UNDRR News

Current estimates are that Hurricane Sandy may be the most expensive storm to have hit the United States since Hurricane Katrina with the final bill possibly reaching $50 billion. Last weekend, Margareta Wahlström, Chief of UNISDR, visited Hurricane Sandy affected areas in New York and New Jersey.

It's a scenario from hell which could rival the 2010 Haitian earthquake in terms of human losses.

A major initiative to develop a UN strategic plan of action for disaster risk reduction and resilience got underway today at UNESCO HQ as representatives from 20 UN agencies and programmes convened for a two-day UN High Level Retreat.

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction today marks the 5th anniversary of the launch of PreventionWeb which is now used by 55,000 unique visitors every month as a common platform for disaster risk reduction professionals to find and share information and collaborate on disaster risk reduction issues.

UNISDR Chief, Margareta Wahlström, has welcomed the recognition by the G20 group of countries that disaster risk financing is crucial for good disaster risk management.

Development cannot be sustainable if it does not incorporate disaster risk reduction was a key message by Member States yesterday as the UN General Assembly's Second Committee (Economic and Financial Committee) began its two-day meeting on the issue of moving sustainable development forward.

Seoul's Cheong Gye Cheon, a once polluted river now restored to its former glory, captured the attention of development planners and disaster managers meeting here this week for a Leadership Forum at UNISDR's Global Education and Training Institute for Disaster Risk Reduction.

UNISDR Chief, Margareta Wahlström, yesterday introduced the Secretary-General's Report on the Implementation of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction to Member States at the Economic and Financial Committee -- also known as the Second Committee - of the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

When it comes to critical infrastructure governments are increasingly aware of the role of disaster risk reduction in planning, and the value of applying the priorities for action in the Hyogo Framework for Action when it comes to protecting their investments.

Government officials from Armenia, Cambodia, Gambia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Mongolia and Republic of Korea arrive in Incheon today for a five-day "Leadership Forum on Mainstreaming Adaptation and Disaster Reduction into Development." Over 30 officials from a variety of backgrounds will examine entry points for introducing disaster risk reduction into economic development.