Community-based DRR

This study investigates the complex interplay between local knowledge, awareness, perception, and preparedness among residents of Bogura City, Bangladesh, in the context of earthquake risk.

There were two “systems” that warned people about the impending danger that day: one built by the state relying on sensors and SMS messages, the other relying on community-based ties. Only the second worked reliably.

This toolkit examines how extreme weather events fuel mis- and disinformation and provides frameworks for assessing readiness, triaging threats, building partnerships and strengthening information resilience before, during and after disasters.

This study assesses preparedness, response and recovery following Cyclone Ana in Zimbabwe. It finds gaps in preparedness, warning communication and coordination, and calls for community-centred DRM, stronger capacity, financing and contingency planning.

Along the Nepal-Tibet border, the long road to recovery has only just begun. Amidst profound grief and loss, local communities are already providing support to their most vulnerable. Governments and international organisations should follow their lead.

Using a case study involving residents, First Nations communities and local organisations, this paper explores how community-led co-design was enacted in local recovery across four wildfire-affected regions in Australia.

A recent WMO project mission to Djibouti highlighted tangible progress from CREWS Djibouti in advancing people-centered early warning systems and set priorities for the next phase of implementation with national partners.

This paper shows the need for sustained, context-sensitive strategies and policy reforms that address power dynamics and foster inclusivity. Strengthening participation across all disaster phases can enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of DRR.

This solution brief looks at how community resilience action groups (CRAGs) in Bangladesh are strengthening local governance and promoted sustainable, long-term community resilience in highly flood-prone districts.

This report captures the outcomes and impact of the Urban Climate Resilience Program (UCRP) in Spain between 2023 and 2026.

Early warning for all is not achievable without local power. The choice facing policymakers is clear: reinforce centralised systems that fail the most at-risk, or invest in locally led solutions that save lives, livelihoods, and dignity.

The manual provides practical guidance for designing and implementing participatory climate risk assessments and locally led adaptation processes.

Seeking contributions on traditional medicine, vernacular architecture, agricultural practices, clothing traditions, oral history, and other community-based knowledge related to heat prevention and management

The heatwaves of today are the coolest heatwaves we are likely to experience for the rest of our lives. SRSG Kamal Kishore reflects on how cultural institutions can play a central role in extreme heat action – and in disaster risk reduction more broadly.

Across Africa, the impacts of climate change are often felt first and most severely by low-income communities living in informal settlements.

This solutions brief shares practical and replicable local knowledge of this approach in Nij Goddimari village in Lalmonirhat, Bangladesh, a community which faces chronic flooding and waterlogging due to its proximity to the Saniajan River.

The report distils what the Alliance has learned through working directly within planning and budgeting processes in 10 countries: Bangladesh, Bolivia, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malawi, Nepal, Nigeria, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

Focusing on care within Locally Led Adaptation is not about being “nice”; it is about being effective. It involves addressing the power imbalances that sustain systemic inequities.

From Kinshasa to Dire Dawa, cities across Africa are discovering that wetlands, trees and parks could be their strongest defense against climate change.

Chesapeake communities are at a heightened and increasing risk for flooding and coastal hazards.

Filipinos’ ideas about how to improve disaster response and recovery. Distributed to local communities, local government partners and high schools to support teaching on DRR.

This study shares lessons from implementing community-level participatory climate vulnerability assessments processes in nearly 100 communities in Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe from 2024 to 2025.

This report brings together a set of grounded, practice-based insights on how adaptation can be more effective when it is led from the local level.

The Uganda Red Cross Society identified the most vulnerable and underserved communities and layered with catchment management plans from the Ministry of Water and Environment.

This case study examines how, through its Transform Freetown agenda, the city is promoting pro-poor and participatory nature-based solutions to address climate risk and ecological degradation, and can offer practical lessons for other cities.

Nearby in Margagiri, villages have combined micro dams, drainage improvements, and agroforestry into an integrated water and land management system that has reduced damage from heavy rains and improved agricultural production.

Disaster response and recovery are most effective when community-led networks combine central coordination with reciprocal collaboration, highlighting the critical role of local social infrastructure in resilience.

This study contributes to the development of integrated, systems-based adaptation strategies by examining how interactions among capitals shape resilience outcomes.

This systematic scoping review defines a theoretical framework (considering vulnerability factors, adaptation options, engagement levels and community stances) to examine challenges in addressing heat stress through community engagement.

This report explains the investments that individuals, communities, Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) sector organisations, local/central government, and businesses make in societal resilience.

Waikōloa Village has a higher risk of wildfire than Lahaina and conditions that would challenge residents' escape in case of emergency

This paper is about how citizens in small, remote Nordic communities engage with climate adaptation through awareness, everyday practices, and local political action.

This systematic review reveals low levels of flood preparedness among residents in flood-prone areas, identifying key socioeconomic determinants and prevalent strategies, underscoring the need for targeted interventions to enhance community resilience.

In the dry-season heat of northern Thailand, Hmong villagers zip through forested slopes, blasting tinder with leaf blowers and cutting through brush with machetes, while others scan for smoke on live feeds from their phones.

Higher resolution climate data is now part of the Met Office Local Authority Climate Service (LACS) following a notable update in response to user feedback.

This manual is designed to train communities and local governments, making these practices accessible, scalable, and adaptable to local contexts.

Citizen science blends community knowledge with digital tools to fill data gaps, improve environmental monitoring, and support better policymaking. It empowers local people, boosts inclusivity, and strengthens climate and water‑management decisions.

The Forensic Investigations of Disasters (FORIN) guide provides important approaches for research and extension purposes in order to understand and reduce disaster risks.

This research identifies the barriers preventing women’s participation and leadership in DPR and assesses how women’s participation and leadership strengthen overall community resilience to disasters caused by natural hazards.

The study evaluates the PHEDM model in two Uttarakhand villages, showing that community‑level training and structured risk assessment significantly improved disaster preparedness, adaptive capacity and emergency response compared with the control village.

The brief highlights how the Philippine Red Cross has partnered with communities, local leaders, members of Barangay Flood Resilience Committees, and key government stakeholders to strengthen flood early warning systems in the Philippines.

This education booklet was produced in the context of the RAHAT project which focuses on extreme heat vulnerability in informal housing in Jodhpur, western India, where climate change is intensifying temperature extremes.

The report examines how integrating scientific forecasting with local community knowledge can strengthen community-based lightning early warning systems in Bangladesh to better protect vulnerable rural populations.

The Avoidable Deaths Network (ADN) invites campaigners, practitioners, researchers, and community leaders around the world to mark the International Awareness Day for Avoidable Deaths (IAD4AD) on 12 March 2026, or on any date throughout March