Increasing impact of disasters such as wildfires shows urgent need for better urban planning

After the fires in southern California (USA) the ISDR secretariat - the UN agency dealing with disaster reduction - is highlighting the importance of urban planning and building regulations to reduce our vulnerability to all disasters. Wildfires are significant hazards that affect millions of people every year and cause huge losses. The last fires in Greece killed 70 people and caused enormous destruction. The damage of the current Californian fires destroyed more than 2000 houses and will remain as one of the costliest fires in the USA.