Video Message by the President of the General Assembly,
Mr. Dennis Francis,
on Extreme Weather and Flooding
24 May 2024
[As Delivered]
The world is witnessing a frightening surge in extreme climate events – unleashing increasingly frequent and devastating floods that wreak havoc on lives and livelihoods and cause extensive destruction to infrastructure across communities worldwide.
Recent floods in Brazil have claimed over one hundred lives and affected over 1.5 million people.
In Afghanistan, heavy rainfall and flooding have displaced 40,000 children from their homes and cause hundreds to lose their lives.
Severe flooding has also affected many countries in East Africa including Kenya, Tanzania, Somalia and Ethiopia.
In Kenya, floods have impacted hundreds of thousands of people – leading to displacement, loss of livestock and cropland, extreme strain on health systems, and damage to road infrastructure.
In Northern Europe, heavy rains have triggered severe inundations, swamped streets, and prompted evacuations.
Meanwhile, in the Comoros, the devastation caused by flooding has led to a dire humanitarian crisis, including a cholera outbreak, sadly claiming lives.
And here in the United States, violent storms in Houston and Louisiana resulted in extensive flash flooding.
Across all these examples, one thing is clear – we must come together in a joint effort to improve planning for disaster risk reduction, investing in early warning systems and building resilience capable of minimizing such damage and losses.
Let us unite to build a future where flooding is met with fortified defenses, and where communities are better protected and resilient, ensuring a safer, more sustainable future for everyone, everywhere.
I thank you.
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Full video: https://youtu.be/WQ34K5VZbqc
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