Asia-Pacific needs disaster warning systems to counter rising climate change risks, report says
abcnews.go.comA United Nations report says the Asia-Pacific region needs to drastically increase its investments in disaster warning systems and other tools to counter rising risks from climate change
BANGKOK — Countries in the Asia-Pacific region need to drastically increase their investments in disaster warning systems and other tools to counter rising risks from climate change, a United Nations report said Tuesday.
The report by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, or ESCAP, says nearly $145 billion is needed to set up systems to minimize deaths and damage from floods, earthquakes, drought and other disasters.
Artificial intelligence, satellites, remote sensing and other technologies would help with forecasting, notifying the public during emergencies and providing other services, but telecommunications systems must be fortified to ensure that vulnerable communities get the information, the report states.
Most countries have failed to spend even 10% of what is needed, according to the commission's review, which was released to mark the U.N.’s Disaster Resilience Week.
The U.N. has set a goal of having every person on Earth covered by early warning systems by 2027, yet half of all countries lack such systems and even fewer have ones that are linked to emergency planning, Doreen Bogdan-Martin, head of the International Telecommunications Union, said in a video message on Twitter.
She noted that countries that have put early warning systems in place, such as India and Bangladesh, which faces severe threats from devastating tropical storms, can save thousands of lives and drastically reduce damage by giving people enough time to escape and potentially salvage their properties.
Countries lacking adequate
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