Asian Nations to Meet in Vietnam to Seek Ways to Reduce Disaster Risks

Representatives from Vietnam and several Asian countries will attend a regional conference on disaster risk reduction and early warning system in Hanoi on July 25-26. The participants include non-governmental organizations and researchers from India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Philippine, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The event, as part of a Denmark-funded project implemented by the Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), aims to promote information dissemination to provide early warning and mitigate potential damages of natural disasters. Participants will discuss measures to strengthen cooperation among media agencies in providing news on natural disasters and early warnings. Vietnam is one of the ten countries most vulnerable to natural disasters, particularly tropical storms, floods, landslides and droughts. The country is forecast to suffer five to six typhoons per year. Vietnam lost 1%-1.5% of its GDP to natural disasters each year over the last 20 years. The country ranked fifth globally in terms of overall material losses and mortality from climatic disasters in the 1990-2009 period. (vov.vn July 22)