UNISDR

In the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, the Civil Defence System has taken an active role in raising awareness of disaster risk reduction and prevention, using campaigns and training opportunities to stimulate a culture of disaster resilience, with outreach to urban and rural communities.

One innovative approach, in partnership with the Department of Education, teaches students to reduce risks caused by rain events. The goal is to train 30,000 students in public schools throughout the State of Sao Paulo. A virtual game called “The Adventure” teaches students what they can do to prevent floods and other hazardous conditions brought about by rain, landslides and lightning storms.

Assessing disaster management and safety was not a new undertaking in Korea. The country had its own national evaluation framework and had been carrying out annual assessments since 2005. Based on the evaluations, local governments were able to recognise their strengths and weaknesses with regard to disaster risk reduction and acknowledge the importance of taking proactive measures to improve the challenges they face. However, once Korea began to actively encourage local governments to join the Making Cities Resilient Campaign, a new opportunity came to light.

The government of Armenia assigned a high priority to disaster risk reduction and looked to improve disaster resilience at the local level, particularly in Stepanavan, one of the country’s most earthquake-prone cities, which was badly damaged in the 1988 Spitak earthquake. The magnitude 6.8 earthquake left 25,000 dead and 500,000 homeless. Almost 1,000 buildings either collapsed or had to be demolished. This experience, and a growing demand for disaster-resilient development, prompted Armenia to undertake a pilot project in Stepanavan. The goal is to replicate the project in 12 other Armenian cities.

Cyclone Phalin struck the coast of the Indian State of Odisha in October 2013 and affected more than 13 million people, including almost one million who had to be evacuated. It damaged 420,000 homes and is estimated to have cost in excess of US$700 million. This figure would be higher if not for Odisha's strong disaster management record, according to a leading urban activist based in the State capital of Bhubaneswar, pointing to the need to continue developing policy, technical and institutional capacities and mechanisms for disaster risk management, with a disaster risk reduction perspective.

Dr Piyush Ranjan Rout, who is the co-founder and executive director of the Local Governments Network and an advocate for the Making Cities Resilient Campaign, said the focus on accountability and reducing disaster risk avoided an even worse outcome. "Most of our towns are part of the UNISDR Campaign and the successful management of [Cyclone] Phalin highlighted the effectiveness of investments made over the last ten years. However, the still exorbitant economic losses experienced indicate strongly that in the future, both the national and state governments have to focus more on reducing economic exposure."