UNDRR News

Strict building codes in Chile, the legacy of a devastating 9.5 magnitude earthquake in 1960, continue to play a large part in protecting people even when an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck 50 near Concepcion on 27 February 2010, says UNISDR. “In earthquake zones, three factors affect our degree of risk: changes to our natural environment, the quality of the built environment around us, and whether awareness and knowledge is widespread enough for us to modify our behaviour in response to these factors,” said Margareta Wahlström, the United Nations' top disaster risk reduction official. “The key to surviving high magnitude quakes is to live and work in seismically safe buildings, while being aware of how nature around us can also change.”

Addressing journalists in Islamabad on 22 February, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, Margareta Wahlström, stressed the importance of building resilience to future floods, just as Pakistan embarks on the reconstruction of flood-affected areas following the devastating floods of July 2010.

Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Melaka were named Role Model Cities as part of the United Nations-led “Making Resilient Cities” campaign, which was launched during Malaysia’s National Disaster Awareness Day celebrations from 18 to 19 February. These three major Malaysian cities were chosen for their ability to meet and inspire others around the world to take up ten essential actions that reduce disaster risk.

The African Union (AU) Executive Council has endorsed the report of the second African Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). This was done at the 16th African Union Summit, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 25-31 January. The report includes the extended Programme of Action for the implementation of the Africa Strategy for DRR (2006-2015) and the recommendations of the second African Ministerial Declaration on DRR held in Nairobi in April 2010.

Heads of States welcomed and endorsed the "Arab Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction 2020" in recognition of the increasing risk and frequency of disasters that challenge the development process in the region during the 2nd Summit for Socio Economic Development of the Council of Arab Ministers Responsible for the Environment (CAMRE) held in Egypt in January 2011.

In the wake of recent floods and landslides in the Philippines, which have affected some 600,000 people, the Philippine Government today reconfirmed their commitment to make schools and hospitals in the country’s cities disaster resilient. The commitment, led by the Secretary of Education and Health, follows the pledge by the previous Government in 2009 to make more than 60,000 schools and health facilities in the Philippines safer from disasters. Both Departments of Education and Health committed to inspect all schools and hospitals for disaster vulnerability and to assist in identifying interventions to make them safer within the 2012 government budget.

Joseph Deiss, President of the General Assembly said DRR was crucial for protecting progress made towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and for achieving sustainable development, at the GA Thematic Debate on DRR on 9 February. Throughout the day, he and other participants called for the enhancement of data collection and the scaling-up of investments in education, better urban planning, the sharing of information and technology, and the raising of awareness, especially to ensure that specific disasters and the needs of victims, remained high on the international agenda long after they had dropped from the news headlines.

Building on last year’s UN summit on the Millennium Development Goals, the United Nations General Assembly will convene on Wednesday its first thematic debate on disaster risk reduction to encourage governments to take action and invest more in reducing risk and exposure to disasters. The one-day UN debate on disaster risk reduction is being organized under the auspices of the office of UN General Assembly President Joseph Deiss, with support from UNISDR.

The province of Tyrol and all its 279 municipalities joined the Making Cities Resilient campaign, with the City of Lienz taking the lead. Tyrol follows an innovative approach to disaster risk reduction: Between 2010 and 2013, each municipality will hold expert-led workshops in order to prepare a comprehensive risk portfolio following a standardized methodology. Tyrol will share its extensive disaster risk reduction knowledge in the context of the campaign.

North-eastern Australia suffered no casualties after Cyclone Yasi, which UNISDR says was due to a high level of risk awareness and planning, rather than a “miracle,” as some call it. Tropical Cyclone Yasi crossed the Australian mainland at midnight local time on Wednesday, but despite its category-5 strength, there were no reports of serious injuries or fatalities, according to a situation update from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.