In a recent international appraisal of countries that are prone to natural calamities, our country emerged on top as the most disaster-prone nation on earth due to its high risk, vulnerability, and exposure to disasters. This is bad news to our ailing economy amid global inflation, soaring US dollar value, and the ongoing war in Europe that affects oil supply and prices.
It is not just hearsay or a product of baseless rumors. This was reported by the World Risk Index, a part of the annual risk report responsible for calculating the disaster risk for 193 countries. According to its report, the Philippines has the highest disaster risk, with an index score of 46.82, trailed by India with an index score of 42.31.
This is taken from the top ten countries with the highest disaster risk ranking. Accordingly, the risk assessment is based on the general notion that the emergence of disaster not just depends on how severely natural disasters hit a society but also on how vulnerable society is to their effects, “as a result of extreme events and adverse impacts of climate change.”
In reality, even without this report, we can tell that our country is indeed prone to frequent and devastating calamities. In fact, it’s one of the potential destroyers of our economy. Before people in devastated areas can recover from a destructive disaster, another one brings similar or even worse devastation than the previous one.
Eventually, our economy keeps on starting all over again, sometimes from scratch just because a series of devastations come. Other countries do not have that, hence their stable infrastructures and production in many areas. Perhaps, that’s what we get for fronting the Pacific Ocean, for being isolated from mainland Asia.
