The Cabinet has approved the National Disaster Risk Management Bill which is the outcome of a comprehensive review of the Natural Disaster Management Act 1998 spanning over two decades.

The bill is expected to be tabled in parliament.

Amongst the key changes being brought in by the Bill, is the expansion of the mandate for the disaster legislation to not only cover natural hazards but also all other potential hazards that may cause disasters, with the exception of civil unrest and terrorism.

These include biological, environmental, geological or geophysical, hydro-meteorological and technological hazards.

In a statement, it says this is in line with the all-hazards approach for disaster and disaster risk management that is the global best practice promoted under the National Disaster Risk Reduction Policy and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.