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Displaying 15 of about 204 resultsGENEVA, 18 December 2012 - The Italian Government is urgently seeking EUR 40 billion over the next 15 years for flood prevention following a week of heavy rains that began on 10 November in the north and then wreaked havoc in Umbria and Tuscany in central Italy.
Italy's Environment Minister, Corrado Clini, recently presented a proposal to the country's…
Nouakchott, 13 December 2012 - She was the first woman to take office as a Mayor in Mauritania and her stature as a champion for resilience and disaster risk reduction in Africa was confirmed last week when she was elected President of the Women’s Network of Mayors in Africa.
The motto of Ms. Abdel Malick, the Mayor of Tevragh-Zeina, a municipality in…
DAKAR, SENEGAL, 5 December 2012 - A new report published today by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, UNISDR, lays bare the huge challenges faced by medium-sized African towns struggling to cope with the rising tide of disaster events, rural-urban migration and ecosystem destruction without early warning systems or budgets to reduce risk.
When i…
GENEVA, 26 November 2012 - An analysis of activity around last month’s high-profile International Day for Disaster Reduction shows that social media played a key role in sharing news and messages and engaging people to join in the celebrations with 27 million views of over 5,000 tweets on Twitter.
The focus on the role of women and girls as a force for…
PARIS, 20 November 2012 - It's a scenario from hell which could rival the 2010 Haitian earthquake in terms of human losses.
Conservative estimates are that the next big earthquake could result in 100,000 dead, 200,000 injured and one to two million people displaced in the fabled Kathmandu Valley where memories live on of the 1934 earthquake which took…
GENEVA, 31 October 2012 - UNISDR Chief Margareta Wahlstrom spoke to the opening session of this week's extraordinary session of the World Meteorological Congress which is discussing the implementation plan and governance model for the Global Framework for Climate Services.
Ms. Wahlstrom congratulated the World Meteorological Organization on the initiat…
GENEVA, 18 April 2012 - The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) today launched a new initiative to support cities around the world to manage risk following the worst year on record for economic losses from disasters. It also announced today that over 1,000 cities have now joined its "Making Cities Resilient" Campaign.
Campaign Director, Hele…
NEW YORK, 13 April 2012 - There was a strong call for "the incorporation of disaster risk reduction in any future framework for sustainable development" during the UN General Assembly Thematic Debate on Disaster Risk Reduction yesterday which served as a major curtain raiser for Rio+20.
Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Bob Carr, delivered a sta…
GENEVA, 11 April 2012 - Following a massive earthquake earlier today in the Indian Ocean and the threat of a tsunami, Indonesian President and UNISDR Global Disaster Risk Reduction Champion, Susilo Bambang Yudhyono, told the press, "Our early warning system is working well". There were no tsunamis in Banda Aceh or other places which were hard hit by the…
BANGKOK, 2 April 2012 - A visit to a disaster-resilient habitat in Bangladesh has prompted UNISDR Chief Margareta Wahlström to acknowledge the south Asian country as leading developing nations in the global fight against climate change impacts.
On the final day of a three day visit, she went Friday to the village of Bainpara, Dacope, in Khulna Division…
VENICE, 28 March 2012 - The Mayor of the fabled city of Venice, Giorgio Orsoni, has been chosen by UNISDR as Europe's first Champion of Urban Resilience in recognition of his efforts to build resilience to disasters and protect cultural heritage.
Margareta Wahlström, United Nations disaster risk reduction chief, appointed Mr. Orsoni a champion as part…
GENEVA, 26 March 2012 - Disasters and climate related catastrophes are increasing the dangers facing children today such as child trafficking, according to a recent report by Najat Maalla M'jid, the UN Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.
"Children's vulnerability is significantly increased when they are…
GENEVA, 14 March 2012 – Inspired by UNISDR’s flagship 'Making Cities Resilient' campaign, the European Commission’s Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency is to boost disaster preparedness in European cities by turning higher education institutes into “reliable partners to reduce society’s vulnerability to hazards.”
The newly-funded €790,0…
VERA CRUZ, MEXICO, 1 March 2012 - Disaster risk reduction was at the top of the agenda today for over 2,000 mayors and municipal leaders in Vera Cruz, Mexico, attending the Conferencia Anual de Municipios 2012 at which the keynote address was delivered by UNISDR Chief, Margareta Wahlström.
She warned against the rising cost of disasters to cities as…
GENEVA, 24 February 2012 - The business world is on "the cusp of a major revolution" in its understanding of disaster risk reduction as insurance industry demands force a shift from traditional accounting-based management to risk-based management, according to Rowan Douglas, CEO Global Analytics at Willis Group.
Speaking today in Geneva at the second j…