UNDRR News

The threat of zombie attacks has been largely overlooked in the annals of disaster risk management but that may be about to change thanks to a week-long campaign on disaster preparedness which finishes today in Canada.

Weak disaster preparedness and recovery planning in two of the world's most disaster-prone countries were discussed over four days this week by government officials, mayors, local government representatives and international risk management experts in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, as they seek to develop national disaster recovery plans for Honduras and neighboring El Salvador.

A new study finds that 51 percent of Americans believe that extreme weather will cause a natural disaster in their own community in the next year.

Recently empowered by the Chilean Congress, local government bodies in Chile are using their increased autonomy to boost community resilience and address risk reduction.

Disaster risk reduction was at the top of the agenda today for over 2,000 mayors and municipal leaders in Vera Cruz, Mexico, attending the Conferencia Anual de Municipios 2012 at which the keynote address was delivered by UNISDR Chief, Margareta Wahlström.

The repercussions from the deadly earthquake and tsunami which hit Chile two years ago continue to play out in the country's courts and in expressions of frustration at the pace of reconstruction.

The dynamic new Vice-President of the National Assembly of Panama, Rony Araúz, is emerging as a leading advocate of disaster risk reduction in Central America following a career monitoring the passage of hazardous materials through the Panama Canal.

Climate change was a key driver in 2005 when 168 UN member states agreed on an international blueprint for disaster risk reduction but there is no reference in the Hyogo Framework for Action* to the environmental threat posed to the world’s retreating glaciers by criminal gangs.

Bequia is a delightful link in the chain of islands which make St. Vincent and the Grenadines such an attractive destination for sun worshipping tourists. With a population of 4,300 people and an area of just 18 km2, it is on the frontlines of the unfolding drama of climate change and Small Island Developing States. And, like many small tropical islands during the dry season, Bequia has problems with water supply which global warming threatens to exacerbate.

The Brazilian government has agreed to open a Centre of Excellence for Disaster Risk Reduction, one year after deadly landslides in the state of Rio de Janeiro prompted President Dilma Rousseff to devise plans to improve the country’s disaster readiness.