UNDRR News

Recognizing the importance of risk reduction, the Japanese city of Saijo expanded their disaster risk reduction (DRR) education program to train children and young people to be future leaders in DRR. The program, which now trains students older than twelve-years old, was launched as part of the International Day for Disaster Reduction celebrations in the city.

Myanmar, a country prone to natural hazards, has shown positive progress in the areas of early warning, emergency preparedness and responses in recent years. Now, the Government is stepping up cooperation with global and regional partners to reach its long-term target of becoming a disaster resilient country.

Some 80 plus countries commemorated the UN International Disaster Reduction Day (IDDR 11) yesterday. “This welcome groundswell of support concretely demonstrates the growing importance and awareness of risk reduction around the world,” said UNISDR Chief Margareta Wahlström today.

South Africa’s Western Cape Provincial Government announced this week that it was increasing the budget allocation for safe schools from Rand 19 million to Rand 21 million and is taking steps to incorporate disaster risk reduction into the school curriculum.

The UNISDR Sub-Regional Office in Suva together with its partners, held a Pacific regional celebration of the International Day for Disaster Reduction to highlight the role of children and youth as active partners in disaster risk reduction.

In Vietnam, adults cried as they watched the short film children in their community made about the flash flood that devastated their homes.

国際防災の日（10月13日）国連事務総長メッセージの日本語版です。

The UN office for disaster risk reduction, UNISDR, today marked International Disaster Reduction Day with a call for children and young people to be empowered and engaged in disaster risk reduction as the group most affected by disasters each year.

Bangkok which has so far been spared the heavy flooding affecting one third of Thailand is currently preparing for the worst case scenario.

“Build bridges because every year children miss school in the rainy season when they have to cross gullies, rivers and water channels huge enough to drown them,” a child from Lesotho told the recently launched Children’s Charter on Disaster Risk Reduction.