Learning Lessons: Intense Climate-Related Natural Disasters in Asia and the Pacific

Abstract

The frequency of intense floods and storms is increasing globally and in Asia and the Pacific amid the specter of climate change, pointing to the need for better mitigation and adaptation to natural disasters. The rainfall and temperatures associated with these events are becoming more variable and extreme, while the evidence suggests that coastal regions in South, Southeast, and East Asia are at greater risk. There is also evidence that the more frequent and intense impact of these weather-related disasters results from a confluence of three factors: the changing nature of the hazards, rising exposure of populations, and limited adaptive capacity in many countries. Disasters also seem to be taking a heavier toll on low- and lower-middle-income countries. In other words, exposure, sensitivity, and lack of adaptive capacity turn a hazard of nature into a natural disaster. Such calamities erode the otherwise dramatic progress on poverty reduction and other development gains of the past two decades. The People’s Republic of China and India, for example, have been at the forefront of poverty reduction in the past three decades, yet both are also among the countries in Asia and the Pacific at greater risk from climate-related disasters. This synthesis presents the lessons drawn from evaluations of information sourced from publicly available databases.