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Title	Date	Type
Bangkok now facing record floods Earlier today, Thailand’s Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, said it was impossible to protect all of Bangkok from the worst floods in decades, describing the situation as a national crisis.	20 Oct 2011	News briefs
Lebanon puts army and civil service on front line of risk reduction UNISDR Chief, Margareta Wahlström, today welcomed the news that both the Lebanese Army and the National Institute of Administration, the country’s civil service, are to make disaster risk reduction a core element of staff training.	21 Oct 2011	Press release
Many children dying and jobs being lost in Asian floods says UNISDR The floods which have affected eight million people across South East Asia, and which now threaten Bangkok, have underlined shortcomings in disaster risk reduction with many children drowning because they cannot swim, and thousands of workers now unemployed because of poorly located manufacturing plants, the Head of the UN’s Bangkok Office for Disaster Reduction, UNISDR, Jerry Velasquez said today.	21 Oct 2011	Press release
Egypt celebrates the International Day for Disaster Reduction side by side with children and youth UNISDR, the UN's disaster risk reduction office, in Egypt joined events around the world to celebrate the International Day for Disaster Reduction, 13 October, with the theme of recognizing the role of children and young people as partners in disaster risk reduction.	23 Oct 2011	News briefs
Turkish earthquake puts building practices in the spotlight says UNISDR The tragic loss of life in yesterday’s earthquake in the Ercis region of Turkey and the reported collapse of almost 1,000 buildings underlines the importance of providing the right incentives and information to builders and owners in the world’s most dangerous earthquake zones, says UNISDR, the UN office for disaster reduction.	24 Oct 2011	Press release
Japanese students announce a ‘Youth Declaration’ to revitalize Tohuku region Four student representatives from Kobe University, Bukkyo University and Tohuku University announced a ‘Youth Declaration’ during United Nations Day celebrations in Sendai City to highlight the commitment and active participation of youth in building disaster resilient communities.	24 Oct 2011	News briefs
Current efforts to mitigate climate change fall short of reaching vital goal, UN warns International efforts to mitigate climate change are insufficient to meet the goal of keeping global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, a United Nations report warned, just a month before a major conference on the issue is held in Durban, South Africa.	25 Oct 2011	News briefs
Blocked roads hamper access to flood areas in El Salvador The UN has issued a flash appeal for US$15.7 million to provide emergency assistance to El Salvador which has now been pounded by heavy rains and floods since 10 October.	26 Oct 2011	News briefs
Government auditors talk risk reduction as quake hits Disaster risk reduction was high on the agenda as government auditors met in Turkey this week to discuss accountability and good practices in the area of disaster-related aid, against the tragic backdrop of Sunday’s 7.2 quake that left over 400 dead and 2,000-plus buildings destroyed.	27 Oct 2011	News briefs
Disaster management under pressure in Nicaragua As the number of people in Central America affected by tropical depression 12-E rises to 1.9 million, the UN has launched its second flash appeal in two days and is now asking for US$14.3 million to assist Nicaragua which is being devastated by heavy rainfall and floods.	28 Oct 2011	News briefs
Southern Africa launches Disaster Risk Reduction Platform When unexpectedly heavy floods displaced more than a million people in southern Africa in 2007, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) began to meet annually to prepare for future occurrences, culminating in the creation of the SADC Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction this month.	31 Oct 2011	News briefs
Role Model Cities Highlight Campaign Benefits Role model cities from around the world are meeting for two days in Geneva to brainstorm the next phase of the campaign “Making Cities Resilient – My City is Getting Ready!” and have agreed on extending it to 2015.	1 Nov 2011	News briefs
Insurance necessary for resilience in earthquake zones Turkey’s 23 October quake revealed that only 9 per cent of building owners were insured despite it being mandatory in the country’s municipal areas.	2 Nov 2011	News briefs
Myanmar gets real on disaster risk reduction Cyclones, earthquakes, floods and drought combined with poverty have spurred the Myanmar government into complete acceptance of the need for a radical overhaul of its approach to disaster management and risk reduction.	4 Nov 2011	News briefs
UNISDR head meets with private sector in China to discuss disaster risk reduction The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, Margareta Wahlström, is in China today for a first round of consultations on disaster risk reduction with entrepreneurs and business people.	8 Nov 2011	Press release
ASEAN Prioritises Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), The World Bank, the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), and the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) are convening the “ASEAN Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance Forum” to help ASEAN Member States build greater financial resilience to natural disasters.	8 Nov 2011	Press release
