13 February 2015: The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) hosted a meeting during which representatives from 17 countries agreed to work together to build resilience to hydro-meteorological disasters through enhanced regional cooperation, and to share knowledge, review scientific and technological advances, and identify gaps across the region. The joint session of the ESCAP/World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Typhoon Committee (TC) and the WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones (PTC) was the first time the two groups met jointly in 18 years.

Meeting on 13 February 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand, participants, including experts in meteorology, hydrology and disaster risk reduction (DRR), agreed to: implement collective operating plans for 2015; enhance cooperation between the TC and PTC through a set of measures; and assist least developed countries (LDCs) at high risk of hydro-meteorological disasters. The measures include joint projects, information sharing, opportunities to share second-generation meteorological satellite products, state-of-the-art modeling solutions, advanced scientific research and analysis, and training activities. TC and PTC members will work together to: enhance the forecasting of tropical cyclones, typhoons, flash floods and landslides; and integrate activities in meteorology, hydrology and DRR in order to strengthen early warning systems.

The TC is an intergovernmental body organized under the auspices of ESCAP and WMO in 1968 to promote and coordinate the planning and implementation of measures with the aim of limiting the loss of life and damage caused by typhoons in Asia and the Pacific. The PTC was established in 1973 to improve and coordinate programmes and measures of disaster prevention in the Northern Indian Ocean rim countries. [ESCAP Press Release] [Joint TC/PTC Session Webpage] [TC Webpage]