Op-ed: Climate change is a threat to rich and poor alike
The heads of the UN's agencies for development, climate change and disaster risk say recent hurricanes are a reminder that the impacts of climate change know no borders.
El Niño not a one-off event, UN says, calling for action
The international community must boost efforts to build the capacity for disaster risk management to prevent El Niño weather extremes from causing humanitarian crises, the ECOSOC president said.
UN report finds 90 per cent of disasters are weather-related
A new report issued today by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) shows that over the last 20 years, 90 per cent of major disasters have been caused by 6,457 recorded floods, storms, heatwaves, droughts and other weather-related events.
Agriculture bears brunt of disaster impacts, new report says
Farmers in developing nations bear the "major brunt" of natural disasters yet receive just a small percentage of post-disaster aid, says a new study released today by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) at the UN World Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan.
WATCH: Why risk-informed development makes communities more resilient
In the last 20 years, we've seen over 1.3 million people killed and more than 4 billion affected by disasters that have cost at least US$2 trillion. It is clear that we will never eradicate poverty or achieve sustainable development goals so long as disasters continue to set back progress. But it doesn't have to be this way. While weak development choices expose people to disasters, good, risk-informed development makes people and communities more resilient.
Voices from Sendai: “The disaster reality that must change”
As cyclones sweep the Asia Pacific region and world leaders meet at the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Rachel Kyte, World Bank Group vice president and special envoy for climate change shares her perspective on why disaster preparedness is key.
Integrating resilience and sustainable development in 2015 and beyond
As government representatives and experts from around the world gather in Japan to endorse a post-2015 framework for global disaster risk reduction, the World Bank Group has today emphasized that increasing resilience and disaster risk reduction are central to alleviating poverty and boosting shared prosperity.
Persons with disabilities can lead the way in situations of emergency
Including persons with disabilities in emergency plans will be one of the topics addressed at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held from 14 to 18 March 2015 in Sendai, Japan.