MANILA: In a library in the Philippines, a dice rattles on the surface of a board before coming to a stop, putting one of its players straight into the path of a powerful typhoon.
The teenagers huddled around the table leap into action, shouting instructions and acting out the correct strategies for just one of the potential catastrophes laid out in the board game called Master of Disaster.
With fewer than half of Filipinos estimated to have undertaken disaster drills or to own a first-aid kit, the game aims to boost lagging preparedness in a country ranked the most disaster-prone on earth for four years running.
“(It) features disasters we’ve been experiencing in real life for the past few months and years,” 17-year-old Ansherina Agasen told AFP, noting that flooding routinely upends life in her hometown of Valenzuela, north of Manila.
Sitting in the arc of intense seismic activity called the “Pacific Ring of Fire,” the Philippines endures daily earthquakes and is hit by an average of 20 typhoons each year.
In November, back-to-back typhoons drove flooding that killed nearly 300 people in the archipelago nation, while a 6.9-magnitude quake in late September toppled buildings and killed 79 people around the city of Cebu.
“We realized that a lot of loss of lives and destruction of property could have been avoided if people knew about basic concepts related to disaster preparedness,” Francis Macatulad, one of the game’s developers, told AFP of its inception.
The Asia Society for Social Improvement and Sustainable Transformation (ASSIST), where Macatulad heads business development, first dreamt up the game in 2013, after Super Typhoon Haiyan ravaged the central Philippines and left thousands dead.
Launched six years later, Master of Disaster has been updated this year to address more events exacerbated by human-driven climate change, such as landslides, drought and heatwaves.
More than 10,000 editions of the game, aimed at players as young as nine years old, have been distributed across the archipelago nation.
“The youth are very essential in creating this disaster resiliency mindset,” Macatulad said.
‘Keeps on getting worse’
While the Philippines has introduced disaster readiness training into its K-12 curriculum, Master of Disaster is providing a jolt of innovation, Bianca Canlas of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) told AFP.
“It’s important that it’s tactile, something that can be touched and can be seen by the eyes of the youth so they can have engagement with each other,” she said of the game.
Players roll a dice to move their pawns across the board, with each landing spot corresponding to cards containing questions or instructions to act out disaster-specific responses.
When a player is unable to fulfil a task, another can “save” them and receive a “hero token” — tallied at the end to determine a winner.
At least 27,500 deaths and economic losses of $35 billion have been attributed to extreme weather events in the past two decades, according to the 2026 Climate Risk Index.
“It just keeps on getting worse,” Canlas said, noting the lives lost in recent months.
The government is now determining if it will throw its weight behind the distribution of the game, with the sessions in Valenzuela City serving as a pilot to assess whether players find it engaging and informative.
While conceding the evidence was so far anecdotal, ASSIST’s Macatulad said he believed the game was bringing a “significant” improvement in its players’ disaster preparedness knowledge.
“Disaster is not picky. It affects from north to south. So we would like to expand this further,” Macatulad said, adding that poor communities “most vulnerable to the effects of climate change” were the priority.
“Disasters can happen to anyone,” Agasen, the teen, told AFP as the game broke up.
“As a young person, I can share the knowledge I’ve gained... with my classmates at school, with people at home, and those I’ll meet in the future.”
Filipinos master disaster readiness, one roll of the dice at a time
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Filipinos master disaster readiness, one roll of the dice at a time
- In a library in the Philippines, a dice rattles on the surface of a board before coming to a stop, putting one of its players straight into the path of a powerful typhoon
Thai coffee chains cut default sugar content in coffee and tea drinks in a new health push
- The Health Department says Thais consume 21 teaspoons of sugar daily, far exceeding the World Health Organization’s recommended six teaspoons
- Officials warn this increases obesity and diabetes risks. A survey found iced coffee and bubble tea contain high sugar levels
BANGKOK: For many Thais, a meal doesn’t feel complete without an iced coffee or tea so sugary it could pass for dessert. The government, concerned about the health consequences, wants them to dial it back.
Starting Wednesday, nine major coffee chains across the country have pledged to cut the default sugar content in some of their drinks by half in a government initiative aimed at tackling excessive sugar consumption.
According to the Health Department, Thais consume an average of 21 teaspoons of sugar per day, more than three times the World Health Organization’s recommended limit of six teaspoons. Health officials warn that such high intake increases the risk of obesity, diabetes and other diseases.
The initiative is the first significant step to change consumers’ sugar consumption behavior, said Amporn Benjaponpitak, the director general of the department.
Pakorn Tungkasereerak, the department’s deputy, said 2025 data show that about 45 percent of Thais aged 15 and older are obese, while 10 percent of the population has diabetes.
A survey by the Bureau of Nutrition found that a 22-ounce (650-milliliter) iced coffee contains an average of nine teaspoons of sugar, while a 10-ounce (300-milliliter) serving of bubble milk tea — an iced milk tea with tapioca pearls known as boba — can contain as much as 12 teaspoons.
Sirinya Kuiklang, an office worker, said she approves of the changes. She already orders her drinks at just 25 percent of the standard sugar level, but she is aware that many others consume too much sugar.
“It’s good for Thai people,” she said.
Another office worker, Porwares Tantikanpanit, said he has enjoyed his non-coffee beverages at their current sugar levels but is willing to adjust if shops reduce the sweetness.
However, putting the policy into practice may prove challenging. Officials have said each brand can apply the initiative as they see fit.
Some customers have expressed confusion in response to social media posts promoting the initiative, asking how to order drinks with the level of sweetness that they prefer. Several brands said that the reduction applies only to certain menu items.
