Press release

Examples in Algeria, Afghanistan, Colombia, India, Turkey, and, Nepal show that the building code enforcement and the political commitment in constructing safe schools can offer many lessons learned to other countries at high seismic risk. “ We need to

As the United States commemorates the 100th anniversary of the San Francisco earthquake of April 18, 1906, one of the worst earthquakes in U.S. history, the director of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction secretariat recalls

In 2005, there was an 18 per cent rise in disasters that killed 91,900 people according to official figures issued by the Belgian Université Catholique de Louvain’s Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters and the United Nations International

A year ago, in Kobe Hyogo Japan, 168 governments signed the Hyogo Framework, a plan of action to reduce the impact of natural hazards on populations over the next decade. Since its adoption, 40 countries have revised their policies to put disaster risk

Policy makers are set to agree on a continental programme of action to implement the Africa Regional Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction - a programme that will protect lives and livelihoods from the risks of natural hazards. The first African Union

Yann Arthus Bertrand is the first artist to promote disaster risk reduction at the international level. For years, he has photographed the world from the sky, showing the beauty of the Earth. However, he says that “this testimony is worthless if it does

The Indian Ocean tsunami demonstrated the high vulnerability and low resilience of coastal communities in disaster situations. In order to build safer coastal communities, Denmark is organising an International Workshop entitled, “Strengthening the

A young English survivor of the Indian Ocean disaster brought this message to the United Nations in New York today. Tilly Smith, an eleven year old schoolgirl was on holiday in Thailand with her family when the tsunami hit. She recognized the signs of the

“What we are witnessing now in the Caribbean is an example of an effective working early warning system” says Salvano Briceño, Director of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. “The timely warning messages provided by the US National

On the occasion of the International Day for Disaster Reduction, to be held on 12 October 2005, and to mark the International Year of Micro credit, the secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction is launching a global debate on how