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Displaying 15 of about 21 resultsNEW YORK, 31 March, 2016 - An earthquake off the coast of south-west Japan on 5 November, 1854, triggered a large tsunami that left 15,000 homes either damaged or completely destroyed.
A local farmer, Hamaguchi Goryo, noticed the receding waters and immediately recognised this tell-tale sign of tsunami risk. He set fire to his entire year’s harvest of…
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…
GENEVA, 14 October 2011 – Some 80 plus countries commemorated the UN International Disaster Reduction Day (IDDR 11) yesterday. “This welcome groundswell of support concretely demonstrates the growing importance and awareness of risk reduction around the world,” said UNISDR Chief Margareta Wahlström today.
So far some 100 events have been reported from…
GENEVA, 28 September - Under the slogan ‘Step Up for Disaster Risk Reduction’, UNISDR and the coalition Children in a Changing Climate - PLAN International, Save the Children, UNICEF and World Vision - will focus on children and young people on the International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR) on 13 October.
The Children’s Charter for Disaster Risk R…
New York, 3 November, 2017 - There needs to be an urgent shift from managing disasters to managing disaster risk, according to the UN Deputy Secretary- General, Ms. Amina J. Mohammed, speaking to a High Level Panel this week in New York.
The panel was convened to mark World Tsunami Awareness Day on November 5 and featured representatives…
GENEVA, 8 March 2012 - The UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, Margareta Wahlström, marked International Women's Day today with a call to governments in the world's most disaster-prone countries to "empower girls and women through education and access to resources as part of building resilience to disasters at comm…
Geneva, Switzerland – A new report from the United Nations confirms what governments already hear but are slow to believe: that disciplined public sector involvement in “disaster risk reduction” can significantly reduce setbacks brought by hundreds of droughts, earthquakes, wildfires, hurricanes and other hazards that befall the world each year, on aver…
Addressing journalists at the Palais des Nations this afternoon, General Assembly President Joseph Deiss said that reducing vulnerability to natural hazards must be a top priority of the international community.
“Reducing disaster risks is essential if we are to consolidate progress made in development and poverty reduction,” he said, briefing correspo…
2009 Sasakawa award call for nominations now open
Nominations are now open for the 2009 Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction. Nominees should be individuals and institutions from around the world who have contributed to building the resilience of nations and communities to natural hazards through innovative practices and outstanding initiatives. Nomin…
GENEVA, 6 May 2013 - The Philippines and Sweden have two projects each short-listed for the UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction which will be presented in Geneva on May 22 during the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction. Projects from Bangladesh and Brazil have also been short-listed by the judging panel which reviewed 28 projects from…
9 August, Geneva - As the United Nations today commemorates the 17th International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples under the theme of "Indigenous designs: celebrating stories and cultures, crafting our own future", it is perhaps timely to flag the positive contributions such cultures are able to make to disaster risk reduction and climate change a…
Disasters affect men and women differently, and so we will continue to lobby for gender-sensitive vulnerability, risk and capacity assessments. Studies show that women’s vulnerabilities during and after disasters is linked to their role and status in society, making women and children 14 times more likely to die than men during a disaster.
At the same…
GENEVA, 13 October 2011 – The UN office for disaster risk reduction, UNISDR, today marked International Disaster Reduction Day with a call for children and young people to be empowered and engaged in disaster risk reduction as the group most affected by disasters each year.
UNISDR estimates that every year over 100 million young people including childr…
GENEVA, 18 August 2015 – UNISDR has added new momentum to the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, a 15-year international plan to curb deaths and economic damage caused by natural and man-made hazards.
The 'Words into Action' process, launched today, will gather experts from around the globe to shape by the end of 2016 a…
GENEVA, 28 October 2013 - One tweet on 13 October this year, "Disability is not inability! I am supporting this year's International Day for Disaster Reduction", was the simple message that galvanized over five million people all over the world on social media around the critical issue of persons living with disabilities and disasters.
This year's Inte…