UNDRR News

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, Margareta Wahlström, is in China today for a first round of consultations on disaster risk reduction with entrepreneurs and business people.

Cyclones, earthquakes, floods and drought combined with poverty have spurred the Myanmar government into complete acceptance of the need for a radical overhaul of its approach to disaster management and risk reduction.

Turkey’s 23 October quake revealed that only 9 per cent of building owners were insured despite it being mandatory in the country’s municipal areas.

Role model cities from around the world are meeting for two days in Geneva to brainstorm the next phase of the campaign “Making Cities Resilient – My City is Getting Ready!” and have agreed on extending it to 2015.

When unexpectedly heavy floods displaced more than a million people in southern Africa in 2007, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) began to meet annually to prepare for future occurrences, culminating in the creation of the SADC Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction this month.

As the number of people in Central America affected by tropical depression 12-E rises to 1.9 million, the UN has launched its second flash appeal in two days and is now asking for US$14.3 million to assist Nicaragua which is being devastated by heavy rainfall and floods.

Disaster risk reduction was high on the agenda as government auditors met in Turkey this week to discuss accountability and good practices in the area of disaster-related aid, against the tragic backdrop of Sunday’s 7.2 quake that left over 400 dead and 2,000-plus buildings destroyed.

The UN has issued a flash appeal for US$15.7 million to provide emergency assistance to El Salvador which has now been pounded by heavy rains and floods since 10 October.

International efforts to mitigate climate change are insufficient to meet the goal of keeping global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, a United Nations report warned, just a month before a major conference on the issue is held in Durban, South Africa.

Four student representatives from Kobe University, Bukkyo University and Tohuku University announced a ‘Youth Declaration’ during United Nations Day celebrations in Sendai City to highlight the commitment and active participation of youth in building disaster resilient communities.