The Asia-Pacific region experiences some of the world’s worst natural hazards-frequent earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, cyclones and annual monsoons. It also includes many of the world’s megacities-those with more than 8 million people-so the number of people exposed to hazard risks in the region is very high.
There is abundant evidence that natural disasters disproportionately affect developing countries. Between 1991 and 2005, more than 90% of natural disaster deaths and 98% of people affected by natural disasters were from developing countries (OFDA/CRED International Disasters Database EM-DAT). Moreover, disasters are increasing in number and size every year due to a number of factors including rapid population growth, urbanisation and climate change.
Implications for international aid programs
The high risk of natural disasters in developing nations has considerable implications for international aid programs. Natural disasters can significantly compromise development progress, reduce the effectiveness of aid investments, and halt or slow progress towards the achievement of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). For example, progress MDG 1—halving poverty and hunger by 2015—may be halted or reversed during a natural disaster. Furthermore, aid resources may be diverted to humanitarian and emergency responses which can impact on development programs in areas not directly affected by a disaster.
Natural hazard risks also influence the type and scale of disaster relief and humanitarian response required of aid agencies. Relatively infrequent, high-magnitude, natural disasters, such as the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, are most likely to overwhelm the capacities of local and national governments and to require significant international humanitarian assistance.
With increasing recognition that disasters erode hard-won development gains, international policymakers have focused on disaster risk reduction (such as the Hyogo Framework for Action). In line with this trend, the Australian Government, through the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), has placed greater emphasis on the reduction of natural hazard risk in developing countries.
Improving our understanding of the frequency, location and magnitude of sudden-onset natural disasters will help the Australian Government and AusAID plan and prepare for natural disaster response (for example, through the strategic placement of emergency supplies). Recognising the impact of disasters on the progress of development, the Australian Government decided in 2007 to enhance the humanitarian response, preparedness and capacity of partner governments. In particular, that decision recognised a need for better natural hazard risk assessments.
Figure 1. Countries included in this study, colour-coded according to the priority their natural hazard risk was given for the study. Primary focus countries are highlighted in red, countries of interest in orange, and secondary focus countries in pale yellow. (Larger image GIF 260kb]).
In 2007, as part of this strategic approach, Geoscience Australia’s Natural Hazard Impacts Project conducted a broad hazard risk assessment of the Asia-Pacific region for AusAID. The assessment included earthquake, volcanic eruption, tsunami, cyclone, flood, landslide and wildfire hazards, with particular attention given to countries the Australian Government considered to be high priority, of interest or of secondary focus