RP is most disaster-prone country in the world — study

The Philippines topped the list of countries that are most vulnerable to disasters, a recent study by Brussels-based Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) showed. The country topped CRED’s list after it experienced 25 disasters last year, followed by China with 24, according to a report in QTV’s “News on Q" Monday night. Among these disasters were tropical cyclones Kiko, Pepeng and Ondoy, which claimed hundreds of lives and destroyed property amounting to billions of pesos. “Ang ating bayan, dahil sa kanyang location, ay taun-taong nabibisita ng mga kalamidad (Because of its location, our country experiences calamities ever year)," said Lt. Col. Perfecto Peñaredondo of the Office of Civil Defense’s Military Assistance for Operation Readiness.

He said the OCD is currently crafting disaster preparedness programs in preparation for natural disasters that may come during the rainy season. Under a new disaster preparedness law signed last May, the OCD is focusing not only on disaster response but on disaster risk reduction as well. “From the previous approach which is 'whole of govt', itong ginagawa ng ating bayan ay 'whole of society’ approach, dahil dito ay isasama na ang lahat ng sektor, simula man sa mababa hanggang sa pinakamataas, na maging responsable na protektahan ang ating mamamayan," Peñaredondo said. (What we are doing now is the ‘whole of society’ approach, because we will now involve all sectors, from the bottom up, in order to protect citizens.) He said the country’s vulnerability does not mean it cannot prevent the grave impact of disasters. “Not all calamities or emergencies result in disasters," Peñaredondo said. “It will only result in disasters if we are overwhelmed o kung talagang ‘di makakayanan ng isang komunidad ang epekto ng isang sakuna (or if a community cannot really handle the effects of calamities." The Philippines was also recently identified by the World Bank as among the countries affected the most by climate change, which means it is more prone to experiencing typhoons, floods and landslides. The country was given a financial grant expected to help in designing strategies to mitigate disaster risks. - KBK, GMANews.TV