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He referred to the 9/11 terror strikes in the US, the attack on Parliament, the recent Bali bombings and the Moscow theatre hostage drama and said 'each of these incidents have severely stressed the disaster management capabilities of the countries involved'.
He called for greater regional cooperation at political, operational and scientific levels to deal with such situations, while inaugurating a seminar on 'Regional Cooperation for Disaster Reduction' on Tuesday, coinciding with the third anniversary of the Orissa super-cyclone.
He said time had come to develop a SAARC disaster management forum.
He said the Indian government was taking steps to place a comprehensive disaster management mechanism in the next few years.
This mechanism would involve a multidisciplinary body, including officials from all concerned departments, non-governmental organisations and experts, he said.
He also stressed the need for pro-active and pre-emptive efforts to reduce the sufferings of the people, emphasising the need to identify and determine the 'initiatives required for comprehensive disaster mitigation'.
Advani, however, said the disasters may also give people an opportunity to develop the affected areas in a better manner, giving the examples of Surat, which embarked on a cleanliness drive after the plague epidemic, and post-World War II Europe.
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