Risk assessment and mitigation measures for natural- and conflict-related hazards in Asia-Pacific

The report assesses the risk of earthquakes, floods, tropical cyclones, landslides, droughts, tsunamis, and civil conflict in the Asia-Pacific region. It employs a semi-quantitative approach to map hazard hotspots and estimate exposed populations, using the latter as a proxy for risk due to data limitations on mortality. The study introduces a 'coping capacity' index to evaluate national institutional ability to manage disasters. Key findings highlight that Bangladesh and the Philippines face the highest overall risk, while the region's high population density in hazard-prone areas exacerbates potential losses. The report also notes a strong correlation between natural disasters and armed conflict, suggesting that improving disaster preparedness can simultaneously mitigate conflict hazards by enhancing state service delivery in marginalized areas.

• Asia experienced two-thirds of total global mortality due to natural hazards between 1980 and 2000.
• The Asia-Pacific region accounts for nearly half of the world's ongoing armed intrastate conflicts, with Asian countries representing one-third of all battle-related casualties over the last 25 years.
• Bangladesh and the Philippines are ranked as the highest-risk countries in the region across two different weighting scenarios for the Risk Index.
• The risk from earthquakes in Asian megacities is significantly higher than all other natural hazards combined.
• River flooding affects over 48 million people annually in rural Asia-Pacific, with 40% of those affected located in Bangladesh and 32% in India.
• Tsunami hazard is most severe in Indonesia, with anticipated wave heights between 5 and 20 meters over large parts of the country.
• Conflict hazard in the region is heavily driven by a country's previous involvement in conflict, with the top eight most at-risk countries having a probability of conflict more than ten times higher than the next country.
• There is a reciprocal relationship where natural disasters can trigger or exacerbate armed conflict, and conversely, armed conflict increases societal vulnerability to natural disasters.
• Coping capacity is defined as the 'institutional coping capacity' to protect and support communities, measured across four policy fields: risk assessment and communication, risk mitigation, disaster preparedness, and recovery enhancement.
• The report recommends a three-pillar approach to risk reduction: identifying and quantifying risk areas, implementing structural and non-structural mitigation (including early warning systems), and strengthening national coping capacity.

APA

Peace Research Institute Oslo (2009). Risk assessment and mitigation measures for natural- and conflict-related hazards in Asia-Pacific. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/5e07f9ee-9435-4f89-8cac-f5b50429dabe/Risk Assessment and Mitigation Measures for Natural and Conflict-Related Hazards in Asia-Pacific.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Peace Research Institute Oslo. Risk assessment and mitigation measures for natural- and conflict-related hazards in Asia-Pacific. 2009. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/5e07f9ee-9435-4f89-8cac-f5b50429dabe/Risk Assessment and Mitigation Measures for Natural and Conflict-Related Hazards in Asia-Pacific.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Peace Research Institute Oslo |title=Risk assessment and mitigation measures for natural- and conflict-related hazards in Asia-Pacific |date=23 April 2009 |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/5e07f9ee-9435-4f89-8cac-f5b50429dabe/Risk Assessment and Mitigation Measures for Natural and Conflict-Related Hazards in Asia-Pacific.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{peaceresearchinstituteoslo2009risk, author = {{Peace Research Institute Oslo}}, title = {{Risk assessment and mitigation measures for natural- and conflict-related hazards in Asia-Pacific}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2009}, month = apr, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/5e07f9ee-9435-4f89-8cac-f5b50429dabe/Risk Assessment and Mitigation Measures for Natural and Conflict-Related Hazards in Asia-Pacific.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }