11 Oct 2017   

International Day for Disaster Reduction

October 13th is International Day for Disaster Reduction, a day to promote a global culture of risk awareness and disaster reduction. This occasion began in 1989 when the United Nations General Assembly called for a day to raise global awareness about disaster risk reduction at the community level that could contribute to saving homes and livelihoods.

With more than $175 billion in damage caused by natural disasters worldwide in 2016, and millions of people around the world exposed to climate-related natural disasters, droughts and associated food insecurities, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction launched the “Sendai Seven” campaign to promote the seven goals of the Sendai Framework for disaster reduction. This year’s theme is centred on Target B of the Sendai Framework, which is to reduce the number of people affected by disasters by 2030.

In the nearly twenty years between 1996 and 2015, there were 7,056 disasters recorded worldwide, which is double the number of disasters that happened during the previous two decades from 1976-1995. As a result of high global temperatures, twice as many major droughts occurred during 2015 in comparison to the annual average of 16 between the period of 2006 and 2015.

Flooding affects more people than any other natural disaster. In 2016, the U.S. saw more floods than ever in response to rapidly changing systems of weather patterns. Over 28,000 square miles surrounding Houston were covered in water at the height of Hurricane Harvey’s landfall in Texas at the end of August. Flooding in Asia has also had catastrophic effects. Over 1,200 people were killed from June-September 2017 in flooding in Bangladesh and India, and 12 million people were forced to evacuate their homes in South China due to rising flood waters. 

       
 View the full infographic here.                       View the full infographic here.                      View the full infographic here. 

Considering the number of people affected by climate change is predicted to double in the next 12 years, disaster relief and humanitarian professionals are constantly on the lookout for innovations and technology that drive effectiveness of aid delivery and crisis response.

The Aid and International Development Forum will unite key representatives and decision makers from regional governments, UN agencies, NGOs, research institutes, development banks, donors, solutions providers and technology developers, to raise awareness about actions taken to reduce mortality, decrease disaster losses and improve management of disaster risk around the world. Learn more about advances in disaster relief and resilience and discuss practices and policies for the advancement of disaster prevention and reduction at the upcoming:

       3rd annual                                                     4th annual                                               10th anniversary 
        
      27-28 February 2018                               13-14 June 2018                                  5-6 September 2018
      Nairobi, Kenya                                              Bangkok, Thailand                                Washington D.C., USA 
      africa.aidforum.org                                    asia.aidforum.org                                  global.aidforum.org

Looking to raise the profile of your products and services? AIDF events provide a fantastic opportunity to showcase your sustainable solutions to an audience of influential stakeholders from the humanitarian aid and development community, focused on advancing Sustainable Development Goals and improving efficiency of disaster relief. Enquire about sponsoring by tel: +44 (0)20 7871 0188 or email marketing@aidforum.org

Learn more about International Day for Disaster Reduction here.