Press release

Preliminary results of a catastrophe modelling study presented today at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction show little prospect of reducing economic losses from present levels of $240 billion per year.

The Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (#WCDRR), is being hailed by participants as the first international meeting of its kind to provide a wide range of accessibility features for people living with disabilities.

The Jury of the 2015 United Nations Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction today said the work of this year’s winner – Allan Lavell – that he represents “A timeless model; a model for all times.”

Two countries at the forefront of global disaster risk management efforts today joined with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) in an innovative partnership to strengthen urban resilience.

All the key drivers of risk are present in the Indian city of Pune where 25,000 people living in ten slums will benefit from a project which today won the 2015 Risk Award and a grant of €100,000 at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction.

Singapore and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) will collaborate on a specialized training course for developing countries, in particular Small Island Developing States (SIDS), on the front line of climate change.

The President of the Republic of Vanuatu, H.E. Baldwin Lonsdale, today appealed from the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan, for international support in anticipation of large-scale needs for his island nation following a direct hit from Category 5 Cyclone Pam over the weekend.

The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, today opened the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, stating that annual economic losses now exceed US$ 300 billion annually.

The Japanese Prime Minister, Mr. Shinzo Abe, today pledged $US 4 billion to support implementation of the “Sendai Cooperation Initiative for Disaster Risk Reduction” over the next four years.

The world gathers this weekend in Sendai, Japan, for the third time in 21 years to agree on a new framework for managing disaster risk which will reduce mortality and economic losses.