Madrid, Spain
INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR DISASTER REDUCTION
Every 13th of October the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction takes place. It is an opportunity to create awareness about how to reduce disaster risk as well as loss of life. Furthermore, it shows how to improve livelihoods and health.
Disasters impact low- and middle-income countries disproportionately, particularly in terms of mortality, numbers of people injured, displaced and homeless, economic losses (as a percentage of GDP) and damage to critical infrastructure. We cannot eradicate poverty and hunger if we don’t step up investments in disaster risk reduction. International cooperation for developing countries through Official Development Aid (ODA) and capacity building is essential to boost disaster resilience in the face of extreme weather events and other natural and man-made hazards.
The poorer a community is, the more vulnerable it is to natural hazards and climate change. Disasters do not have an equal effect on everyone. Children, women and girls, elderly people, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, and other marginalized communities especially in lower income countries are often disproportionately affected by disasters.
Is it possible to reduce disaster risk?
In flood-prone areas, architecture can help to reduce disaster risks by employing materials that are highly resistant to floodwater damage as well as damage caused by moving water. The materials often include a combination of concrete, latex, and vinyl on the floor, and bricks and metals on the walls and ceilings.
Although it is impossible to eliminate disaster risk, countries have the opportunity to prevent disasters through their policy and legislative frameworks. They should prepare their institutions in line surge the goal, targets and proprieties for action of the Sendai Framework. However, a successful strategy for disaster risk reduction is complex and requires effective multistakeholder coordination mechanisms, an overarching national policy, transdisciplinary and multisector collaboration as well as input, amongst other requisites
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