KEY INSIGHTS
The Asia-Pacific region faces some of the most destructive natural disasters with typhoons, earthquakes, and floods, disrupting critical infrastructure, transportation networks, and supply chains. Combined with this is the rapid urbanization and uneven disaster preparedness which has elevated operational and travel risks across key business hubs. For companies operating in the region, this underscores the need for stronger resilience measures, diversified logistics, and adaptive crisis planning to safeguard personnel, assets, and continuity amid increasingly unpredictable environmental shocks.
KEY EVENTS
November 2025: Typhoon Kalmaegi struck the central Philippines, triggering severe flooding across Cebu province and prompting the government to declare a state of emergency. As of the date of this report, the typhoon has claimed more than 190 lives.
October 2025: Tropical storm Fengshen struck the Philippines and made landfall in southern Luzon, killing eight. Up to 27,000 people were evacuated.
September 2025: Torrential rains caused flooding on the tourist island of Bali, Indonesia where infrastructure, airport access and tourism were disrupted. At least 19 people were confirmed dead.
August 2025: Typhoon Kajiki struck Vietnam’s north-central coast, causing at least eight deaths, over 7,000 homes damaged, nearly 28,800 ha of rice fields flooded, and large-scale power outages.
March 2025: A magnitude 7.7 earthquake occurred in Myanmar causing widespread damage. Over 3,500 people were killed and 5,000 were injured.
ANALYSIS
The Asia-Pacific region has experienced a significant rise in high-impact natural disasters throughout 2025. This has led to acute disruptions to transportation networks, power supply, and production activity presenting real challenges to corporate operations and regional supply chains. Prolonged airport and port closures, damaged industrial areas, and unpredictable road conditions have interrupted movement of goods and personnel. Power outages and communication breakdowns have further compounded operational risk, often forcing companies to halt production or activate contingency sites.
Given these recent natural disasters, corporate travelers almost certainly must take into consideration short notice flight delays, overwhelmed medical facilities, and disruption to accommodation or communications networks. In highly integrated regional supply chains, even temporary shutdowns can spread through multiple tiers of suppliers. As climate-linked disruptions become more frequent, firms with exposure to the Asia-Pacific are likely to reassess location strategies, diversify supply routes, and reinforce their crisis management frameworks.
OUTLOOK AND RECOMMENDATIONS
We assess the outlook for the Asia-Pacific region’s disaster and climate risk profile will remain high. Although climate patterns are unpredictable, the region is prone to climate disasters and rapid urbanization, aging infrastructure, and uneven national disaster preparedness will almost certainly lead to a higher probability of disruptions to travel and logistics across key economic countries such as the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, and China.
We encourage business travelers, NGOs, and multinational corporations operating across the Asia-Pacific to consider the following risk mitigation strategies:
- Keep up to date regularly: Integrate real-time alerts from trusted meteorological agencies, local authorities, and global tracking platforms into travel and logistics planning.
- Strengthen business continuity frameworks: Develop flexible operational plans such as alternate transport routes, backup power and data facilities.
- Coordinate with local authorities and partners: Maintain strong liaison with local government emergency agencies, airports, and infrastructure operators.
- Review insurance and risk-transfer mechanisms: Verify property, business interruption, and travel policies adequately cover disruptions related to natural disaster events.
- Plan for supply-chain resilience: Map critical suppliers in high-risk zones and pre-arrange alternative sourcing or logistics routes.
Authored by: Daniel Ratna
