UNDRR News

Ministers from Central Asia and the South Caucasus have called for a stronger regional approach to disaster resilience, as they step up effort to tackle the increasingly ‘trans-boundary’ nature of disaster risk.

With fewer than 50 days to go before the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction top scientists have called on governments to put evidence-based disaster risk reduction at the heart of their strategies for sustainable development.

Of the many milestones on the “Road to Sendai,” the Kobe earthquake stands out. The learning from the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake remains relevant today as governments from around the world prepare to meet in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in March.

A firm resolve to build a more resilient future in honour of those who lost their lives in the Kobe earthquake 20 years ago was evident amid the sombre services of remembrance over the weekend.

Two capital cities, Tbilisi and Bishkek, are among eight towns and cities from Central Asia and the Caucasus, joining UNISDR’s Making Cities Resilient Campaign in the new year.

A decade on from the Indian Ocean Tsunami, lessons have been learned and applied across the region. For the upscale Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort, disaster preparedness was the watchword even before the tragedy, with resilience seen as part and parcel of good business.

It’s exactly ten years since the Indian Ocean Tsunami struck countries across the region, claiming 227,00 lives and leaving communities reeling.

The ranks of UNISDR’s Private Sector Partnership (PSP) have swollen in Japan thanks to the admission of nine new companies and a business federation, the Keidanren, which represents more than 1,300 firms and 112 business associations. In addition, more than 10 companies are poised to join.

As the Philippines continued its recovery from Typhoon Hagupit which killed more than 27 people over the weekend, thirty representatives of journalism schools from the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar met for two days in Manila to discuss how to integrate disaster risk reduction into training for journalists in ASEAN countries.

As negotiations resume this week in Geneva on a global agreement on disaster risk management, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) said the Philippines “zero casualty” approach to managing Typhoon Hagupit was further evidence of Asia’s leadership role in reducing mortality and tackling economic losses from disasters.