Disaster risk reduction work carried out since the Boxing Day Tsunami would save thousands of lives if the waves hit again today, but the Australian Government’s cuts to foreign aid pose a risk to future work on disaster preparation in our region.
Oxfam is prepared for a major disaster response in the Philippines after Cyclone Hagupit was upgraded to a Super Typhoon – the same classification as Typhoon Haiyan – which wrought destruction on the country a year ago.
Natural disasters have been costing Asia approximately $60 billion a year for the past two decades, and yet governments around the region have still not adequately prioritised disaster risk reduction, according to a report released by Oxfam ahead of the first anniversary of super-typhoon Haiyan.