UNDRR News

The latest news from the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the lead UN agency for the coordination of disaster risk reduction.

Preparations by non-governmental and civil society groups during the 20 May post-2015 framework for DRR consultations
Community voices from around the world today urged disaster management and climate change adaptation practitioners to take greater account of indigenous knowledge and expertise in building community resilience to withstand natural hazards.
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
35 countries were represented at the High-Level Dialogue including Armenia, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, China, Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Fiji, Gabon, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Maldives, Morocco, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Saint Lucia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Viet Nam.
Representatives from 35 governments who met with business executives and senior experts at the 4th Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, have issued a call "to develop nationally agreed standards for hazard risk assessments especially of critical infrastructure (including schools, health centers, electricity and water supply systems, nodal ITC centres, road and transport systems) by 2015."
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
Professor Shinichi Takemura demonstrating the Tangible Earth
The inventor of the world's first interactive digital globe that graphically depicts the vulnerability of our planet to disasters today challenged global policymakers to show more leadership in tackling the growing risks facing populations worldwide.
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson listens to the discussions in a featured event on strengthening partnerships towards disaster risk reduction for small island developing states.
Senior government officials from developing small island states and climate change experts have warned of a massive increase in human, economic and material losses in these countries if risk reduction measures are not taken urgently to mitigate the impacts of major hazards and climate change.
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
Some of the most dramatic images of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami came from Sendai City where tsunami waves travelled up to 10 km inland resulting in many deaths, flooding of the airport and the sweeping away of cars and airplanes. In July 2012, the Head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, UNISDR, Margareta Wahlström, formally welcomed Sendai City as a member of UNISDR’s Making Cities Resilient Campaign, which now has over 1,400 participating local governments. Ms. Emiko Okuyama, the Mayor of Sendai, Japan is one of more than 50 Mayors from around the world attending the Fourth Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction 2013, taking place in Geneva this week. The “Meet the Mayors” interview series aims to showcase the actions local governments participating in the Making Cities Resilient Campaign are taking to reduce disaster risk and strengthen the resilience of their communities.
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
Panelists in the open debate
On the opening day of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, Mayors and local government representatives took part in an open debate on ‘Disaster Risk Reduction Measures at the local level in South Eastern Europe”. Floods, droughts and forest fires – all of which are cross-border hazards – are the main risks in South Eastern Europe, and projections indicate that climate change and variations could lead to more frequent and severe disasters related to weather, water and climate in the region.
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction - Regional Office for Europe & Central Asia
Leading figures from the private sector said today they were ready to "come in from the cold" and play a stronger leading role to reduce disaster risk.
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
Opening ceremony of the Fourth Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction at the International Conference Center of Geneva. (UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré)
A global gathering which will prove critical for the future of reducing risk from disasters opened to a record attendance today with many expressions of sympathy to the people of Oklahoma City over the loss of life caused yesterday by a deadly tornado that damaged schools and took many lives including those of at least 20 school children.
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
Implementing the Hyogo Framework for Action in Europe Regional Synthesis Report 2011-2013
Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) challenges are becoming greater every year. It is well known and understood by all disciplines in disaster prevention that previously unidentified threats are emerging, changes in technology are rendering formerly state-of-the-art systems obsolete or less effective, and migration patterns are causing population shifts to increasingly hazard-prone areas. However, despite the goal posts moving constantly, consistent progress is being made in efforts to reduce damage and losses inflicted by disasters on people, their communities and livelihoods. This is one of the findings of the European Regional HFA Implementation Report, launched today during the European Forum for Disaster Risk Reduction (EFDRR) at the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva, Switzerland.
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction - Regional Office for Europe & Central Asia
City mayors and municipal councilors from around the world today called on governments to ensure greater participation of local authorities in decision-making on mainstreaming disaster risk reduction in national policy and regulatory frameworks.
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction

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