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Displaying 15 of about 58 resultsAs the world celebrates World Humanitarian Day, UNISDR, the strategic arm of the United Nations working on disaster risk reduction, recognizes the valuable contribution of humanitarian workers who risk their lives everyday to help others, whilst emphasizing their crucial role in reducing disaster risk.
“On this day we recognize the importance of humani…
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…
14 June, Brussels - Recognizing the political importance and impact of recent disasters, UNISDR and the European Parliament organized the debate "Prevent or react: The EU approach to Disaster Risk Reduction" to discuss the European Union's approach to disaster prevention.
The DEVE Parliamentary Committee debate held in Brussels included Margareta Wahls…
GENEVA, 19 December 2011 - The UN Secretary-General's Special Representative on Disaster Risk Reduction, Margareta Wahlström, today extended her sympathy to the people of Mindanao in the Philippines, following the great loss of life resulting from Typhoon Sendong.
The UNISDR Chief, Wahlström, said: “There are many lessons to be learned about risk manag…
GENEVA, 28 November 2011 - It's one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. Over the last twenty years a yearly average of some four million people have been affected by disasters in the Philippines each year and over 33,000 people have lost their lives in 363 major reported events.
Most recently, back-to-back typhoons combined with monsoon…
By 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…
By Yuki Matsuoka and Etsuko Okazaki
KOBE, 17 October 2011 - Recognizing the importance of risk reduction, the Japanese city of Saijo, located in Ehime prefecture on Shikoku Island, expanded their disaster risk reduction (DRR) education program to train children and young people to be future leaders in DRR. On 14 October, a lecture program was organize…
By Yuki Matsuoka
KOBE, 22 September: Six months after the Great East Japan Earthquake, Margareta Wahlström, the United Nations Disaster Risk Reduction Chief, has met with Mayor Jin Sato of Minami-Sanriku town which lost 558 people in the tragedy. The total population of the town was 17,300 before the disaster and 343 are still unaccounted for.
Mayor S…
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 discussions in this booklet aim to address the complexity of risk in the Arab region, and present some tools which can be used by local governments, civil society and other institutions working in the field of environment and disaster risk reduction. In the Arab region the effects of human behavior on the environment has caused a growing concern sin…
This summary provides the Chair’s assessment of the main points of the deliberations at the Third Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction held in Geneva, Switzerland from 8-13 May 2011.
The Chair`s Summary reflects interventions at the Joint Outcomes Session of the Global Platform on 13 May and subsequent comments on the draft which…
This document presents the consequences, four weeks after, of the "Great Eastern Japan Earthquake" and tsunami that took place in Japan on March, 11 2011. It is intended to help understand better the damages and losses caused by the earthquake and the tsunami.
The document reports on the initiatives of the government and the implications for tsunami pr…
The main objective of the forum is to develop regional consensus climate outlook for the September to December 2011 rainfall season. It will also provide a regional interaction platform for the climate scientists and various users of climate early warning advisories. Further, the forum will review lessons / experiences from the use of the products provi…
Kobe, 22 December 2011 - UNISDR has organized an exchange visit between the Philippines and Japan, two of the countries worst-affected this year by a series of disasters ranging from a major earthquake which triggered a tsunami and a nuclear meltdown in Japan, and back-to-back typhoons in the case of the Philippines.
An eleven strong Filipino delegati…