Political inaction,
poor decisions and bad management are more to blame than nature for the
humanitarian effects of disasters, Oxfam claims in a report.
The region is vulnerable to floods, cyclones, droughts and earthquakes.
Oxfam notes 12 times as many people died in the Kashmir quake in 2005
as in a comparable Japanese tremor in 1995.
The charity says there has been some progress, but warns that more
needs to be done as climate change makes the region even more
vulnerable.
The UK government said it agreed with Oxfam's argument that disaster
preparation saves lives.
Consequently, the Department for International Development said, the UK
was helping to build stronger houses and bridges in Pakistan and
funding a tsunami early warning system in South Asia.
Priority issue
The effects of the disasters can be massive. Last year's floods in
Bangladesh, India and Nepal affected 30 million people.
The Kashmir quake killed 75,000 people. Japan's death toll from the
1995 Kobe earthquake was so much lower because it is wealthier and
better organised, Oxfam notes.
Such disasters are holding South Asia back economically, it reports,
with damage costing about 6% of regional GDP every year.
But things can be turned around, the agency argues.
It praises Bangladesh for its early warning system and network of
cyclone shelters which saved the lives of thousands last November, when
Cyclone Sidr hit the coast.
"The right policies and preparations can save lives and money - our
experience shows that preparedness costs a fraction of what a disaster
response can cost," said Oxfam's regional director for South Asia,
Ashvin Dayal.
"The problem is that governments and donors do not prioritise these
preventative measures."
Oxfam argued that much more needed to be done, saying climate change
made even more regions and people vulnerable to extreme events.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7339897.stm
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