UNDRR News

The head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), Margareta Wahlström, today praised the Philippines for its successful efforts to reduce mortality and the numbers of people affected by the latest typhoon to sweep across the country despite tidal surges, heavy rains, floods and landslides.

Retrofitting all schools and better protecting tourist infrastructure are two urgent priorities to rebuild a safer Nepal, according to a new report released today that evaluates the damage caused by the twin earthquakes that hit the Kathmandu Valley on 25 April 2015, killing 8,800 people and destroying half a million houses and 50,000 classrooms.

India has had some significant success in reducing the death tolls from cyclones and flooding in recent years due to better preparedness and early warnings. In October 2014 and October 2013 large scale evacuations saved many lives as early warnings were disseminated in a timely and effective way to endangered populations along the Bay of Bengal.

International Day for Disaster Reduction arrived early today in the Philippines. Globally, the Day is marked next Tuesday on October 13 but the Philippines Senate today took time out to celebrate the Day’s theme of community and local knowledge for disaster risk management.

A small community on the disaster prone coast of Bangladesh is translating the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction into the local dialect as part of an ongoing community revival since it was hit hard by Cyclone Sidr in 2007.

The head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), Margareta Wahlström, today marked the anniversary of the 7.8 Pakistan earthquake which killed 19,000 schoolchildren and their teachers with a call for more countries to join the new Worldwide Initiative for Safe Schools.

The head of UNISDR, Margareta Wahlström, today welcomed the adoption of a global action plan by 24 countries to advance the Worldwide Initiative for Safe Schools (WISS) in line with the targets for reducing disaster losses set out in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 received another boost this week with the announcement in Tehran that the text has now been translated into Farsi, a language used by some 100 million people in Iran and neighbouring countries.

Iran’s commitment to ensuring Safe Schools was made clear yesterday as it announced plans to spend $3 billion over the next five years to complete its programme of retrofitting or reconstructing all public schools located in the country’s seismic zones.

Korea’s advance towards a national integrated public-safety communications network is being heralded as an example of how disaster risk reduction represents a major business opportunity.