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13 October: International Day of Disaster Reduction



The theme for the 2016 International Day of Disaster Reduction, on 13 October, is ‘Live to Tell: Raising Awareness, Reducing Mortality.’

Held annually, the United Nations International Day of Disaster Reduction was inaugurated in 1989. Its aim is to raise awareness of the deadly nature of disasters and how they can be mitigated. Disaster Risk Education (DRE) or Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) are courses of action that may reduce the exposure of people to disasters, natural and human-made.

The 2016 International Day of Disaster Reduction marks the launch of the new United Nations campaign called the ‘Sendai Seven Campaign: Seven Targets, Seven Years.’ The Sendai Framework, adopted in 2015, centres on seven targets, and the first is reducing the mortality rate of disasters. The campaign seeks to create awareness of actions that individuals, communities, governments, municipalities, civil society, and the private sector can take to promote best practices to reduce disaster losses.

Globally, women and children are up to 14 times more likely than men to die in a disaster. It is due to the high number of maternal and infant deaths. For example, about 60% of maternal deaths and 53% of deaths of children under the age of five, occur in a natural or conflict disaster event. Other disproportionately high rates of deaths occur among persons living with disabilities, older persons, and indigenous people.

In the past 10 years, 80% of disasters have occured in Asia-Pacific, mostly natural disasters. Already in 2016, China has had 23 typhoons and several major earthquakes.

The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, urges people to take a proactive approach, rather than a reactive approach, to disasters. Disasters include rising seas, tsunamis, earthquakes, droughts, heatwaves, floods, storms, bushfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, typhoons, landslides, conflicts, and wars.

Disaster Risk Reduction includes devising action plans to strengthen community resilience, customised to the local context, to respond effectively to catastrophes. For most countries and governments, including local municipalities, this includes identifying early warning systems, particularly to natural disasters. Communities need to be familiar with evacuation routes and procedures, and know how to protect themselves when a disaster strikes. Citizens, especially children, should understand the hazards around them and develop coping mechanisms to prevent or minimise the negative impact of disasters.

Early warning, early training, early preparation, and early practice all help to reduce the risk of disasters.




http://www.un.org/en/events/disasterreductionday/

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).


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