News Archive

Media call for bigger disaster risk reduction role

International broadcasting federations have vowed to step up their work to spread information about disaster risk reduction to their audiences, thereby giving a critical boost to efforts by governments.

East Africa backs Sendai Framework implementation

Members of parliament from the six-nation East African Community have vowed to step up a drive to implement the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction in their region.

Making cinemas resilient: Cinemex shows the way

Mexico's Cinemex, one of the world’s largest movie theatre groups, has scaled up a resilience campaign with its country's national disaster prevention authorities.

Sendai Framework monitoring starts early 2018

A key plenary session at the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, in Cancun, Mexico, focussed on the Sendai Framework Monitor which is due to be launched early next year following a data readiness review involving 87 countries.

Global Platform stresses action on Sendai

The Global Platform closed today in Cancun, Mexico, with the completion of a raft of recommendations for making progress on implementation of the Sendai Framework.

Inclusive technology … at the Double!

Vatican supports Sendai Framework implementation

Reducing risk means harnessing data

Data is a vital raw material if countries are to meet the aims of an international agreement on lowering hazard threats,  the 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction heard today, as a new monitoring report underscored what needs to be done.

Preserving heritage boosts disaster resilience

Cultural heritage and indigenous knowledge are key resources of community and national disaster resilience across the world. However, much of this heritage and knowledge is being lost to both sudden and slow-onset disasters, weakening the resilience capacity of future generations.

Mongolia’s Deputy PM honoured as Asia DRR Champion

Women must be central in disaster prevention

Countries around the world need to focus on women if they are to achieve the aims of a 15-year agreement to curb hazard impacts, according to delegates at the 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction.

From Ghost Town to Sue Nami: art and disaster prevention

The sound of a brass band cover of the iconic song Ghost Town and the sharp-tongued advice of human hazard Sue Nami have echoed in the packed halls of the 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, thanks to an art installation that aims to entertain and spark debate.

Governments and business should engage to curb risk

Businesses and the authorities need to work hand in hand to prevent natural and human-induced from hazards sparking disasters, a top international conference has heard.

The Cancun High-Level Communiqué

A new milestone for risk mapping

The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction today launched a landmark interactive atlas that exposes the hidden threats posed by natural hazards in national economies and countries’ urban centres.

UN, Red Cross/Red Crescent join forces to reduce disaster deaths for women and girls

A major initiative to prevent large numbers of women and girls dying in disasters and to ensure they are included in disaster risk management was launched today at the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Cancun, Mexico, by the United Nations and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

Strategies key to Sendai progress

The 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction today urged countries and cities to develop clear, aligned, integrated and supported DRR strategies in order to move forward on the Sendai Framework.

UN Sasakawa Award honours efforts to curb disaster deaths

Efforts to reduce disaster death tolls in Portugal, Iran, Brazil and Fiji have been honoured by an international award from the United Nations and Japan’s Nippon Foundation.

Nepal nursing project wins Risk Award

A cutting-edge plan to deploy the power of technology to monitor health risks in Nepal has won an international award at the 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Early warning for all

Advances in early warning systems and disaster risk awareness have saved tens of thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars.

President of Mexico opens Global Platform

The Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction was inaugurated today by the President of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto, as some 6,000 participants descended on the coastal town of Cancun for a series of working meetings to make progress on reducing disaster losses.

Tsunami survivor's plea for early warning

A two day Multi-Hazard Early Warning Conference is underway in Cancun, Mexico, and its recommendations will feed into the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction which opens tomorrow.

Mexico Hosts Record Gathering on Disaster Prevention

Early warning where there is no internet

UN business group calls for resilience

A UN-backed group of companies working to curb hazard impacts has unveiled a new plan of action on the eve of the 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Is leaving home the answer to climate change?

For island nations on the frontline of climate change and a swathe of natural hazards, the issue of whether communities should give up the battle and leave is never far away.

UN Disaster Resilience Scorecard to Target Cities

Risks to Small Island Developing States spotlighted

Dozens of the world’s most climate-vulnerable island nations today spotlighted efforts to curb threats posed by hazards and to make development sustainable, ahead of the 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction.

African countries boost risk knowledge

The island nation of Cabo Verde and landlocked Swaziland have joined 26 other countries in Africa that are implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, a 15-year global agreement which seeks to save lives, reduce disaster losses and improve management of disaster risk by enhancing risk knowledge.

China reaffirms disaster risk cooperation commitment

China’s Minister of Civil Affairs has reaffirmed his country’s commitment to increasing international cooperation to address the common challenge of disasters.