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 Earthquakes caused the deadliest disasters in the past decade In the past decade, nearly 60 per cent of the people killed by disasters died because of earthquakes, the Centre for Research on Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) revealed today in a joint press conference with the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR). UN Development Group to seize the opportunity to build back better in Haiti At the Montreal Ministerial Preparatory Conference on Haiti held on 25 January, Helen Clark, the Administrator of UNDP and Chair of the UN Development Group, called for the integration of disaster prevention concerns and capacity into the recovery and reconstruction process. UNISDR is actively collaborating with UNDP and all other ISDR system partners to ensure that risk reduction is made an integral component of the international recovery and reconstruction efforts.  UNISDR calls for long-term measures to rebuild a safer Haiti It has now been more than a week since two catastrophic earthquakes struck Haiti, leaving much of the Capital city Port-au-Prince and surroundings totally devastated. Haiti had no chance and could not have been prepared for a disaster of this magnitude.  Five years after the Indian Ocean Tsunami – are we better prepared and more resilient to disasters? Margareta Wahlström, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction says there is better news to report. “The affected countries and communities have largely recovered, and warning systems are now in place, not just for tsunamis, which are relatively rare, but also linked to those for tropical cyclones, storms, and floods.”  BBC World News to broadcast ‘Tsunami Revisited’ ‘Tsunami Revisited’ is a documentary on the EC funded project 'Building Resilience to Tsunamis in the Indian Ocean Region in response to the devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean on 26 December 2004. UNISDR was appointed to manage the project by coordinating, supervising and monitoring the actions of a number of partner organisations in four target countries: India, Indonesia, the Maldives and Sri Lanka.  55 million people affected by extreme weather disasters in 2009 Copenhagen – Over three quarters of the people killed - and 95 % of the total affected by natural hazards - since the beginning of the year were due to extreme weather events said Ms. Margareta Wahlström, the United Nations Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, based on the preliminary 2009 disaster figures.
 2009 Stockholm Policy Forum on Climate-Smart Disaster Risk Reduction - outcome documents now available A Policy Forum on Climate Smart Disaster Risk Reduction was held in Stockholm, Sweden on October 26, 2009. Co-organized by the World Bank’s Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), and UNISDR, the event gathered approximately 100 country representatives, practitioners and experts from both the disaster risk management and climate change communities to identify promising practices and critical actions for implementation of adaptation efforts.  Creating Linkages for a Safer Tomorrow - Proceedings of the second session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction released This report captures the discussions and recommendations of the second session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction held in Geneva, 16-19 June 2009. It provides a summary of the multi-stakeholder deliberations on progress in implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action and identification of priorities for the ISDR system for 2010-11 and beyond. Available on-line in English, a hard copy of the document will be disseminated in late January 2010. On-line versions of the document in all UN official languages will be made available as soon as possible.  International Roundtable of Parliamentarians adopts ‘Malta Declaration of the Commitment of Parliamentarians to COP15 and Beyond’
The International Roundtable of Parliamentarians on Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation, organized by UNISDR in partnership with the Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly, adopted a common declaration in Malta on 24 November 2009. Recognizing disaster risk reduction as a first line of defence in adapting to climate change, the parliamentarians urge for political commitment through action at the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.
 UNISDR secretariat has launched its new Biennial Work Programme for 2010-2011 "Invest today for a safer tomorrow"
The UNISDR secretariat Biennial Work Programme was developed following the second session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in June 2009. It is based on the role and mandate of UNISDR as set by the UN General Assembly. The strategic direction for the 2010-2011 biennium is derived from the outcomes of the Global Platform and from regional consultations. The current programme has been further shaped through broad consultation with the ISDR Support Group in Geneva, donors, the ISDR Inter-Agency Group and other partners.
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