DRR Solutions space

Disaster risk solutions

Scalable and replicable case studies to prevent disasters.

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A catalogue of evidence-based practices to reduce disaster risk.

Concrete innovations, inventions, and strategies are reducing the impacts of disasters worldwide. These practical case studies and proven strategies address various aspects of disaster risk.

The documented successes, measurable achievements, avoided disasters, and tangible outcomes serve as lessons for those planning actions to enhance resilience, reduce vulnerability, and protect communities from the adverse effects of disasters.

The case studies you will find below encompass a wide range of practical DRR measures, including early warning systems, community-based initiatives, green and grey infrastructure improvements, policy implementations, and innovative technologies that have been applied and proven effective in real-world scenarios.

Featured stories

Houses that can float could protect vulnerable people from flooding

This concept retrofits houses with flotation devices and tethers them to poles - allowing the house to rise with floodwaters and descend to their foundations when the flood subsides.

Can wildfire prevention offer sustainable business opportunities?

Because of climate change, wildfires are becoming more intense and frequent. Prevention measures often come with a hefty price tag. Across Europe, fire-smart solutions make wildfire prevention more sustainable, by offering ecological, economic and social benefits.

Rain-related early warning in Japan

“The risk is imminent” translates as KiKIKURU in Japanese. It’s the name of an innovative early warning system for rain-related hazards in Japan. KIKIKURU was developed by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). The system provides real-time hazard updates using a high spatial resolution of 1 km.

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Update

In drought-prone Oaxaca, indigenous women are reviving ancient techniques to preserve water

As water scarcity threatens their livelihoods, indigenous women in Mexico are relearning how to grow their ancestral foods.
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Heatwave, Bangladesh, 2023
Update

As temperatures in India break records, ancient terracotta air coolers are helping fight extreme heat

In India's scorching summer heat, the ancient practice of chilling water in terracotta pots is inspiring new trends – from cooling towers to screens for buildings.
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Kayalitsha, South Africa
Update

Can mirrors help fight the threat of extreme heat?

Most of the homes within these settlements are built using zinc-coated corrugated metal sheets, which rust, erode and trap in heat from the sun, making heatwaves increasingly dangerous for residents.
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Digital thermometer showing a high temperature in a town
Research briefs

New fabric makes urban heat islands more bearable

With applications in clothing, construction and food storage, the new textile reduces heat from both the sun and thermal radiation from nearby buildings.
University of Chicago
Man rebuilding structure in Tacloban after Typhoon Haiyan
Update

Floating bamboo houses keep this indigenous tribe safe in a typhoon

The Manobo indigenous community in the Agusan Marshlands of the Philippines live in floating homes able to withstand floods, rising water levels and typhoons. Their way of life could have answers for how to adapt to climate threats.
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Update

How cities around the world are finding ways to beat extreme heat

With heatwaves breaking records around the world, urban planners and local officials are coming up with solutions to keep sweltering cities cooler, and save lives.
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Do you have a solution to share with the DRR community? Submit published content on a disaster risk reduction solution in the form of a news article or a publication. See our content submission policy. PreventionWeb editors will review your content and get back to your promptly.
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Disaster risk reduction and disaster risk management
The policy objective of anticipating and reducing risk is called disaster risk reduction (DRR). Disaster risk management (DRM) can be thought of as the implementation of DRR, since it describes the actions that aim to achieve the objective of reducing risk.

Developing local-level solutions

Is your city resilient? Does its resilience help its citizens to prosper and flourish? Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) is a unique cross-stakeholder initiative for improving local resilience. See how cities around the world build their capacities to tackle disasters.

MCR2030 is a place where cities can find guidance and support to enhance understanding on risk reduction and resilience, to improve strategic planning to reduce risk and build resilience, and to take actions and progress along the resilience roadmap.

See below news from cities that have taken the leap to reduce disaster risk.

Join MCR2030

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