Guardian, the (UK)

La Niña has been blamed for the recent devastating floods that have claimed hundreds of lives and affected most of the country. However, according to the weather specialist Ricardo Lozano, preparedness measures helped to save between 5,000 and 10,000 people. Learn more about preparedness at the Global Platform this week...

'Rising food prices and restrictions on power and water use are likely to result from a lack of rain in the south and east of the country, experts believe' reports John Vidal for The Guardian. Environment secretary, Caroline Spelman has asked the Environment Agency to report on the potential effects of a drought...

'The clear message is that over the next two years everyone in disaster prone countries should work together to conduct thorough 'disaster risk assessments' and develop plans to address the risks,' writes Terry Gibson, calling for countries at the Global Platform to commit...

'If world governments could turn to a central information source on natural hazards, many lives could be saved through better preparedness' said Professor Bill McGuire of geophysical and climate hazards at University College London. Learn more about information tools at the Global Platform this week...

'If adaptation is to work for the poor, it needs to be an inherently political process, and one intent on addressing broader issues such as inequalities in power and social marginalisation,' writes Rachel Godfrey Wood in an editorial for The Guardian UK. More on climate change adaptation at the Global Platform...

'Kathmandu could be on the brink of a major earthquake, and the UK and others are working to help Nepal avert disaster,' writes Alan Duncan, minister of state in the UK Department for International Development, in an editorial. Find out more about UK and Nepal initiatives in DRR at the Global Platform...

'Natural hazards such as earthquakes hit the poorest hardest, but Christian Aid is working with vulnerable communities across the world to make them more resilient to the impact of disasters,' reports The Guardian...

'We're not just talking about flooding or drought, but also rising sea levels and an increase in storminess; it will affect a lot of towns, many of which are especially vulnerable because they are isolated geographically' said the director of URS-Scott Wilson, co-author of a new study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation ...