Australian Broadcasting Corporation

As part of a $1 million disaster preparedness project, the flood protection of the low-lying West Beach area of Adelaide will be strengthened. Early warning systems will be reviewed throughout South Australia, and Aboriginal communities will also receive help to cope with extreme heat...

'Women and girls are up to 14 times more likely to die during a disaster and that's often purely the result of inadequate access to education and awareness messages. It's very important to try and change that,' Senior program officer with aid agency CARE Australia, Stefan Knollmayer told Radio Australia...

Elinor Ostrom, a Nobel laureate in economics, who was the Chief Scientific Advisor to the Planet Under Pressure conference, applauds the climate change adaptation initiatives of city leaders. 'What we need are universal sustainable development goals on issues such as energy, food security, sanitation, urban planning, and poverty eradication...'

'That'll be to identify the risks and help prioritise and implement the mitigation strategies and that will be funded through the Natural Disaster Resilience Program,' said Acting corporate services general manager Ian Stevenson...

'We need to invest in things like effective early warning systems, secure homes and livelihoods, and strong local disaster management capacity. We also need to make sure we listen to women, men and young people in communities, who know best how to prepare and respond to disasters in their local context,' writes Andrew Hewett of Oxfam...

'I think from the long-term point of view of resilience, we need to methodically go through these areas that have been effected and look at mitigation steps we can take,' said Federal Minister for Emergency Services Robert McLelland...

'They might not necessarily prevent flooding but certainly some of the things that are proposed should help mitigate against some of the effects of flooding,' said Central Highlands Regional Council Mayor Peter Maguire...

Insurance Australia Group says it will pay more for catastrophe insurance cover this financial year and will have insurance protection of nearly $5 billion in 2012, including coverage for earthquakes and floods...