PHL still most disaster-prone nation

The Philippines kept its title as the world’s most disaster-prone nation for a 21^st straight year, with typhoons and floods battering communities while billions of pesos meant to protect them vanish in graft scandals.

The Southeast Asian country posted a risk score of 46.56 in the 2025 WorldRiskIndex, unchanged from last year but still ahead of 192 other nations. India ranked second, followed by Indonesia, Colombia, and Mexico, according to the study released on Wednesday by Germany’s Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft and Ruhr University Bochum.

The index weighs exposure to disasters such as cyclones, floods, and earthquakes alongside vulnerability indicators like poverty, inequality, and health systems. A score of 100 signals extreme risk.

The Philippines faces a broad spectrum of hazards, but river and coastal flooding remain the most significant threats, according to the report.

The ranking highlights how climate change continues to hit the archipelago, which is lashed by about 20 tropical storms each year. The latest assessment comes as the country braces for Tropical Storm Opong, days after Super Typhoon Nando — internationally named Ragasa — plowed through Luzon.

At the same time, government flood control programs are collapsing under the weight of corruption scandals. A sweeping investigation this year exposed widespread misuse of funds, forcing the removal of P255 billion ($4.4 billion) worth of projects from the proposed 2026 national budget. Flood control allocations were cut to zero.

“One problem that has become obvious is that the needed infrastructures like flood control projects are not being built because of corruption,” Maria Ela L. Atienza, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines, said in a Viber message. There seems to be more focus on relief rather than disaster prevention, she added.

China, Mexico and Japan led in disaster exposure, but the Philippines still placed fourth globally with a score of 39.99. The country also ranked “very high” in vulnerability (54.2) and coping capacity (58.54), underscoring weak infrastructure and strained social systems.

Provinces most at risk of flooding included Cagayan, Agusan del Norte, Pangasinan, Pampanga, Maguindanao and Metro Manila, each scoring above 82% in exposure. By contrast, Marinduque, Laguna, Batanes, Sarangani and Dinagat Islands had low flood exposure.

Metro Manila’s flood risk has been worsened by “soil sealing,” where rapid urbanization covers natural surfaces with concrete, preventing water absorption.

The capital sits on a low-lying river plain intersected by the Pasig River and a dense canal network. Laguna, meanwhile, benefits from hilly terrain and the buffering capacity of Laguna de Bay, which absorbs excess water.

GOVERNMENT FAILURES

The Philippines’ top ranking reflects governance failures more than geography, analysts said.

“Risks have skyrocketed because of the fact that public spending on risk management through flood controls and climate change was substandard to nonexistent,” John Paolo R. Rivera, a senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, said in a Viber message. “Politicians and their cahoots decided to be greedy.”

Despite disaster-related laws and international financing for resilience, spending has skewed toward emergency relief. Manila regularly deploys military and civilian assets for typhoon response, but falls short in long-term prevention such as drainage systems, retention basins, and reforestation.

Ms. Atienza said development plans at the local and national levels should be balanced with effective disaster-risk management.

“Big infrastructures like airports and highways as well as commercial establishments and housing projects should not destroy the environment and cause dangers to people or make areas more disaster-prone,” she added. 

Disaster risk is increasingly shaped by social inequality and weak institutions, even in developed economies, according to the report. In Africa, almost 80% of the continent is classified as high- or very high-risk, while Asia and the Americas remain hotspots.

China, with a risk score of 30.62, ranked eighth overall, while the US did not make the top 10. Globally, the gap between disaster exposure and coping capacities has widened as governments struggle to finance prevention.

The Philippines’ risk score, while slightly lower than last year, remains stubbornly high despite decades of donor-backed disaster management programs. Manila has passed multiple disaster laws, created a national council and tapped international climate finance, but implementation has lagged.

The costs are rising. Super Typhoon Nando caused billions of pesos in damage to agriculture and infrastructure this month, compounding fiscal stress as the government pushes higher social spending and grapples with debt exceeding 60% of GDP.

With flood control funds scrapped in the 2026 budget, analysts said the Philippines risks more economic and human losses.

“The current challenges in flood risk management require a fundamental rethinking of disaster preparation,” according to the 2025 report, noting that extreme weather events are not only increasing in frequency, but are also increasingly exceeding the capacities of existing protection systems.

“At the same time, practical examples from various regions of the world show that successful coping strategies are based on the interplay of several factors: technological innovation, local capacity for action, and ecological resilience,” it added. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante, Reporter