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Displaying 105 of about 189 resultsOver the last 20 years, disasters in Asia-Pacific have become more numerous and expensive, and cities are where the impacts of these disasters are most acutely felt. Climate change is one large driver of risk, but urbanization and the increase in population density can lead to the creation of new risks. Moreover, cities are sometimes uniquely vulnerable…
New Zealand has experienced disasters from a range of hazards: earthquakes, volcanic activity, tsunamis, floods, tidal surge, snowstorms, and landslides. Their experiences, expertise, and technology have proven useful for Pacific Island nations, which are among the most prone to disasters.
One of the results of this expertise has been the development o…
Nova, a local resort owner, remembers vividly the day the tsunami struck. “I was down in the village when they called me. First I was scared when they told me that the water is on the street. I was thinking first that I have to come back to my house and close all the windows. But then they told me, please don't go back. It's very dangerous. So we left”L…
Island states across the world face similar climate risks due to their isolation and exposure.
But because they are so far apart, they don’t often get to learn from or work with each other on resilience strategies. A workshop held last week in Victoria, Seychelles hoped to change that.
The “Enhancing Climate Resilience through Disaster Law in Island S…
GENEVA - Widespread abuse of migrant workers and multiple examples of human rights violations were vividly highlighted by experts in the Asia and the Pacific Region speaking in a UNDRR-hosted webinar on “Human Rights Dimensions of the COVID-19 pandemic”.
The webinar’s 840 participants from 66 countries heard a call from the UN Office of the High Commis…
The year 2020 was a difficult year for Southeast Asia which, in addition to dealing with the surge of the COVID-19 pandemic, faced several disasters caused by extreme weather events, most notably in the Philippines and Vietnam, two Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Highlighting the urgent need to strengthen regional c…
Ahead of this year’s World Tsunami Awareness Day (WTAD) on 5 November, three winners of the 2020 Hamaguchi Award were announced by the International Promotion Committee for Tsunami/Coastal Disaster Resilience Technology.
Awarded by Japan’s Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, this year’s winners are Dr. Fumihiko Imamura, Prof…
Suva –Fiji launched its annual National Disaster Awareness Campaign focusing on better community preparedness as the country continues to strengthen its disaster risk governance. The campaign – set to last until April 2021- is focused at the local level, aiming to make communities better aware of and prepared for futures disasters.
Mr. Inia Ser…
At the 2021 Asia Pacific Sustainable Development Forum, representatives from Asia Pacific governments, civil society, academia, and the private sector came together in a virtual roundtable discussion convened by UN ESCAP, with support from UNDRR and other UN agencies, to review the region’s progress against achieving Sustainable Development Goal 13 on C…
Globally, Asia-Pacific remains the most disaster-prone region in the world, as has been confirmed again in the recently published report by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) on the “Human Cost of Disasters.”
The study shows that six of the ten deadliest mega-disasters in the last 20 years happened in the Asia-Pacific region. Even…
India has been one of the most impacted countries by the COVID-19 pandemic, both in terms of the number of cases, which now top 4 million, and the socio-economic losses resulting from the crisis.
In the midst of these challenges, India’s private sector has emerged as a vital resource to building local resilience, with benefits extending to across the…
Disaster risk reduction was featured prominently at the annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia, highlighting the increasing centrality of risk reduction to economic growth and the need to increase international cooperation around its goals.
The Boao Forum conference, which ran from 18 to 21 April in the Chinese town of Boao, is often described a…
To develop and enhance resilience, the best way forward is to create a system that helps us anticipate and identify different future possibilities and helps to navigate the challenges and uncertainties of today. In support of this approach, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Regional Science Bureau for Asia and…
BANGKOK - Recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is presenting Thailand, the Republic of Korea and other countries in Asia-Pacific with opportunities to ‘build back better’ and to chart greener and more digitally connected economies, as long as public health vigilance is maintained.
This was the overarching message from a webinar that brought together of…
BANGKOK – The Asia-Pacific region can benefit from scaling-up investment in social protection to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, maintain social cohesion and reduce overall vulnerabilities.
Those were some of the insights from a webinar organized by the Asia-Pacific office of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction to explore the role…