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Displaying 15 of about 35 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…
The morning after La Soufriere volcano carpeted St Vincent and the Grenadines with millions of tons of ash, disaster management expert La Fleur Quammie put on goggles and a mask to head through an eerie landscape to coordinate her team helping people in emergency shelters.
Months of awareness-raising and extensive TV, radio and social media messa…
The Caribbean’s fragile economy is being battered by the pandemic that is keeping tourists from its tropical beaches and leaving heavily-indebted countries ill-prepared to cope with violent hurricanes and other emergencies, say experts.
Gnawing away at the d…
Trinidadian entrepreneur Stacey-Ann Pi Osoria has built her one-woman business on emergencies. Selling inflatable sandbags, flood barriers and mobile shelters, she provides the vital equipment and training her clients need to reduce their disaster risk.
But when COVID-19 hit,…
From devising educational TV shows to rolling out online classes and delivering worksheets to far-flung villages, the pandemic has proved a steep learning curve for Caribbean teachers as they find innovative ways to keep pupils on track.
The disrup…
More than 300 people from Latin America and the Caribbean came together virtually to address the progress in disaster preparation in the region. The meeting took place within the framework of the workshop entitled “Enhanced Disaster preparedness for systemic risk in complex scenarios: challenges and opportunities”, between April 13th and 16th of 2021.…
The following statement is issued by the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres to mark the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, October 13
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought renewed attention to the importance of strengthening disaster risk reduction.
Many countries are facing multiple crises simultaneously. We will see more of this.
Extrem…
Some 95% of COVID-19 cases have come from urban areas. Pandemic preparedness in cities and towns is more urgent than ever for reducing disaster risk, particularly in challenging situations where disease outbreaks could coincide with an extreme weather event.
The eastern Indian city of Kolkata has been devastated by Cyclone Amphan, which caused many dea…
Almost three months after the COVID-19 pandemic hit the Americas and the Caribbean, data is showing how deeply the private sector has been affected, as some businesses are being forced to close while others are struggling to continue operating due to limitations in markets and supply chains.
Whilst the economic impact of the crisis is still…
"The COVID-19 crisis is going to change how we work forever," stressed Rodney Martínez, World Meteorological Organization representative for North America, Central America and the Caribbean. “We cannot keep reflecting on the problems that continue to drag on for decades. One of the main challenges in the region is the dispersion and fragmentation…
PANAMA CITY, Panama, June 28 2016— In the midst of one of the worst droughts to affect Central America in decades, the expanded Panama Canal is a model for how to adapt to climate change and reduce disaster risk.
The 77-kilometre canal, which is a major conduit for international commerce, has been operating since 1914. It has just undergone a major upg…
Cruise ships are steaming back to Caribbean ports, airlines are ramping up flights and the vaccine roll-out is underway but it could still be several years before countries recuperate from the pandemic that has rocked the region, say experts.
Despite the deep scars left by the crisis, countries now have a fresh focus on health, resilience and regionali…
The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) released today the report entitled The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic: an opportunity for a systemic approach to disaster risk for the Caribbean, which outlines the systemic nature of disaster risk and how it gen…
As part of the 124th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly, held from 15 to 20 of April in Panama City, a meeting was organized with parliamentarians on the importance of disaster risk reduction (DRR) and building sustainable development.
The panel was moderated by Maureen Ballestero Vargas, former Vice-President of the Legislative Assembly of Costa…
GENEVA, 9 February 2012 - The dynamic new Vice-President of the National Assembly of Panama, Rony Araúz, is emerging as a leading advocate of disaster risk reduction in Central America following a career monitoring the passage of hazardous materials through the Panama Canal.
He spent ten years working for the Emergency and Contingency Management Divisi…