Asia 'needs to learn' lessons of disasters' - ADPC director

"The death toll of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan is high despite the country being well prepared for natural disasters. This means we have to learn more about disaster preparedness if we want the Asia-Pacific region to be a safer place," Bhichit Rattakul, executive director of the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) told a seminar on disaster risk reduction on Wednesday.

"We still have limited resources, especially the knowledge and expertise to systematically and effectively handle large-scale disasters. It is important that effective disaster risk reduction practices be in tune with the fostering of a disaster safety culture in every part of society," Mr Abhisit said.