Fast Growing Cities in Vietnam Become More Vulnerable to Disasters: WB

Fast growing cities in the East Asia-Pacific region, including in Vietnam, are becoming increasingly vulnerable to natural disasters due to poor planning, the World Bank (WB) said in its recent report. Investing in the natural disaster readiness, from boosting hazard forecast services to restoring natural ecosystems, can be surprisingly cost-effective, said the report titled “Strong, Safe and Resilient - A Strategic Policy Guide for Disaster Risk Management in East Asia and the Pacific.” “East Asia-Pacific is the region most frequently hit by cyclones, tsunamis, earthquakes and floods. To deal with the challenges, governments should prepare for the unexpected and undertake major investments in disaster risk management and resilience,” said WB East Asia and Pacific Vice President Axel van Trotsenburg. The regional countries should combine disaster risk management into poverty reduction and sustainable development plans as the poor are affected the most by natural calamities, he highlighted. “We are working with governments and partners to enhance financial resilience against natural disasters,” said the WB’s East Asia and Pacific Chief Economist Bert Hofman. He also emphasized the need to improve catastrophe risk modeling tools to help governments assess budgetary impacts of disasters and to develop disaster risk financing strategies. The WB has suggested short, medium and long-term solutions for the countries in the region to minimize the impact of disasters, focusing on forecasting and investing in early warning systems, strengthening cooperation, improving infrastructure and urban planning. In recent years, natural disasters in the region have been more diverse, unpredictable and increasingly large, especially sea-level rises, salinization, earthquakes and tsunamis. Many countries that rarely had natural disasters in the past now have to suffer from their devastating consequences. Vietnam is one of the ten countries most vulnerable to natural disasters, particularly tropical storms, floods, landslides and droughts. Last year, Vietnam lost around VND16 trillion to natural calamities, compared to VND10 trillion in 2011. (vietnamplus.vn June 3, tinmoitruong.vn June 3)