Storms may have already cost the economy nearly a trillion pesos in the last three decades, according to a study conducted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
In the report titled Disaster Resilience in Asia, the Manila-based multilateral development bank said storms cost the country some $20 billion between 1990 and 2020.
This includes Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in 2013 which killed 7,354 Filipinos and is deemed one of the 10 deadliest disasters in the region.
“Storms in the Philippines can reduce local economic activity in the year that it occurs by 1.7 percent on average. In the most severe cases, losses can be as high as 23 percent,” ADB said.
The report stated that between 2000 and 2020, disasters caused by natural hazards claimed at least 36,000 lives annually in developing Asia, more than half of fatalities globally.
ADB said for every five people affected by these disasters worldwide, four were from developing Asia. Further, more than a fourth of the annual global average of $135 billion was accounted for by the region.
“The effects of disasters are often local and short term, but as a previous ADB study shows, they can creep into other locations and continue for a long time,” the report stated.
“Those burdened most from these impacts are the poor, the marginalized, and the isolated. Without preventive action, the havoc wreaked from the most severe disasters remain not just life-threatening, but also poverty-inducing,” it added.
The report, however, stated that the local effects of these kinds of disasters are short-lived because households evacuate affected areas.
ADB said a study on floods in the Philippines showed the economic impact of these disasters lasted up to a year or less.
It added that massive floods in urban areas can reduce gross domestic product (GDP) by two percent up to as much as eight percent annually.
This means, ADB said, the response to these disasters should be reformed in order to speed up the recovery of these areas.
For one, the report stated that the rapid restoration of livelihoods and other economic activities should not be viewed as disaster resilience.
This is needed, especially in light of climate change, which is expected to only worsen the impact of disasters, especially in vulnerable locations.
“If nothing further is done except the restoration of activity, returning to these affected areas simply means placing the same populations and assets back in the path of disasters,” ADB said.
Climate change is one of the priorities of ADB. In May, ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa said the bank will commit to increase the share of its funding support for climate adaptation and mitigation.
Asakawa said ADB has committed to increase the share of ADF 13 financing for climate adaptation and mitigation to at least account for 35 percent in volume, and at least 65 percent of committed ADF 13 operations in a number of projects will support climate mitigation and adaptation by 2024.
The ADB also said that by 2030, 75 percent of the total number of ADB’s operations will support climate action, while climate finance from ADB’s own resources will reach $80 billion cumulatively.
The bank also commits to assist its developing member countries to achieve their Paris Agreement commitments while charting a fair and equitable path to net zero. 30