Over 80% of PH economy prone to natural disasters – ADB

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About 85.2% of the Philippine economy is prone to natural disasters, according to an Asian Development Bank (ADB) study

DISASTERS. Capital Manila battled floods during monsoon rain in August. Asia's cities are becoming increasingly vulnerable to natural disasters as they struggle with poor planning, population explosions and climate change, the Asian Development Bank warns. Photo by AFP

MANILA, Philippines – About 85.2% of the Philippine economy is prone to natural disasters, according to a study released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday, November 13.

In a Special Evaluation Study titled ADB’s Response to Natural Disasters and Disaster Risks, the ADB said 50.3% of the country’s land area is economically at risk from multiple hazards such as floods, typhoon, and earthquakes.

This means some 81.3% of the country’s population or around 76.6 million Filipinos are prone to economic impacts brought by natural disasters.

In terms of mortality risk, the report stated that 88.6% or some 83.5 million Filipinos face life-threatening risks from natural disasters. This means that 76.6% of the total land area of the Philippines are at risk of human losses caused by various disasters.

Some 13.8% of Filipinos are exposed to earthquake-related risks every year, while 0.9% of the population are exposed to flood risks every year.

“(Some) 20 of the 44 DMCs (Developing Member Countries) have been rated as ‘mortality hotspots,’ and 14 of them as ‘high economic risk,” the ADB said. “Relatively speaking, the countries at highest risk of human losses and economic damage are Viet Nam, Bangladesh and Philippines.”

Disaster funds lacking

Despite this risk, the ADB said assistance that go to the Philippines for disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) have not been enough.

The ADB admitted that while many DMCs receive funding, Kyrgyz Republic and the Philippines are the two contries that either did not receive technical assistance (TA) or got very little.

The Philippines only received one technical assistance worth $225,000 in disaster risk financing. Kyrgyz Republic did not receive any. The ADB extended a TA to the country for the project Developing a Public-Private Earthquake Pool in the Philippines.

“Many of the countries that were ranked high in the Global Risk Hotspots Analysis are supported by ADB, but some did not receive TA, or got very little, notably, Kyrgyz Republic and Philippines. Many countries have not yet been supported by TA for either natural disasters or climate change. This may need to be looked at,” ADB said.

However, when it comes to projects funded by loans and grants, the Philippines was among those that had high numbers of natural disaster projects. There were 7 projects in the country that were funded by loans and grants, the same level as Sri Lanka.  

Apart from the Philippines and Sri Lanka, ADB said DMCs that had at least 3 loan or grant based projects included China (18), Pakistan (16), Bangladesh (12), India (12), Indonesia (12), Viet Nam (6), Tajikistan (4), Cambodia (3), and Kyrgyz Republic (3).

The ADB extended a total of $9 million in non-emergency grants to the Philippines for the:

  • Southern Leyte Landslide Disaster Assistance – $3M in 2006
  • Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy) – $3M in 2009
  • Tropical Storm Washi (Sendong) – $3M in 2011

The Manila-based multilateral development bank also extended a $30 million-worth loan for Structural Mitigation Measures for the project Mindanao Basic Urban Services Sector in 2001.

It also extended a loan of $33.8 million and a grant of $9 million for Nonstructural Mitigation Measures in the Integrated Coastal Resources Management in 2007.

Other non-specific disaster-related projects such as the Southern Philippines Irrigation Sector was funded by an ADB loan worth $60 million which was approved in 1998. – Rappler.com

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