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Residents of Dili, Timor-Leste had been sleeping when flashfloods started inundating the capital in the early hours of April 4, 2021. As floodwaters brought by days of rains surged and began sweeping away houses along the Comoro river, many locals abandoned their homes to find safety. With no information on what to do or where to go, people took shelte…
GENEVA, 8 September 2017 - The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, Mr. Robert Glasser, today expressed his deep concern at the volume of extreme weather events unfolding across the world and the implications for future loss of life and economic damage to the world economy. Mr. Glasser said: “There can be little do…
BONN, 17 October 2017 – The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, Mr. Robert Glasser, today announced that next year will see the start of worldwide monitoring of disaster losses from extreme weather events and earthquakes through the Bonn office of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). Speaking at the…
GENEVA, 2 February 2017 – Sites such as mangroves, coral reefs, flood plains or peat marshes are natural buffers against weather hazards including storms and floods, according to experts marking this year’s World Wetlands Day. “Disasters and disaster risk are rising,” said Ms. Jane Madgwick, Chief Executive Officer of Wetlands International. “Ninety pe…
GENEVA, 8 February 2017 – The Philippines, one of the most disaster risk-prone nations in the world, is stepping up efforts to ensure that its communities can withstand natural and human-induced hazards. “If we’re able to reduce risk then there may be no need for response. So the more we focus on prevention and mitigation, the less we might need to res…
GENEVA, 3 March, 2017 - The Americas region meets next week to discuss the best way forward to reduce disaster losses as a new Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) demonstrates the full impact of the devastation wrought on Haiti by Hurricane Matthew in October last year. It also confirms Haiti’s position as the most disaster-prone country in the Ameri…
MEXICO, 14 March, 2017 - Shortly after Hurricane Katrina struck the southern USA, 200 Mexican troops crossed the US border outside Laredo, Texas, and made their way towards San Antonio. It was the first time a Mexican army contingent had entered Texas since the Battle of the Alamo in 1836. In 2005, the Mexican soldiers were on a relief mission to feed t…
MANILA, 9 November 2016 –  Exactly three years after the country was lashed by the deadly Typhoon Haiyan, UNISDR’s Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies (ARISE) network in the Philippines yesterday committed to strengthen partnerships with national and local authorities, academia and civil society as part of its ambition to…
BALACLAVA, Mauritius, 23 November 2016 - Host country Mauritius is using this week’s Africa Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction to profile the challenges facing small island developing states (SIDS) battling a rise in climate-related disasters which constitute an existential threat to many of them. This is the first time that one of Africa’s…
CANCUN, 23 May 2017 – Living on an island in the middle of the ocean with no internet, television or mobile phones is a real-life disaster risk nightmare for one Pacific nation. Yet, the prospect of reaching the last mile – a phrase with true meaning in this part of the world – has inspired the tiny band of disaster risk reduction policymakers and prac…