Southeast Asia is one of the nations most susceptible to natural disasters, but a new analysis released on Thursday ( Aug 15 ) reveals that its citizens also feel the most prepared to deal with them.
It seems reasonable that the countries in and around the Pacific Ring of Fire, prone to earthquakes, typhoons, wind surges and various dangers, are also the best ready, but the review by Gallup for the Lloyd’s Register Foundation shows that’s not always the situation in different regions.
” Frequent exposure to hazard is n’t the only factor that determines how prepared people feel”, Benedict Vigers, a research consultant with Gallup, told The Associated Press.
The review found the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has played a vital role in disaster risk reduction, and Vigers said the state’s wider strategy includes popular and successful early-warning systems, scaled-up neighborhood approaches and local cooperation, and excellent access to disaster finance.
” Southeast Asia’s great coverage to disasters, its somewhat high levels of resilience- from specific people to general culture, and the region’s approach to- and investment into- disaster risk management more broadly,” he said.
In comparison, 36 % of people in Southern Asia said they had experienced a similar number of natural disasters in the past five years, while 44 % of those surveyed in Southeast Asia said the same. However, 49 % and 29 % of Southern Asians felt less prepared, while 49 % and 29 % of Southeast Asians thought they were among the best and 62 % had emergency plans.
Respondents from North America, which is significantly less prone to disasters than Southeast Asia, reported feeling a little less prepared, while those from Northern and Western Europe were in the middle of the pack.