Being one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, the Philippines have long experiences in
dealing with, responding to and managing disasters. Since the 1970s the country has shifted its
approach from disaster preparedness and response to disaster management in the 1980s to disaster risk
management in the 1990s and disaster risk reduction in the years 2005 and beyond. This evolution
paved the way to the paradigm shift in the way people, communities and governments think, act and
respond to the current and emerging risks that continually face them.
