, but this approach needs to go hand in hand with risk reduction programmes at the community level,Â? said Panico.
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