KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 2 — A series of deadly floods across South and Southeast Asia in late November has highlighted the growing risk of compound disasters, or multiple disasters striking in close succession.
According to financial firm BMI’s latest Environmental, Social, and Governance Country Weekly Digest, compound disasters will occur more frequently and inflict greater damage in the coming years.
“Based on BMI’s proprietary physical climate risk data, populations in Southeast Asia have some of the largest shares of people living in areas that are at risk of floods, including around 20 per cent each in Indonesia and Malaysia, and around 15 per cent in Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka,” it said in the report, titled 'Floods in Asia Highlight Growing Risk of Compound Disasters'.
BMI added that the proportion is rising, driven by global warming and population growth in vulnerable zones.
Between 2020 and 2024, the share of the population at risk increased by nearly four percentage points in Singapore and by about one percentage point in Malaysia, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka, compared to the previous decade.
Meanwhile, an estimated additional 1.2 million people in Indonesia are at risk of flooding in the 2020s compared with the 2010s.
It said the key economic assets are also increasingly at risk. Many airports, roads, and railways in the region are located in or near frequently flooded areas, causing recurrent disruptions, including at major tourist and commercial gateways.
"This includes many tourist hubs, such as Indonesia’s international airport in Denpasar (Bali), and the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, which serves Jakarta," BMI said.
It also noted that croplands are likewise facing greater inundation, with the impact of heavy rains compounded by deforestation, which accelerates soil erosion, landslides and runoff, raising the risk of food supply shocks.
A sequence of powerful cyclones and abnormally heavy monsoon rains in late November triggered large-scale floods and landslides across the region, killing over 1,300 people.
The damage was particularly severe in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, forcing all three governments to deploy the military to assist with relief efforts.
BMI said the extreme weather was amplified by La Nina conditions and the negative phase of the Indian Ocean Dipole, both of which are associated with above-average rainfall in Southeast Asia.
“Local factors such as large-scale deforestation in Indonesia and the slow operation of some flood barriers in Thailand also exacerbated the impacts of the floods,” it said.
