Executive summary
In the context of the Asia Pacific zone's demographic, socio-economic and environmental trends, the East Asia region is at high risk from a wide range of disasters and health emergencies.
There are five nations within the East Asia region: China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the Republic of Korea (RoK), Mongolia and Japan. The countries in the region are plagued with both the threat of major earthquakes and flooding, which recently has intensified caused by changing climate and typhoons, and the high population density in the region accounts for a large portion of the world's disaster statistics.
Many East Asia populations are unable to recover quickly as poverty is still prominent in the region, with many populations left vulnerable to recurring disasters and the spread of disease. Migrant urban populations from impoverished or disaster stricken rural areas further complicate the social and economic structure of the countries, and make disaster relief or health promotion efforts of humanitarian organizations such as the Red Cross increasingly challenging.
