An evaluation of availability and adequacy of Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems in Asian countries: A baseline study

• Main Authors: Aguirre-Ayerbe, Ignacio, Merino, Maria, Aye, Seinn Lei, Dissanayake, Ranjith, Shadiya, Fathmath, Lopez, Crisanto M
• Format: text
• Published: Archīum Ateneo 2020
• Subjects: Multihazard early warning systems; Disaster risk reduction; Biology; Emergency and Disaster Management
• Online Access: https://archium.ateneo.edu/biology-faculty-pubs/74; https://archium.ateneo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1076&context=biology-faculty-pubs
• Institution: Ateneo De Manila University

Early warning systems are widely considered as one of the more important aspects to reduce the impacts and consequences that hazardous natural events pose to societies. Similar to the other terms related to disaster risk reduction, this concept has evolved over time to eventually result in a comprehensive framework, that includes features from the upstream phase, such as detection and forecasting tools and models, to the downstream phase that considers a people-centred approach. Based on this holistic conceptual framework, this paper attempts to assess the degree of adequacy and integration of early warning systems with reference to international standards using a multi-hazard perspective. The study is focused on the following Asian countries: the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and the Philippines. Results obtained provide an inventory of existing approaches and systems, showing common backgrounds and consistencies in their conceptualisation. In addition, the findings of this study highlight the strengths and weaknesses of Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems in each country considering their technical, legal, and socio-economic complexities. These findings are intended to support target countries to improve the availability and effectiveness of their warning systems.