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Title	Date	Type
US$6.7 billion floodgates to protect Venice in 2014 In 2014 Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico, Italy’s biggest public works project which began nine years ago is scheduled to begin reducing the flood risks faced by the population of Venice each year. Venice stretches across numerous islands in the Venice Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea. At high tide, parts of the city are flooded. Rising sea levels and groundwater pumping are causing the city to sink.	21 Dec 2012	News briefs
Asia and the economics of disasters: The 'Inside Story' Asia suffers from more disasters than any place on earth. While the number of people killed by disasters in the region have decreased in 2012, the economic impact remains a major cause of concern. The 'Inside Story', an Aljazeera English program, looked at the economic implications of disasters and what can be done to better protect people from these recurrent disasters.	19 Dec 2012	News briefs
Italy seeks EUR 40 billion for flood prevention The Italian Government is urgently seeking EUR 40 billion over the next 15 years for flood prevention following a week of heavy rains that began on 10 November in the north and then wreaked havoc in Umbria and Tuscany in central Italy.	18 Dec 2012	News briefs
Mauritania’s trailblazer for women and resilience She was the first woman to take office as a Mayor in Mauritania and her stature as a champion for resilience and disaster risk reduction in Africa was confirmed last week when she was elected President of the Women’s Federation of Mayors in Africa.	13 Dec 2012	News briefs
UNISDR seeks nominations for 2013 UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) today announced that it is accepting nominations for the 2013 UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction, a prestigious award made possible by an endowment from the Nippon Foundation of Japan.	12 Dec 2012	Press release
Floods deaths down but economic losses significant An early view of disaster trends in 2012 across Asia, the world's most disaster-prone region, shows that mortality from flood events continues to decline but economic losses remain a major cause of concern.	11 Dec 2012	Press release
Japan to host World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction The UN General Assembly confirmed that Japan will host the Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in 2015 when it passed its annual resolution yesterday on the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.	6 Dec 2012	News briefs
UNISDR report finds African towns struggling with disaster management A new report published today by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, UNISDR, lays bare the huge challenges faced by medium-sized African towns struggling to cope with the rising tide of disaster events, rural-urban migration and ecosystem destruction without early warning systems or budgets to reduce risk.	5 Dec 2012	Press release
Philippines early warning system saves lives as thousands flee Typhoon Bopha The UN Office for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) today praised the improved performance of early warning systems in the Philippines as Typhoon Bopha cut a swathe of destruction across the country resulting in over 200 deaths and significant economic losses.	5 Dec 2012	Press release
Americas urges political support for disaster risk reduction Following a long final session last night, participants at the Third Session of the Regional Platform for the Americas issued the Santiago Communiqué which concretely spells out actions by countries in the Americas region to speed up implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 -- a global disaster reduction plan that was adopted by UN Member States seven years ago.	29 Nov 2012	News briefs
Forum on conflict and fragility opens in Liberia The global burden of disasters and armed violence which affect over 200 million people and result in over 500,000 deaths each year will be the focus of a forum on conflict and fragility which opens in Liberia tomorrow.	28 Nov 2012	Press release
Americas meets to review HFA progress The countries and territories of Latin America and the Caribbean are meeting to review the region's implementation of the world's first international framework agreement for reducing disaster risk, the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA), designed to save lives, jobs and properties from natural hazards.	27 Nov 2012	News briefs
Social media boosts International Day An analysis of activity around last month’s high-profile International Day for Disaster Reduction shows that social media played a key role in sharing news and messages and engaging people to join in the celebrations with 27 million views of over 5,000 tweets on Twitter...	26 Nov 2012	News briefs
Third Session of the Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction of the Americas - Opening address by Margareta Wahlstrom Quisiera empezar expresando mi agradecimiento al Gobierno de Chile como anfitrión de esta sesión de la Plataforma Regional de las Américas y por haber asumido su organización a pesar del poco tiempo disponible, haciendo posible que lleváramos a cabo la consulta regional sobre el marco para la reducción del riesgo de desastres post 2015, antes del fin del año 2012, de tal manera que la región de las Américas y el Caribe puedan proveer sus insumos e informen la próxima sesión de la Plataforma Global que se llevará a cabo en el mes de mayo del 2013 en Ginebra.	26 Nov 2012	Statements & speeches
