UNDRR News

Scientists can, and should, play a greater role in the international effort to reduce the prevalence and impact of disasters, Margareta Wahlström, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and Head of UNISDR told a conference.

The European Forum for Disaster Risk Reduction (EFDRR) today presented the mayor of the Spanish town of Lorca with the Damir Čemerin award for his work in caring for the elderly, and promoting disaster reduction awareness, following a devastating earthquake in 2011.

Host Spain told the 5th annual European Forum for Disaster Risk Reduction (EFDRR) today that it had a great opportunity to influence the post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction.

Seventy-year-old Ely combines resilience and vulnerability in the face of disaster that is typical of older people around the world.

Following devastating floods and landslides earlier this year affecting over one million people, a major regional insurance conference opens today in Belgrade to highlight the benefits that disaster risk financing can bring to a region where there is a growing culture of disaster risk reduction through implementation of the priorities laid out in the Hyogo Framework for Action.

The Iranian City of Qom is providing a dynamic example of local leadership as consultations on the post-2015 international framework for disaster risk reduction identify the issue as a priority.

This week’s UN Climate Summit has generated commitments to raise $2 billion of in-kind and direct support for cities threatened by extreme weather events fuelled by climate change.

A major initiative to examine climate risk stress testing for banking and securities regulation and accounting practices was unveiled at the UN Climate Summit in New York by public and private sector organisations working together in response to the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events.

Software developers from around the world were recognized today at the UN Climate Summit for their ingenuity in devising life-saving apps for use in reducing the impact of extreme weather events on cities and coastal communities.

Heavy rains have caused major devastation over the weekend in the Philippines, France and Italy and may be further indications of the “new normal” that the world will have to deal with, if no accelerated action is taken to keep global warming within 2˚C.