News and announcements

Curtis S. Chin writing for The Japan Times poses the question: 'Will Japan's politicians and bureaucrats come together and heed a simple lesson that other policymakers faced with massive rebuilding efforts have learned before — namely, that bigger is not always better on the road to recovery?'...

Unpredictable rainfall in parts of Côte d’Ivoire cost some farmers over half of their harvest in 2011 producers told IRIN, but, armed with more knowledge about how to get weather reports and interpret them, they might still have been able to boost their output, say agricultural specialists...

'Is this the time for a comprehensive and integrated body of disaster law to emerge in Australia rather than continuing to think that disaster laws are all about emergency responses?' asks Rosemary Lyster, Professor of Climate and Environmental Law at University of Sydney...

Rapid urbanization and climate change are reshaping and exacerbating disaster risk. Together, they have added urgency to the task of building resilience in communities and countries around the world...

'Quando olhamos para o futuro, as mais difíceis decisões que tomaremos serão as migrações em larga escala e a mobilização de comunidades inteiras. Muitas pessoas terão que abandonar os locais onde sempre viveram e com os quais possuem laços culturais e históricos', disse Chris Field, um dos editores do relatório e cientista climático da Universidade de Stanford...

Japan and Chile has agreed to strengthen cooperation on disaster preparedness, with Japan standing ready to provide further assistance for the South American country's disaster management...

'State, local and federal mitigation specialists can learn a lot from each other about ways to create robust, adaptable systems to protect lives and resources during all kinds of disasters,' said Mark Carey, Mitigation Division Director for FEMA Region 10...

'It is our responsibility - as individuals, families, neighborhoods, and communities - to reduce risks beforehand, know what to do when disaster strikes, prepare for the critical period afterwards and make sure that planning for disasters has the high priority it deserves,' writes Lori Dengler for the Times-Standard...