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Disaster risk solutions

Scalable and replicable case studies to prevent disasters.

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A catalogue of evidence-based practices to reduce disaster risk.

Concrete innovations, inventions, and strategies are reducing the impacts of disasters worldwide. These practical case studies and proven strategies address various aspects of disaster risk.

The documented successes, measurable achievements, avoided disasters, and tangible outcomes serve as lessons for those planning actions to enhance resilience, reduce vulnerability, and protect communities from the adverse effects of disasters.

The case studies you will find below encompass a wide range of practical DRR measures, including early warning systems, community-based initiatives, green and grey infrastructure improvements, policy implementations, and innovative technologies that have been applied and proven effective in real-world scenarios.

Featured stories

Houses that can float could protect vulnerable people from flooding

This concept retrofits houses with flotation devices and tethers them to poles - allowing the house to rise with floodwaters and descend to their foundations when the flood subsides.

Can wildfire prevention offer sustainable business opportunities?

Because of climate change, wildfires are becoming more intense and frequent. Prevention measures often come with a hefty price tag. Across Europe, fire-smart solutions make wildfire prevention more sustainable, by offering ecological, economic and social benefits.

Rain-related early warning in Japan

“The risk is imminent” translates as KiKIKURU in Japanese. It’s the name of an innovative early warning system for rain-related hazards in Japan. KIKIKURU was developed by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). The system provides real-time hazard updates using a high spatial resolution of 1 km.

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Flood Refuge
Update

Cyclone Remal: A wake-up call for building resilience

Bangladesh, a country heavily impacted by climate change, recently witnessed a prolonged heatwave with temperatures reaching 42°C, followed by the long duration of Cyclone Remal, and subsequent floods.
Flood Resilience Portal
Rice terraces in the Philippines. The village is in a valley among the rice terraces. Rice cultivation in the North of the Philippines, Batad, Banaue.
Update

How Asia's 5,000-year-old rice terraces are inspiring modern flood control

Parks, roofs and riverbanks mimicking the long-used agricultural form are helping Asian cities absorb, hold and purify rainwater.
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
A group of five children from a village in Pakistan playing in the green field.
Update

Still standing: How USAID’s disaster-resilient construction in Pakistan is keeping children in school amidst devastating floods

These USAID-constructed schools served as epicenters of the recovery from the disaster. For the 17,000 people whose homes were destroyed during the floods, 59 of the schools were able to be used as temporary shelters.
Climatelinks
Aerial view of flooded houses with dirty water of Dnister River in Halych town, western Ukraine
Update

From flood zones to green zones

In Charlotte, North Carolina, flood-prone apartments were converted into a wetland habitat that now helps protect the community from flooding.
Yale Climate Connections
Close picture of crops with sky background
Update

In drought-prone Oaxaca, indigenous women are reviving ancient techniques to preserve water

As water scarcity threatens their livelihoods, indigenous women in Mexico are relearning how to grow their ancestral foods.
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Heatwave, Bangladesh, 2023
Update

As temperatures in India break records, ancient terracotta air coolers are helping fight extreme heat

In India's scorching summer heat, the ancient practice of chilling water in terracotta pots is inspiring new trends – from cooling towers to screens for buildings.
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
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Do you have a solution to share with the DRR community? Submit published content on a disaster risk reduction solution in the form of a news article or a publication. See our content submission policy. PreventionWeb editors will review your content and get back to your promptly.
Coloured houses on a windy day
Disaster risk reduction and disaster risk management
The policy objective of anticipating and reducing risk is called disaster risk reduction (DRR). Disaster risk management (DRM) can be thought of as the implementation of DRR, since it describes the actions that aim to achieve the objective of reducing risk.

Developing local-level solutions

Is your city resilient? Does its resilience help its citizens to prosper and flourish? Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) is a unique cross-stakeholder initiative for improving local resilience. See how cities around the world build their capacities to tackle disasters.

MCR2030 is a place where cities can find guidance and support to enhance understanding on risk reduction and resilience, to improve strategic planning to reduce risk and build resilience, and to take actions and progress along the resilience roadmap.

See below news from cities that have taken the leap to reduce disaster risk.

Join MCR2030

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