Typhoons like Haiyan are the new normal: So when will leaders start taking disaster preparedness seriously?

"Governments and aid agencies large and small need to embrace this approach, as the post-2015 development agenda is being shaped. Now is the time to significantly shift the balance of climate finance - which helps poor countries adapt - and aid finance, from relief to prevention. Disaster risk reduction must be embedded into all aid programmes. This can save money, as well as lives.," writes Dr Mohamed Asmawey, Chief Executive Officer, Islamic Relief Worldwide on the pages of Huffington Post.

Mr Asmawey concludes that "Decisive action is needed now, to prevent the world's most vulnerable people - in the Philippines and elsewhere - from paying such a heavy a price for global climate change. We owe it to the world's poorest people to take decisive action to help them prepare for the worst, rather than standing by and hoping for the best."