A policy framework towards enhancing the operational utilization space information products and services for flood management in Asia the Pacific

Abstract

United Nations statistics show that losses caused by natural disasters in the world totalled US$40 billion in the 1960s, US$60 billion in the 1970s, and US$120 billion in the 1980s (CAST n.d.). Global disaster statistics for 1996-2000 revealed staggering economic costs estimated at US$235 billion and 425,000 lives lost (IFRC 2000). Asia and the Pacific are among the most disaster-prone regions in the world. Every year, disasters of all kinds result in huge loss of lives and property in the region, causing severe setbacks to the development process. Asia bears much of the brunt, absorbing 80 percent of the total number of affected persons, 40 percent of total deaths, and 46 percent of the total economic losses (CRED n.d.). What is more, the secondary effects and indirect costs of disasters have also caused long-term effects on societies, regardless of their level of development. <p></p> In absolute terms, the recorded economic cost of disasters has been increasing over decades. The World Disaster Report for 2002 estimates the annual average damage due to natural disasters at US$69 billion. Two thirds of those losses were reported from countries with low socio-economic development.