UNDRR News

Urban planning is a key element in disaster risk preparedness and community resilience in Africa, say experts.

In a statement to the 68th World Health Assembly, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), today said that the new Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction “has fully embraced the concept of health resilience and recognized that it must be a key area of focus for disaster risk reduction in the immediate future if we are to succeed in reducing existing levels of risk, and to avoid the creation of new risk.”

The United Nations has unveiled a multimedia application that showcases the work done to help Santiago de Cuba to recover from the impact of Hurricane Sandy, which lashed the island’s second-largest province in October 2012.

More than 300 Arab government representatives from the finance, economic, social, environment and technology sectors have developed a regional position for the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals due to be adopted at a UN summit this September.

The head of UNISDR Margareta Wahlström today met with the Prime Minister of Mongolia, Mr. Chimed Saikhanbileg, as the country embarks on implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the global plan of action adopted in March at the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction.

The death toll among Nepali schoolchildren would have been significant if the 7.8 magnitude earthquake had struck on a school day instead of a Saturday, the only day when schools are completely closed.

The head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Margareta Wahlström, today praised Geneva for its management of the exceptional floodwaters which have threatened the city in recent days following torrential rain in the French Alps. Geneva is home to UNISDR and 40 other UN agencies.

The Swiss city of Geneva has been scrambling to stave off flooding as heavy rain pours down into mountain streams and swells rivers. Its success in meeting the crisis head-on underscores the importance of long-term planning to reduce disaster risk.

The Canadian Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness of Canada has launched the first call for proposals within the CAD$ 200 million (approx. US$ 165 million) National Disaster Mitigation Program (NDMP), as part of the Government’s commitment to build safer and more resilient communities.

The World Health Organization has welcomed the fact that the new Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) puts health at the centre of disaster risk management.