S Asian crises blamed on leaders

Government failures across South Asia are the key factor that can turn natural disasters into humanitarian crises, a UK-based aid agency says.

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.

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