UNDRR News

Three films of human resilience in an era of increasing disaster risk and a changing climate have scooped the main prizes at a prestigious awards ceremony. The documentaries – from Vietnam, Indonesia and India – were honoured for their insightful journalism and compelling tales of local innovation at the closing of the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction 2016.

The Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction was hailed by the Indian Home Minister, Mr. Rajnath Singh, as “a landmark event” as it concluded today with adoption of a clear regional plan to substantially reduce disaster losses by 2030.

Prime Minister Modi set the tone for this Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction when he urged us all to embrace wholeheartedly the spirit of the Sendai Framework. Today when I see the outcomes from the Conference and the scale of your ambition over the next 14 years for implementing the Sendai Framework, I think the Prime Minister can rest assured that his appeal did not fall on deaf ears.

The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, Mr. Robert Glasser, initiated a minute’s silence today in remembrance of all those who have lost their lives in tsunamis as the first World Tsunami Awareness Day was commemorated on the final day of the Asian Ministerial Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction.

One is a Czech model-turned-activist, and the other a student who hails from Spain. Their lives changed forever on 26 December 2004, when they were caught up in the tragedy of the Indian Ocean Tsunami. Both have become tireless campaigners for disaster risk reduction.

The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, Mr. Robert Glasser, today warned against complacency in the face of the global tsunami threat which is often forgotten in parts of the world that have been affected in the distant past. The first ever World Tsunami Awareness Day is tomorrow, 5 November.

There was a wide-ranging discussion of indicators to measure progress in reducing disaster losses today at the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. Full scale monitoring of the Sendai Framework is due to start in 2020.

Over 4,000 delegates, including representatives from over 40 countries, flocked to the opening today of the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction which is the region’s first opportunity to review progress on implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the global plan for reducing disaster losses.

The Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi, today urged participants in the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction “to wholeheartedly embrace the spirit of Sendai, which calls for an all-of-society approach to disaster risk management.”

A wide ranging Special Session on World Tsunami Awareness Day took place yesterday before today's opening of the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. Raising awareness of rare events is challenging.