Urban disasters spotlight strain on Asian cities

"Many Asian cities are "lagging behind in infrastructure provision, whether we talk about sewers, roads or electricity supplies," told Professor Sun Sheng Han, an urban planning expert at Australia's University of Melbourn told the Economic Times.

Asia’s major cities experience rapid urbanization, but they often lack strategic planning, investment in infrastructure, maintenance of drainage systems and water management, and thus they are increasingly vulnerable to climate change induced extreme weather events, such as the flood of Manila last week, according to experts.