Tackling rising natural disasters

The past few weeks have been a grim reminder that natural disasters know no borders. They can strike countries at opposite ends of the globe simultaneously and whether in Asia or North America, the images of people and livelihoods being swept away are disturbing.

Intense monsoon floods, Typhoon Hato, Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma all raise questions about what more can be done to both mitigate the risks of extreme weather conditions and improve relief operations.

Disasters are becoming more frequent and intense. The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, in its recent report," Disaster Resilience for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: Leaving No One Behind", shows natural disasters were responsible for the loss of 2 million lives and cost the region's economy $1.3 trillion between 1970 and 2016. Over 90 percent of the deaths were due to earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones and floods. The poor and vulnerable bore the brunt of these disasters, suffering a death toll five times higher than the rest of the population.