Join us on October 13th for the International Day for Disaster Reduction
The International Day for Disaster Reduction occurs every year on October 13th to celebrate and raise awareness about what we can all do to reduce our risk to disasters such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes.
The day brings attention to how people are taking action to reduce their risk to disasters and this year the spotlight is on children and young people!
What is Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)?
It's a different way of thinking: "There is no such thing as a 'natural' disaster".
For example, when a building collapses after an earthquake, we think of it as a disaster and something we can't control. We can't stop an earthquake from happening, but:
- Could we have prevented the building from collapsing?
- Could the building have been built so that it wouldn't have collapsed?
- Have there been earthquakes here before? If so, should we have built here in the first place?
Disaster risk reduction is about understanding our personal and environmental risks of a hazard - like an earthquake, flood, cyclone, and landslides - and finding ways to reduce this risk so that we aren't affected by them, or are able to bounce back quickly if they do affect us.
Disasters don't have to happen. We can all do something to reduce our risk!
What can you do?
Let the world know that children and young people are partners in reducing disaster risk.
- Children and young people can and should be involved in reducing risk to disasters. This includes getting organized to lobby for more investment in disaster risk reduction at the local and community level by governments and companies.
- Their actions to reduce disaster risk needs to be recognized, including how these actions link into national and community development such as achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
Promote more partnerships with children and young people in disaster risk reduction
- Governments, companies and communities need to systematically include children and young people's participation in their decision-making processes for building disaster resilient societies.
- Policy makers should recognize that children and young people-led organizations and initiatives are a valuable resource and involve them in DRR efforts.
Connect and build bridges and understanding among children and young people
- Children and young people's networks and partnerships need to be encouraged across cultures.
- Children and young people need to be empowered and supported as agents of social inclusion and safety.