Marking the International Day for Disaster Reduction, United Nations officials have called for women and girls to be at the forefront of reducing risk and managing the world's response to natural hazards.
The United Nations relief chief today highlighted the importance of working with South-east Asian countries to implement measures to manage and reduce the risk of disasters, which affected more than 176 million people in the region last year.
The head of the United Nations office dedicated to disaster risk reduction wrapped up her visit to the Philippines today by comparing the damage caused by Typhoon Sendong to that of major tsunamis such as the one that struck Japan last year.
A senior United Nations official today hailed Oman’s growing role in responding to disasters and in search and rescue operations, while calling for strengthening of the world body’s partnership with the country on humanitarian issues.
The United Nations is urging that seismic threats be taken seriously as it published new data today showing that major earthquakes claimed thousands of lives and affected millions of people in both 2010 and 2011.
