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Displaying 15 of about 36 resultsGENEVA, 26 August 2013 - Small Island Developing States will this week seek to plot a course to a safer and more resilient future as part of their preparations for a major conference next year.
The Inter-regional preparatory meeting for the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which opens today in Bridgetown, Barbado…
GENEVA, 3 February 2012 - A 15-day state of disaster is currently in effect in areas on the west coast of Fiji that have been ravaged by floods which began on 22 January.
A flood watch is in place as periods of heavy rain are expected. All those living in flood-prone areas have been advised to evacuate and take with them food, water and a change of clo…
Since the tragedy of the 2015 earthquakes, Nepal has undergone a political and structural transformation in how it approaches disaster risk governance. This has resulted in the decentralization of authority to the lowest levels of government in an effort to build resilience from the ground up.
Disaster risk reduction (DRR) is most effective when…
Suva –Local wisdom, ownership and leadership are critical factors for effective humanitarian action in support of communities exposed and vulnerable to climate and disaster risk. Preparedness and response planning need to be more collaborative and inclusive, the Pacific Resilience Partnership (PRP) ’s webinar on ‘Local Humanitarian Action for a Res…
CANCUN, Mexico, 25 May 2017 – Efforts to reduce disaster death tolls in Portugal, Iran, Brazil and Fiji have been honoured by an international award from the United Nations and Japan’s Nippon Foundation.
Issued at the 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, the biennial Sasakawa Award recognised projects that have made a substantial contribut…
Stuart Mawbey is an emergency service volunteer worker and manager as well as a person living with disabilities. He has spent the last 15 years assisting in emergencies in the Australian States of South Australia and New South Wales. Here he reflects on the immense personal satisfaction he derives from his volunteerism as well as the ongoing challenges…
The shared trauma and experiences of disasters over the decades have helped shape Japan’s unique disaster culture, where all segments of society contribute to disaster prevention and mitigation. The current COVID-19 pandemic has been no exception, and under the guidance and coordination of the central government, the private sector has emerged as a key…
The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) Women’s International Network for Disaster Risk Reduction (WIN DRR), UN Women and UNDRR’s Regional Office for Asia and Pacific hosted an online discussion with some of the Asia-Pacific region's most accomplished women in the field. The event distilled decades of experience in governance and r…
Suva – In light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with sudden and slow disasters, Fiji, the Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI) and Tuvalu are re-examining how their laws can be updated to better reflect the increasing complexity of disasters.
On top of the COVID-19 pandemic, the countries of the Pacific have had to deal with mult…
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, women leaders in the Pacific have been able to carve a larger space to bring the voices and perspectives of women and girls to the policy tables and influence disaster preparedness and response.
Ms Agnes Titus, of the Nazareth Centre for Rehabilitation in Bougainville, an autonomous region in Papua New Guinea, co…
GENEVA, 10 October 2016 - There were fears of very large loss of life when Fiji was hit in February this year by the first category 5 cyclone in its recorded history, and the strongest ever seen in the southern hemisphere.
Cyclone Winston brought wind speeds which would have lifted an airplane, averaging 220 kilometres per hour and gusts of 315 kilomet…
SYDNEY, Australia, 16 March 2016 - Australian businesses are coming together to improve community safety and outcomes following natural disasters in a country that is confronted reguarly by events such as bushfires, floods, cyclones and severe storm activity.
The costs of natural disasters exceeded A$9 billion in 2015, and it is estimated that, without…
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…
GENEVA, 1 May 2013 - When college sophomore Sam Johnson started a Facebook page following the September 2010 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, to rally his peers to help affected communities, he never imagined that his idea would eventually mobilize an 'army' of young people across the country to take up similar efforts.
Nor could he have imagin…
Over 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…