Meet the next generation of disaster responders

It only takes one bad storm to kill or injure thousands, inflict billions of dollars in damage, and wreak havoc on communities in its path. As part of Hurricane Preparedness Week, USAID joins other response organizations in raising public awareness and preparedness efforts for the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season. While this national effort happens once a year, USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) works year-round with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to reduce the impacts of hurricanes by helping them prepare for storms before they happen.

Regional insurance against disasters proposed for APEC economies

Bacolod City, Philippines - A suggestion for the 21 member-economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to have a regional insurance against disaster risk has been presented during an APEC seminar held in this city titled “Disaster Risk Finance – APEC Roadmap for Resilient Economies.” Richard Poulter, a specialist on disaster risk financing and insurance from the World Bank, said accessing insurance against disasters may be expensive for a single economy, but the cost can be significantly reduced with economies of scale.

Cities must plan for climate disasters: 5 considerations for Sendai

On an ordinary morning in January 1995, the city of Kobe, Japan shook for less than a minute. By the time the tremors subsided, one of the most powerful earthquakes in recent history had already destroyed bridges, expressways and buildings, and within several hours, claimed over 6,400 lives. The quake's magnitude and the fact that it occurred in close proximity to a highly populous urban center were a deadly combination.Twenty years later, the international community is meeting in Sendai, a region that has witnessed disasters including Kobe and, more recently, the Fukushima earthquake-nuclear catastrophe, whose after-effects continue to this day. At the third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR), they will deliberate on a new intergovernmental framework for disaster risk reduction for the next decade – and a new roadmap for building resilience.

UNDP announces ‘5-10-50’: new global programme in support of disaster resilience

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) has announced work a new 10-year global programme in support of country efforts to reduce the risk of disasters. Announced during a special breakfast session entitled 'the power of partnerships', held on the sidelines of the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, the Programme is intended to help countries achieve the goals of the Post-2015 Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

In Japan, UN chief urges global solidarity to strengthen disaster resilience, boost development

With global leaders gathered in Sendai, Japan, to agree a new framework for managing disaster risk which will reduce mortality and curb economic losses, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today declared that responding to the world's growing needs requires empowering individuals, supporting communities and backing promises with resources. “True resilience comes from strong bonds among countries and communities. The UN is committed to strengthening these bonds with a unified Plan of Action,” said Mr. Ban in opening remarks to the Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. 

World Bank: The disaster reality that must change

It’s one of the harsh realities of today.

Just as representatives from around the globe began to gather in Sendai, Japan, for an international disaster risk conference, authorities in Vanuatu were issuing evacuation alerts with Cyclone Pam intent on a destructive path towards the Pacific island nation. On the eve of the official opening of the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, three cyclones – including the ferocious Cyclone Pam – were casting a menacing shadow over the Asia Pacific region. 

Safeguarding development from natural disasters - WB

The torrential rain, flooding and landslides in Bosnia and Herzegovina last May displaced 90,000 people, affected more than 1 million and cost the economy about 15 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in lost output and damage. In Northern India and Pakistan, flooding in September brought nearly $18 billion in losses and marked the fifth consecutive year Pakistan suffered a billion-dollar flood. Natural disasters of this magnitude and worse occur almost every year around the world, disproportionately hitting developing countries with an economic force that can roll back their development gains and exacerbate inequality. Without efforts to build resilience, such disasters can make development investments unsustainable.

How do we tell the story of disaster risk reduction?

By Carl Mercer 

Capturing the work of disaster risk reduction (DRR) is difficult in the best of times. As in other development fields, jargon has clouded the DRR narrative. Terms like “risk governance,” “resilient recovery” and, my favorite, “comprehensive community based disaster risk management,” have made it a struggle to impress upon non-UN types what it is exactly that we do. 

Disaster risk reduction and science should be core of sustainable development, experts say

With fewer than 50 days to go before the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction top scientists have called on governments to put evidence-based disaster risk reduction at the heart of their strategies for sustainable development.  The “Tokyo Conference on International Study for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience” called on policymakers to empower their national DRR platforms through greater engagement with science and technology. 

20 years after Kobe quake, world rethinks disaster risk

By Margareta Wahlström

In a year likely to be dominated by discussions on climate change, the 20th anniversary of the Kobe earthquake this Saturday is an opportune moment to reflect on the growing threat to life and economic wellbeing posed by seismic activity in hazard-prone locations around the world.Earthquakes combine with poor-quality buildings to kill more people than any other natural hazard. It is noticeable that of the 10 earthquakes with the highest death tolls worldwide since 1900, four have occurred since 2004. The 2010 Haiti earthquake destroyed the capital, Port-au-Prince and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami affected 14 countries. The 2008 Szechuan earthquake in China and the 2005 Muzaffarabad earthquake in Pakistan each took over 80,000 lives.