The mayors of Beirut, Tripoli, Sidon, Byblos, Tyre and Baalbek have signed the UN-backed Making Cities Resilient: "My city is getting ready" world disaster reduction campaign reports the Daily Star. The campaign is intended to help cities better protect themselves against disasters, and allow them to respond more coherently if, and when, danger strikes.
The event is also accompanied by a two-week awareness campaign, warning people about the need to preserve forests and how to react in cases of different disasters.
“At the end of the day, we can stop natural events from becoming natural disasters by improving disaster preparedness and response, and by developing development plans and policies based on an understanding of risks,” said Marta Ruedas, UN deputy special coordinator for Lebanon, on the occasion of the international day for disaster reduction.
"[Today] sends a clear signal of the commitment of the government of Lebanon to take forward the disaster management agenda."