ARMOR 1st Edition - Bridging Science and Decision Making

Southeast Asia is a diverse region with interconnected communities constantly facing risks related to varying hazards. In 2018, the combined nominal GDP of Southeast Asian countries ranked fifth globally, amounting to USD 2.89 trillion. However, due to the constant risk of natural hazards, the region’s exposed capital stocks amount to USD 8.35 trillion, or three times its combined economy. A catastrophic disaster in the region would certainly push the ASEAN region’s Member States back in their tracks. In order to reduce disaster impact and risk, overall understanding of disaster risk – including all of its dimensions of vulnerability, capacity, exposure of persons and assets, hazard characteristics, and environment – is important for decision-makers, policy-makers, and the general community to plan initiatives aimed at improving resiliency. This paper explores two risk scores, INFORM and RVA, to determine the risk level of each ASEAN Member State. The risk score described is a simplistic and “big picture” view of the reality. Users of these scores should be aware of the method’s limitations, and remember that real humanitarian risk is a complex and multidimensional issue, which may not be completely characterised by numbers or indicators alone