Replacement of Hyogo Framework raised at UN committee Japan is to hold an international conference to share the lessons learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake in the latter half of next year, according to a debate at the United Nations in New York on the latest report of the United Nations Secretary General on Implementation of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.	9 Nov 2011	News briefs
Americas pledge to protect schools Eighteen countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have agreed to tighten up on school safety while also integrating disaster risk reduction into the school curriculum, following high-level talks on education in Panama City.	10 Nov 2011	News briefs
Carbon intensity of world economy on the rise The latest edition of the Low Carbon Economy Index finds that the world economy is going backwards rather than forwards in efforts to limit global warming to 2º Celsius as agreed during the Cancun round of climate change talks last year.	11 Nov 2011	News briefs
Community resilience gaining ground in Asia Seeking new ways to strengthen community resilience, city officials from Thailand and Viet Nam today began a two-day exchange with counterparts in the Philippines to examine the award-winning “Purok system” used by the city of San Francisco, Philippines, to empower ordinary people to find solutions for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.	14 Nov 2011	News briefs
UNISDR and partners plan for major advance in global disaster risk modelling The Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction, Margareta Wahlström, today announced that the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, UNISDR, is to work with its partners over the next four years on developing a global disaster risk model which will provide the best information available on likely economic losses as climate change kicks in.	14 Nov 2011	Press release
APEC pledges private sector engagement in disaster resilience Countries of the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum (APEC) have pledged to increase private sector engagement in their disaster resilience agenda, in a year when floods and earthquakes have wiped out assets worth billions of dollars across the region.	15 Nov 2011	News briefs
Disaster resilience key to green economy A strong push from the UN Environment Programme for green investments to protect key sectors of the economy from crises and shocks has earned praise from private companies keen to reduce disaster risk.	16 Nov 2011	News briefs
UNISDR champion receives "Asian Leaders Award" for climate change advocacy UNISDR champion Senator Loren Legarda received the Asian Leader Award for Environment Policy, Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation last week. The award was given by publishing company Seagull Philippines, which held its 1st Seagull Philippines Asian Leaders Awards ceremony for Excellence, Best Values and Social Responsibility, at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City last Friday.	16 Nov 2011	News briefs
Past experiences can build resilience against future disasters Disaster risk reduction topped the agenda of the United Nations General Assembly President Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser who visited the city of Kobe and its Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution. The centre has experienced an increase of 30% in the number of visitors since the devastating Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011.	17 Nov 2011	News briefs
IPCC negotiates in climate challenged Uganda Sporadic light rain fell this morning on the vastness of Uganda’s Lake Victoria as Alex Bakunda MP, chairman of the Ugandan Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, chatted with local fisherman, Babalanda Yusuf, about the difficulty of making a living from fishing in Africa’s largest body of fresh water.	17 Nov 2011	News briefs
Thai PM to raise flood crisis at ASEAN Summit The flood crisis affecting over eight million people in Thailand will be discussed at the 19th ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) Summit which opened today in Bali, Indonesia.	17 Nov 2011	News briefs
UN Secretary-General honours Indonesian President as first global champion of disaster risk reduction The United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, will tomorrow officially recognise the appointment of the Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, as the first UNISDR global champion of disaster risk reduction at the 19th ASEAN summit in Bali as the region copes with the impact of record floods.	18 Nov 2011	Press release
IPCC and UNISDR welcome new report as historic contribution to understanding disaster risk The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, Margareta Wahlström, today issued the following statement welcoming the approval in Kampala, Uganda, by the IPCC member States of the Summary for Policy Makers of the Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX).	18 Nov 2011	Press release
Thirty-Six more local governments in Philippines sign up for Making Cities Resilient Campaign Today 36 more cities in the Philippines signed up to UNISDR’s ‘Making Cities Resilient Campaign: My City is Getting Ready!’ They joined the Campaign during the 3rd League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) Global Convention and Exposition in Manila on the theme of Bridging Cities, Transforming Lives.	18 Nov 2011	News briefs