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Displaying 15 of about 41 resultsDURBAN, 7 December 2011 - UNISDR Chief, Margareta Wahlström, told an exclusive gathering of 35 eminent scientists and politicians from around the world at the COP 17 in Durban that "there is a huge need to translate the best science on climate change into practical action."
Speaking on behalf of the disaster risk reduction community, she told the High-…
Seismic risk has taken on a different meaning this week with the trial opening in Italy of six scientists charged with failing to predict the L’Aquila earthquake that killed 309 people in 2009 and left 70,000 people homeless. The scientists and one official are charged with manslaughter.
The trial puts under the spotlight one of the most difficult area…
The Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (GAR11) titled Revealing Risk, Redefining Development will be launched today in Auckland (New Zealand) at the Third Session of the Pacific Platform for Disaster Risk Management which is the main gathering of disaster risk management experts and decision makers in the Pacific region.
Andrew Maskrey…
GENEVA, 4 July 2011 – As Europe and North America move into the summer season, the risk of wildfires will increase. While these natural hazards may not get the attention of earthquakes, tsunamis and cyclones, their destructive potential is considerable and reducing the risks they present should be a priority for countries who face this threat.
Over two…
Geneva – The international community must “risk proof” development because disasters are taking a heavy toll on rich and poor countries as well as outpacing their ability to respond, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told delegates today, at the foremost gathering of stakeholders on reducing disaster risk which opened this afternoon in Geneva…
Geneva, Tuesday 10 May – Disaster-related economic losses are increasing across all regions, critically threatening the economies of low-income countries and even outstripping wealth creation across many of the world’s richer nations, says a United Nations report titled Revealing Risk, Redefining Development to be launched today by the United Nations' S…
Geneva – Some 373 natural disasters killed over 296,800 people in 2010, affecting nearly 208 million others and costing nearly US$110 billion, according to the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED).
The top two most lethal disasters -- the 12 January earthquake in Haiti, which killed over 222,500 people, as well as the Russian hea…
UNISDR's Acting Director, Helena Molin Valdes, spoke about the need for improving access to information in dealing with disasters, during the four-day Eye on Earth Summit in Abu Dhabi from 12-15 December, where she was a featured speaker.
"There is a communication gap that leaves people, especially the poor, vulnerable to natural disasters."
In urban…
Windhoek (Namibia), 27 August 2011 – The Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Disaster Risk Reduction Unit in partnership with the World Bank’s Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) and UNISDR is conducting a disaster risk reduction (DRR) stakeholders training workshop from 27-28 August 2011. The workshop will be held along…
Increased investment in water management has been high on the agenda at the World Water Week taking place in Stockholm, Sweden this week. On the opening day of the one-week forum, speakers called for increased investments in disaster-resilient infrastructure and smarter water management to avoid drought, floods and other water-related disasters, particu…
28 June 2011, Geneva - Over 10 million people from Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda will be severely affected by severe drought, with no likelihood of improvement until 2012, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of humanitarian Affairs warned in an alert yesterday.
The Alert also flagged that 2010-2011 has been the driest period…
Calls for “coalition of action” to address link between natural hazards and nuclear safety at Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction ending today
Geneva – In a year marred by disaster losses over US$300 billion, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called, at the Third Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, for a “coal…
Geneva, 10 October - Amidst growing concerns about drought crises in some of the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) of the Pacific, the Government of Tuvalu today began a three-week nationwide needs assessment of water, agriculture and health facilities.
The most affected areas are the capital city of Funafuti, as well as Nukulaelae and Nanumaga. Th…
GENEVA, 21 November 2011 - The Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has put disaster risk reduction at the centre of the climate change debate with the weekend publication of its Summary for Policymakers of the Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (IPCC SREX).
For the fir…
Speaking to UN Radio, two of the UN's top officials on disaster reduction weigh in on the devastation caused by an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale that struck northeastern Japan on Friday and triggered a tsunami that engulfed coastal towns and cities along Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima prefectures. In the interviews, they highlighted the im…