Kathmandu, October 13 Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa has said human weaknesses were behind growing incidents of natural disaster. Addressing a programme organised by the Ministry and the Nepal Geological Society on the occasion of the International Day for Disaster Reduction, the minister stressed the need to make people aware of the ways to mitigate the risk of human-induced disasters. “Time has come to realise our weaknesses and stop all activities causing destruction,” he said. He also said that  developed countries should take the responsibility of reducing excessive carbon emissions and make necessary policy reforms to cope with the situation. He said the private sector should  support government efforts related to disaster and risk reduction. “The government should allocate more budget for disaster management and seek support from the private sector to minimise loss of property and human lives,” he shared. Thapa further stated that the government would soon form Disaster Management Authority. Nepal Geological Society chair Dr Kabiraj Poudel said natural disasters were taking a huge toll on human lives and property in the country every year. He was of the view that coordination among stakeholders was a must for effective implementation of measures aimed at managing and minimising risks. The data with the ministry shows that since the fiscal 2014/15, 8,962 people lost their lives in the earthquakes, 2,720 were killed in landslides and 413 died in in floods. The country incurred property loss over worth Rs 900 million in such disasters. A total of 59,856 families were displaced and the disasters caused the economic loss of around Rs 15 billion.