Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction
DISASTER READINESS AND RISK REDUCTION
Based on the World Risk Index 2012, the Philippines is the third among 173 countries most vulnerable to disaster risk and natural hazards; we experience an average of 20 tropical cyclones each year and other climatic and extreme weather aberrations such as the El Niño phenomenon. These disasters strain government funds, with an average of P15 billion in annual direct damages. More adversely, this hampers the government’s poverty reduction efforts.
To mitigate the effects of climate change and to ensure the effective implementation of disaster risk reduction, the government has put in place interventions to reverse environmental degradation and to improve the resiliency of local communities.
At the core of these interventions is the National Climate Change Action Plan and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan, which were established to systematically integrate the various disaster risk management and climate change adaptation activities, coordination, and financing mechanisms of the government.
