The opening day of the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction was marked today by a stark reminder that disaster risk management is a matter of life and death
The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) agreed to help pioneer a new ISO Standard in 45 cities already recognized for their commitment to keeping their citizens safe from a range of natural hazards including floods, storms and earthquakes.
Both UNISDR and HelpAge International are urging governments to commit to Charter 14, a 14-point declaration pledging to include older people in disaster risk reduction efforts.
While 70% of deaths are caused by earthquakes, climate-related disasters now account for over 80% of all disaster events and contribute enormously to economic losses and short and long-term population displacement triggered by disaster events.
The 5th annual Natural Hazards Risk Atlas (NHRA) assesses the natural hazard exposure of over 1,300 cities, selected for their importance as significant economic and population centres in the coming decade. Of the 100 cities with the greatest exposure to natural hazards, 21 are located in the Philippines, 16 in China, 11 in Japan and 8 in Bangladesh. The analysis considers the combined risk posed by tropical storms and cyclones, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, severe storms, extra-tropical cyclones, wildfires, storm surges, volcanoes and landslides.
One of the lessons learnt from last year is the use of innovative technologies for assessing damages after disasters, said the ‘Disaster in Asia and the Pacific: 2014 Year in Review’ report by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.
“Disaster risk reduction saves lives and cuts losses,” says U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
The 2015 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (GAR15), prepared by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) launched by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on March 4, 2015, states that economic losses from disasters are now reaching an average of US$250 billion to US$300 billion annually.
The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction has designated the City of Hoboken, New Jersey, USA, as a Role Model City of the Making Cities Resilient campaign for its flood risk management practices.
UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) released its study on “Disasters in Asia and the Pacific: 2014 Year in review” which provides an overview of natural disasters in the Asia-Pacific region and its impacts.