The Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction is underway in Manila. Nearly 7,000 delegates from around the globe are attending the meeting.

The five-day event opened on Monday, in partnership with the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. The event this year seeks to review the implementation of the Sendai Framework. It targets a "substantial reduction of disaster risks and losses in lives" by 2030 in the Asia-Pacific, which is deemed the world's most disaster-prone region.

The UN Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction Kamal Kishore said: "Disasters are now affecting record numbers of people and threatening their lives and livelihoods. Left unchecked, these disaster risks threaten to derail the development aspirations of the Asia-Pacific region and push back progress that has taken decades to achieve."

The UN official also said the world must work to achieve the Sendai Framework as countries in the Asia-Pacific have been facing unprecedented challenges of more frequent and intense disasters in recent years.