UNDRR News

The Government of the Maldives has fully endorsed the world’s first Strategic National Action Plan (SNAP) that integrates Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA).

The Thai Government today launched the “One Million Safe Schools and Hospitals” initiative in Bangkok, promising to make safety a priority at 43,004 schools and hospitals. In recent years, intense disasters with increasing frequency has affected Thailand including "one of the worst natural calamities" to hit the country. In October and November 2010, a series of flash floods killed more than a hundred people and affected six million in 38 provinces. Thousands of students were forced to evacuate their schools, with more than a thousand schools reportedly damaged.

The five largest cities and most important economic centers of Viet Nam pledged to make cities safer against disasters at the second National Forum on Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai today. The Forum set a firm plan to establish the National Platform and launched the World Disaster Reduction Campaign “Making Cities Resilient- My City is Getting Ready.”

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.

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.

Some 102 Municipal leaders in the State of Orissa battling with recurrent cyclones, floods, droughts and heat waves agreed today to make their cities more resilient to multiple hazards, by signing up to the UNISDR “Making Cities Resilient” campaign. Orissa, despite being one of the poorest states in India, is slowly becoming the hub for industries, IT, education and medical infrastructure.

Cebu City, Philippines – 39 municipalities of Cebu Province, Philippines, today pledged to make their local government units safer from disasters, by joining the United Nations disaster reduction campaign “Making Cities Resilient: My City Is Getting Ready!” while gathered at the Cebu Provincial Capitol Social Hall, N. Escario St. Capitol Site, Cebu City.

Just as climate negotiations were wrapping up in Cancún, Mexico, government officials from vulnerable islands in the Philippines took action to reduce the damaging effects of climate change on their communities by joining UNISDR’s world disaster reduction campaign.

Twenty Philippine Governors joined the Making Cities Resilient: My City Is Getting Ready! campaign at the Local Government Unit SUMMIT+3i on “Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation in the Philippines” from 4 to 6 November in Albay. Participants will discuss how climate change adaptation at local government level is critical for meeting the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDG).