UNDRR News

GENEVA, October 10, 2014 - Twitter was not around when International Day for Disaster Reduction was launched 25 years ago but it’s proving to be an important rallying platform for this year’s celebration.

The recurrence of flooding, one of Europe’s most persistent natural hazards, presents both a challenge and an opportunity when it comes to disaster reduction, a conference heard on Wednesday.

The 5th European Forum for Disaster Risk Reduction (EFDRR) closed today with a strong call for joint action to face the common challenges of climate change, sustainable development and disaster risk reduction.

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.