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Displaying 9 of about 9 resultsBy Dizery Salim
GENEVA, 10 November 2011 – Eighteen countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have agreed to tighten up on school safety while also integrating disaster risk reduction into the school curriculum, following high-level talks on education in Panama City.
Between 1970 and 2009, over 32,000 schools in South America were damaged or destro…
By David Singh
GENEVA, 26 October 2011 – The UN has issued a flash appeal for US$15.7 million to provide emergency assistance to El Salvador which has now been pounded by heavy rains and floods since 10 October.
Tropical Depression 12-E arrived in El Salvador two weeks ago bringing more rainfall than Hurricane Mitch in 1998 and registering the highest…
GENEVA, 1 November 2011 - Role model cities from around the world are meeting for two days in Geneva to brainstorm the next phase of the campaign “Making Cities Resilient – My City is Getting Ready!” and have agreed on extending it to 2015.
The 17-month old campaign which now has over 900 members was praised by city representatives from India, the Phil…
In the aftermath of Hurricane Irene that hit the east coast of the United States just over a week ago, it is a reminder that disasters caused by extreme weather events are becoming common place even for countries and cities that are considered to be at the pinnacle of development.
Local governments and authorities have always been at the front lines of…
By David Singh
NEW YORK, 22 September: At the opening of the General Debate of the 66th session of the UN General Assembly yesterday, incoming Assembly President Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser identified disaster prevention as one of the key issues that will “help frame our work this session”.
Al-Nasser said a particular priority during the current sessio…
DURBAN, 8 December 2011 - While good news remains in short supply from the main climate change talks here in Durban, there is a growing sense that local government is taking the lead on mitigation and adaptation without waiting for their central governments to direct their efforts.
The World Green Building Council has just awarded Mexico City the prest…
By Dizery Salim
GENEVA, 15 November 2011 – Countries of the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum (APEC) have pledged to increase private sector engagement in their disaster resilience agenda, in a year when floods and earthquakes have wiped out assets worth billions of dollars across the region.
Four out of ten people live in the 21 APEC countries, producing 5…
By David Singh
GENEVA, 28 October 2011 – As the number of people in Central America affected by tropical depression 12-E rises to 1.9 million, the UN has launched its second flash appeal in two days and is now asking for US$14.3 million to assist Nicaragua which is being devastated by heavy rainfall and floods.
This new appeal is based on preliminary…
Geneva, 4 October - Between observance of the 26th anniversary of the September 1985 earthquake in Mexico City and Mexico’s hosting of the global celebration yesterday of the 2011 World Habitat Day under the theme Cities and Climate Change, the municipal government of the capital city has passed a new law on structural safety that will further protect p…