UNISDR Chief visits Sandy-affected communities Current estimates are that Hurricane Sandy may be the most expensive storm to have hit the United States since Hurricane Katrina with the final bill possibly reaching $50 billion. Last weekend, Margareta Wahlström, Chief of UNISDR, visited Hurricane Sandy affected areas in New York and New Jersey.	21 Nov 2012	News briefs
Djibouti joins growing ranks of Making Cities Resilient Campaign Djibouti's capital has joined 1,284 cities around the world who have signed up to UNISDR's World Disaster Reduction Campaign -- Making Cities Resilient-My City is getting ready.	21 Nov 2012	News briefs
Nepal’s tragedy in waiting It's a scenario from hell which could rival the 2010 Haitian earthquake in terms of human losses.	20 Nov 2012	News briefs
UN starts work on action plan for risk reduction A major initiative to develop a UN strategic plan of action for disaster risk reduction and resilience got underway today at UNESCO HQ as representatives from 20 UN agencies and programmes convened for a two-day UN High Level Retreat.	19 Nov 2012	News briefs
PreventionWeb turns five! The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction today marks the 5th anniversary of the launch of PreventionWeb which is now used by 55,000 unique visitors every month as a common platform for disaster risk reduction professionals to find and share information and collaborate on disaster risk reduction issues.	15 Nov 2012	News briefs
UNISDR welcomes G20 backing for disaster risk financing UNISDR Chief, Margareta Wahlström, has welcomed the recognition by the G20 group of countries that disaster risk financing is crucial for good disaster risk management.	13 Nov 2012	News briefs
After Sandy world weighs in on disaster risk reduction Development cannot be sustainable if it does not incorporate disaster risk reduction was a key message by Member States yesterday as the UN General Assembly's Second Committee (Economic and Financial Committee) began its two-day meeting on the issue of moving sustainable development forward.	9 Nov 2012	News briefs
UNISDR reports on HFA to UN General Assembly UNISDR Chief, Margareta Wahlström, yesterday introduced the Secretary-General's Report on the Implementation of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction to Member States at the Economic and Financial Committee -- also known as the Second Committee - of the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly.	8 Nov 2012	News briefs
Planners go Seoul gazing Seoul's Cheong Gye Cheon, a once polluted river now restored to its former glory, captured the attention of development planners and disaster managers meeting here this week for a Leadership Forum at UNISDR's Global Education and Training Institute for Disaster Risk Reduction.	8 Nov 2012	News briefs
Government officials debate planning challenges When it comes to critical infrastructure governments are increasingly aware of the role of disaster risk reduction in planning, and the value of applying the priorities for action in the Hyogo Framework for Action when it comes to protecting their investments.	6 Nov 2012	News briefs
Risk reduction and economic development Government officials from Armenia, Cambodia, Gambia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Mongolia and Republic of Korea arrive in Incheon today for a five-day "Leadership Forum on Mainstreaming Adaptation and Disaster Reduction into Development." Over 30 officials from a variety of backgrounds will examine entry points for introducing disaster risk reduction into economic development.	5 Nov 2012	News briefs
UNISDR chief welcomes initiative on climate services UNISDR Chief Margareta Wahlstrom spoke to the opening session of this week's extraordinary session of the World Meteorological Congress which is discussing the implementation plan and governance model for the Global Framework for Climate Services.	31 Oct 2012	News briefs
Hurricane Sandy underlines global threat of climate change and more extreme events says UNISDR Margareta Wahlström, the UN Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, today said that the economic losses inflicted on the US and Caribbean island states by Hurricane Sandy underlined the growing threat posed by extreme natural hazards to the world economy.	31 Oct 2012	Press release
Disasters are "greatest threats to our national security" The President of the Republic of Indonesia, Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, made a keynote address to last week's 5th Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, in which he explained why his administration has made "disaster reduction our top national priority."	29 Oct 2012	News briefs
Overwhelming support in Asia for a new international agreement on disaster risk reduction High-level delegations from 50 countries across Asia and the Pacific -- the most disaster-prone region in the world -- today united around a call for an international agreement on disaster risk reduction to follow on from the Hyogo Framework for Action* in 2015.	25 Oct 2012	Press release
Fifth Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction - Closing address by Margareta Wahlstrom I would like to begin by offering my sincere thanks to President Yudhoyono and the Government of Indonesia, the National Agency for Disaster Management, BNPB, and the Provincial Government of Yogyakarta Special Region, for making this 5th Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction such an outstanding success. I would also like to specially thank the Governor of the Special Regional of Yogyakarta for hosting the dinner on the day of the opening ceremony and making this wonderful venue available to us.	25 Oct 2012	Statements & speeches