EDITORIAL - Extreme risk

In the 2012 Global Risk Report, the Philippines ranked third among the world’s disaster risk hotspots. With the country located within the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire and the typhoon belt, an estimated 81.3 percent of the Philippine land mass is vulnerable to natural disasters.

Each year about 20 typhoons hit the country, with monsoons also triggering torrential rains, catastrophic flooding and deadly landslides. The country is also regularly hit by earthquakes, with a magnitude 7.2 quake killing about 200 people and devastating many areas of Bohol and Cebu recently.

Instead of spurring decisive measures for disaster prevention and mitigation, however, the frequency of natural disasters seems to have developed fatalism and complacency. In the latest Climate Change Vulnerability Index drawn up by a risk consultancy, the Philippines ranked ninth among 193 countries.

The index, drawn up by British consultancy firm Maplecroft, also ranked Manila together with Dhaka in Bangladesh, Mumbai and Kolkata in India and Thai capital Bangkok as the cities facing “extreme risk” due to climate change. The index was developed to identify risks to populations, business and governments posed by climate change in the next 30 years.

Apart from expected indicators such as exposure and sensitivity of populations to extreme events related to climate change, the index also measured the capacity of countries to deal with the problem. The low level of preparedness ranked the Philippines together with the nine other most vulnerable countries: Bangladesh, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Haiti, South Sudan, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cambodia and Ethiopia.

The ranking should spur greater investment in disaster preparedness and mitigation. The country must not be lulled by the help that always comes from the international community each time disaster strikes. The index is also another reminder that the country needs more long-term measures for confronting climate change.