Senator
Loren Legarda has underscored the need for stronger disaster management efforts
as she warned against more frequent and intense tropical storms that may hit
the country this year.
The
Senator issued the statement following the release of the Global Risk Index
2015, which showed that among 160 countries, the Philippines is most affected
by extreme weather conditions, such as intense floods, droughts and fiercer
typhoons in 2013.
Legarda,
United Nations Champion for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change
Adaptation for Asia-Pacific, said past tragedies such as the tragic loss of
lives and properties brought by Super Typhoon Haiyan, should serve as lesson to
all of us to make our communities safer and more prepared for disasters.
“We
have to prepare for the worst natural hazards through information campaign,
distribution of geohazard maps, strict enforcement of land use regulations,
acquisition of state-of-the-art weather and geophysical equipment and
facilities, relocation of vulnerable communities and more importantly,
development of green technology and resource efficiency programs,” she
stressed.
She
added, “While it is true that extreme weather is now the ‘new normal’, we must
ensure that past disasters and tragedies will not happen again in the future.”
The
Global Climate Risk Index 2015, published by Germany-based environmental think
tank Germanwatch, is an analysis based on one of the most reliable data sets
available on the impacts of extreme weather events and associated
socio-economic data. It aims to contextualize ongoing climate policy debates
with real-world impacts of the last year and the last 20 years.
No comments:
Post a Comment