UNDRR News

The Caribbean region is not only one of the most beautiful in the world, it is also one of the most disaster-prone. Three out of the ten countries most affected by extreme weather events in the last 20 years are in the Caribbean. Recent hurricanes from 2017 and 2019 - Irma, Maria, and Dorian - devastated national infrastructure across ten Caribbean islands. As a cluster of small island developing states (SIDS), the overwhelming majority of the region’s disasters are water or climate-related. And we know that the weather-related challenges facing SIDS are not expected to recede anytime soon.

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) is glad to announce that the registration for the seventh session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GP2022) is now open.

For the urban coastal city of Hong Kong, typhoons are a regular occurrence from May to October. Consequently, Hong Kong’s infrastructure is designed to cope with the strong winds, floods, and storm surges they bring.

In 2022, 274 million people will need humanitarian assistance around the world. Mami Mizutori, SRSG and Head of UNDRR, calls on countries to increase investment in disaster preparedness and prevention to save lives.

On 25 November 2021, a four-day Training Academy on disaster risk reduction and early warning systems took place. Experts responsible for disaster risk management and meteorological/hydrological services from IGAD, IGAD Member States, Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), as well as Malawi, Mozambique and the Republic of Tanzania participated.

On 23 November 2021, an exit workshop was held on the Government of Italy funded project on “Disaster Risk Reduction Capacity Building in Ethiopia”. Experts gathered to share main outcomes, exchange experience, and discuss the way forward.

Opening remarks of SRSG Mami Mizutori at the European Forum for Disaster Risk Reduction

Governments across Europe and Central Asia have backed a roadmap towards preventing future disasters including new pandemics in the face of growing threats from climate change and disease outbreaks.

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) launched a new report this week to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in being disaster-ready.

In this session, Róisín Jordan (Alliance Manchester Business School), Luis Carvalho (Municipality of Amadora), and Idan Sasson (Climate Policy Initiative) share their work on DRR as well as their experience using the Voluntary Commitments platform.