IndiaPost.com - Threat of terrorism could trigger disasters: PM

NEW DELHI: Cautioning that threat of terrorism could trigger disasters across borders, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said modern societies should join hands to deal with man-made disasters including terror attacks.

"The threat of terrorism looms large in our region and could trigger disasters across borders," he said inaugurating the Second Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction here.

Observing that the focus need not be limited to natural disasters alone, Singh said modern societies must also prepare to come together to deal with man-made disasters, be they industrial disasters or disasters caused by terror attacks.

"We must also learn to deal with new kinds of health disasters, such as Avian Flu, which have emerged as new challenges," Singh told the global meet also attended by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

Gandhi strongly advocated "proactive" policies as part of long term measures and permanent solutions to anticipate the destructive power of disasters and minimize their effect. Home Minister Shivraj Patil suggested intensive research and development to manage disasters and said contingency plans to help people should be kept ready.

Nearly 500 delegates from over 50 countries are attended the two-day conference to review initiatives in various sub-regions of Asia, considered as the most disaster-prone continent. The Prime Minister said since disasters had "enormous social and economic consequences", there was need for improved methodologies for risk reduction, insurance and mitigation.

Observing that the "catastrophic effect" of global warming and climate change could be the "biggest disaster", he said it could still be prevented from happening. "Whereas we have only nature to blame for natural disasters, we cannot say the same for man-made ones. And the actions of one nation can affect many other nations," he said.

The Prime Minister hoped that the countries in the region would show the same wisdom and cooperative spirit in dealing with man-made disasters as they showed in dealing with natural disasters. Describing the effort in creating a Tsunami Early Warning System as a good example of regional cooperation, he hoped that it should be sustained and replicated in other areas of disaster management.

Citing the popular saying that 'a stitch in time, saves nine', he said small investments in improving the safety of houses could go a long way in reducing the risk of damage to life and property during earthquakes.

Advocating a community-based approach to deal with disasters, Singh said it can help in dealing with "panic, rumour-mongering" and provide immediate relief to victims. In risk reduction, he said, such an approach can have positive results.

The Prime Minister said risk reduction should be based on "pro-active, pre-emptive action, typically small investments in improving the safety of houses.

Noting that India had adopted a "forward-looking" approach to disaster management, he said there was a paradigm shift in the country's approach as it is "moving away from a relief centric post-event approach to a holistic, integrated and preventive approach".

The Prime Minister also urged financial institutions to be more proactive in insuring risk-prone areas.