Press release

With more than half the world’s population living in urban areas, cities are particularly vulnerable to the risks of natural hazards, such as earthquakes, drought and floods. To strengthen a city’s readiness to reduce disaster impacts, the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction is launching this Sunday, 30 May 2010 in Bonn, Germany, a new campaign to raise awareness and boost commitment for sustainable development practices that will increase a city’s well-being and safety.

Although air travel in Europe is starting to resume after ash from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano grounded flights for almost a week, thousands of travellers continue to be affected and more delays possible with the threat of further eruptions. “We only realize how disruptive hazards can be when they have already happened,” Margareta Wahlström, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, said Thursday. “The volcano eruption is an example of a rare but largely disruptive event that exposes our key infrastructure vulnerability.”

More than 170 delegates from 42 African countries, including 19 Ministers, will gather at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi, from 14-16 April, at the second Africa Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction to discuss a Programme of Action that will reduce disaster risk in Africa.

It has now been more than a week since two catastrophic earthquakes struck Haiti, leaving much of the Capital city Port-au-Prince and surroundings totally devastated. Haiti had no chance and could not have been prepared for a disaster of this magnitude.

Copenhagen – Over three quarters of the people killed - and 95 % of the total affected by natural hazards - since the beginning of the year were due to extreme weather events said Ms. Margareta Wahlström, the United Nations Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, based on the preliminary 2009 disaster figures.

Rachel Shebesh, Member of Parliament of the Republic of Kenya and Chair of the African Parliamentarian Initiative for Climate Risk Reduction, was appointed today as the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction champion for disaster risk reduction in Africa during the launch of the Black and Green, Ready to Lead campaign that took place at the Pan-African Parliament in Johannesburg, South Africa.

A new climate change law that fully integrates the priorities of the Hyogo Framework for Action – a ten-year blueprint for reducing risks to disasters worldwide - has been passed today by the Philippine Government to address increasing climatic risks.

UNISDR-lead advocacy results in recognition of crucial synergies between disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation N’Djamena- Parliamentarians and Ministers from Central African countries met in Chad last Saturday and recognized disaster risk reduction measures as a main tool to adapt to future climate related disasters that are already affecting many countries in Africa.

More landslides can be expected as climate change exacerbates rainfall intensity – but their impact can be reduced, stresses the UN organization charged with coordinating global disaster risk reduction. "As this week's tragic events in East Asia show once again, people living on unstable slopes and steep terrains are particularly at risk from landslides in the wake of torrential rain and flooding," says Margareta Wahlström who heads the UN International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). "While landslides are hard to predict, people living in landslide-prone areas can be alerted in advance if there are monitoring and warning systems in place to measure rainfalls and soil conditions." View full story

The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) and the Government of the Republic of Korea are opening Asia's first ISDR Education and Training Institute for Urban Risk Reduction in Incheon, Republic of Korea.