March 20, 2015

World Conference adopts new international framework for disaster risk reduction after marathon negotiations

After over 30 hours of negotiations, a new global framework for disaster risk reduction is finally adopted by 187 UN member states at the UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan... Read More

What happened this week?

Peru: District of Toraya, Aymaraes province in the Apurimac department: Landslides caused by intense rains leaves 23 families affected, 91 more families severely affected, 11 collapsed houses, 12 totally destroyed, damages in 7kms of roadway, 1 vehicle bridge, 14 hectares of cultures and 250 affected animals... Read More

Mexico: Floods. The governor of Michoacán, Salvador Jara Guerrero, reported on Monday that at least 850 homes turned out damaged and some 3,000 people affected in the municipalities of Morelia, Zamora and Apatzingán, due to the rains of the last three days... Read More

Chile: Wild Fire, Valparaiso. 572 hectares of the outskirts of the City have been consumed since Friday. There are no reports of people affected or damages to homes. In the early hours of Saturday it forced the authorities to evacuate some 7,000 people of their homes. A person is reported to be dead and 33 injured people, of which 18 belong to the Fire Department...Read More

Brazil: Drought. The National Secretariat of Defense, Civil Defense and the Ministry of National Integration have declared Emergency due to the drought in Alto Alegre, Amajari, Iracema, and Mucajaí, in Roraima. This will assist the process of reestablishing essential services and advancing the actions necessary for the response... Read More

Canada: Snowstorm. For the second time in three days a large storm is battering parts of Atlantic Canada with snow and high winds, with up to 50 centimeters of snow reported in some regions of Nova Scotia. Halifax is almost completely shut down, with all transit pulled off the roads and government buildings and universities closed for the day... Read More

Interesting Facts

World Atlas of Natural Disaster Risk ranks exposure to 11 natural hazards. New research published on the eve of the UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction maps the economic and human effects of natural disasters from global to national scale... Read More

A healthy society is a disaster resilient society.  Disasters are usually measured by the number of deaths, injuries and damage to property that they cause. But, do these measures truly express the magnitude of damage to people’s health and quality of life?... Read More

When is a disaster a disaster? United Nations expert group develops regional guidance... Read More

What's new in Disaster Risk Reduction?

Sendai: UN conference adopts new, people-centred disaster risk reduction strategy. 

Death, destruction and displacement wrought by natural disasters would be significantly reduced by 2030 under a new framework adopted by countries attending the Third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, in Sendai, Japan, where they also affirmed the “urgent and critical need” to anticipate, plan for and reduce such risk to more effectively protect people, communities and countries, and to build resilience... Read More

IFRC announces ‘One Billion Coalition for Resilience’ at World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. lhadj As Sy, Secretary General of the IFRC, announces the "One Billion Coalition for Resilience" at a press briefing at the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan... Read More

ICSU at WCDRR: “Applying Science and Technology to Disaster Risk Reduction Decision-making. Day two of the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan featured a working session on how to apply science and technology to disaster risk reduction decision-making... Read More

Women are key in tackling disaster: UN officials. Women are far more exposed to disasters than men given their frontline roles in the home and in healthcare, the UN says, arguing that improving gender equality is key to saving lives... Read More