Update

'The massive flooding in Pakistan is a wake-up call that starkly highlights the real threats we face from climate-related disasters' said Michel Gabaudan, president of Refugees International. 'It is in our best interest to plan now for the massive human displacement they cause and protect those most at risk'...

An innovative training programme and toolkit launched by WWF and the American Red Cross will provide resources to help ensure that disaster recovery and reconstruction efforts not only protect communities from future disasters but also are environmentally sustainable...

A video, implemented by the department of applied geology and supported by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, demonstrates the vulnerability of India's coastline to climatic disasters and is being used as a learning tool for students in Chennai...

Philippine Senator Legarda convenes a consultative meeting for Asian parliamentarians to discuss actions they can take to increase the resilience of Asian countries to disasters and climate change, including promoting investment in disaster risk reduction and disaster resilient schools and hospitals...

As central Vietnam continues to be battered by flooding that has killed at least 66 and affected half a million people since 2 October 2010, IRIN asked three experts to assess the country’s level of preparedness for flooding that typically occurs from August to November...

Jordan is the first country in the Arab region to complete a standardized national disaster database. Egypt and Syria are in the finalization stage, and Morocco and Yemen are expected to be ready by end of December 2010. The establishment of national disaster databases with a specific standardized methodology and tools has attracted other countries such as Djibouti and Lebanon in developing nation disaster losses databases as well.

A new joint report from the World Bank and the United Nations says that annual global losses from natural disasters could triple to $185 billion by the end of this century, even without calculating the impact of climate change. Climate change could then

Sri Lanka Red Cross Society joined hands with the Disaster Management Centre to commemorate the International day for disaster reduction, announced by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), with various activities held throughout the country...

'Several months of unrest preceded the eruptions [..] By monitoring volcanoes, we can understand the processes that drive them to erupt' said Kurt Feigl, professor of geosciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a co-author of a paper published this week in Nature, reports The Guardian...

'We will continue to reduce flood risk by investing in defence schemes, but it is essential that people are also better prepared, by setting up groups, signing up to our flood warning service and rebuilding damaged properties to make them more flood-proof' said Paul Leinster, Environment Agency chief executive, in a report by The Guardian...