Branding terrorism as a 'man-made' disaster, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images] on Wednesday said the scourge was looming large over Asian countries and could trigger disasters across the borders.

"The threat of terror looms large in many parts of the region and could trigger disasters across regions," he said at the second Asian conference on disaster risk management in New Delhi.

"Modern societies should also come together to prepare for man-made disasters like industrial disasters or those caused by terrorism attacks," he said.

The prime minister also asked the international community to come together to tackle other man-made disasters like Avian-Flu and HIV-AIDS.

"We must also deal with health disasters like the spread of HIV/AIDS and Avian Flu," he said.

The biggest disaster is the catastrophic effect of climate change, he said, adding that "the action of one nation can effect the actions of all other nations."

"I hope our region can come together to tackle man-made as well as natural disasters," he said.

Observing that disaster knows no political boundaries and everyone is equally vulnerable to it, Singh said, "This is one area where every nation can come together to find a collective and cooperative solution."

It is heartening to know that in recent years, nations have come together to help in rescue operations whether it is the tsunami or the earthquake in Jammu and Kashmir [Images], he added.

Advocating a community-based approach to deal with disasters, Dr Singh said it can help in dealing with 'panic, rumour-mongering' and provide immediate relief to victims.

In risk reduction, he said, such an approach can have positive results.

The prime minister said risk reduction should be based on 'pro-active, pre-emptive action, typically small investments in improving the safety of houses. It can go a long way in reducing the risk of damage to life and property.'

Emphasising the need for developing technology for earth-quake prone areas, Dr Singh said studies have shown that appropriate technology could have saved a number of lives.

Noting that India had adopted a 'forward-looking' approach to disaster management, he said there was a paradigm shift in the country's approach as it was 'moving away from a relief centric post-event approach to a holistic, integrated and preventive approach.'

The prime minister also urged financial institutions to be more proactive in insuring risk-prone areas.

"The penetration of insurance in many Asian countries is still very limited. I, therefore, urge all those who manage our financial systems to be even more pro-active in insuring the risk-prone areas," Dr Singh said.