Asia and the Pacific is the most disaster prone region of the world, according to Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, the head of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

She says that almost two million people were killed by disasters in this region between 1970 and 2011 representing 75% of people who were killed in global disasters.

Dr. Noeleen Heyzer adds that in 2011 alone, the economic damages and losses from disasters in the region totalled more than US 293 billion.

She participated in the Ministerial Roundtable on Building Resilience to Natural Disasters and Major Economic Crises held in Bangkok, Thailand on Wednesday.

Beng Poblete-Enriquez reports.

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