International Day for Disaster Reduction

International Day for Disaster Reduction encourages every individual, community and government to take part in building more disaster resilient communities and nations.

It started in 1989, after a call by the United Nations General Assembly. The UN General Assembly sees International Day for Disaster Reduction as a way to promote a global culture of risk-awareness and disaster reduction. That includes disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness. It was originally celebrated on the second Wednesday of October (Resolution 44/236, 22 December 1989), but after two decades the UN General Assembly formally designated 13 October as the annual date (Resolution 64/200, 21 December 2009).

The Step Up initiative began in 2011 and focused on a different group of partners every year, leading up to the Third UN World Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction in March 2015 - children and young people (2011), women and girls (2012), people living with disabilities (2013) and the ageing population (2014). The initiative concluded with the 2015 edition of International Day for Disaster Reduction, which centred on traditional, indigenous and local knowledge. The 2016 edition will centre on the first of the seven targets of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction: reducing disaster mortality.

2015: Knowledge for Life

The focus of International Day for Disaster Reduction in 2015 was traditional, indigenous and local knowledge and the way that they complement modern science and add to an individual’s and societies’ resilience.

2014: Resilience is for Life

In 2014, the day highlighted the need for a more inclusive approach for older people in disaster risk reduction and recognised the critical role they can play in resilience-building through their experience and knowledge.

2013: Living with Disability and Disasters

The 2013 edition focussed on persons living with disabilities. They are among the most excluded in society, and their plight is magnified when a disaster strikes. More often than not, their unique contribution to helping communities prepare for and respond to disasters is also often overlooked.

2012: Women and Girls: the [in]Visible Force of Resilience

In 2012, the day centred on women and girls. They are powerful agents of change, and have unique knowledge and skills, which are crucial when addressing or managing disaster risks. They must participate in poverty reduction, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction that will shape their future and those of their families and communities.

2011: Making Children and Young People Partners for Disaster Risk Reduction

Children and young people were the focus of the first edition of International Day for Disaster Reduction under the Step Up campaign, in 2011. All too often portrayed as victims of disaster and climate change, they can and should be encouraged to participate in disaster risk reduction and decision making.

Previous editions of International Day for Disaster Reduction

2010: My City is Getting Ready!

In 2010, UNISDR called on its partners to play a more active role to protect cities against disasters. Urban risk was in the spotlight given the earthquakes in Haiti, Chile and New Zealand; floods and heavy rain in Pakistan, Eastern Europe, Mozambique; forest fires in Russia; and volcanic eruptions in Indonesia and Iceland.

2009: Hospitals Safe from Disasters

Beyond their practical importance, hospitals and health facilities have a unique value as symbols of public well-being. Making them safe from disasters is essential. UNISDR, WHO and the World Bank, marked the International Day by highlighting the campaign dedicated to Hospitals Safe from Disasters.

2008: Disaster risk reduction is everybody's business

Governments, civil society, international financial institutions and the private sector are urged to step up implementation of the Hyogo Framework. Disaster risk reduction is everybody's business. Only by investing in tangible risk reduction measures can we reduce vulnerability and protect development.

2007: Challenging the world's education authorities

Disaster risk reduction is about stronger building codes, sound land use planning, better early warning systems, environmental management and evacuation plans and, above all, education. It is about making communities and individuals aware of their risk to natural hazards and how they can reduce their vulnerability.

2006: Disaster risk reduction begins at school

Disaster risk reduction is about stronger building codes, sound land use planning, better early warning systems, environmental management and evacuation plans and, above all, education. It is about making communities and individuals aware of their risk to natural hazards and how they can reduce their vulnerability.

2005: Microfinance and disaster risk reduction

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Hurricane Katrina in the United States and the earthquake in Pakistan and India demonstrated that the poor usually suffer most from disasters. Microcredit is a useful tool for poverty reduction, but its potential to reduce the impact of disasters needs to be further explored.

2004: Today's disasters for tomorrow's hazards

After a disaster, government authorities, businesses, community groups and individuals should all ask whether appropriate actions were taken to save life and property. All should work together to improve the chain of information and decision-making, so that their communities are better prepared should hazards strike again.

2003: Turning the tide...

This theme reminds us, during the International Year of Freshwater, that the task is not just to preserve water resources to sustain life, but also to reduce the capacity of water to take life away. More than 90 per cent of all disasters occurring around the world today are related to water.

2002: Sustainable mountain development

No community is immune from the threat of natural disasters, but mountain communities are particularly vulnerable. Poor land-use planning, environmental mismanagement, the lack of regulatory mechanisms and other human activities increase the risk that a disaster will occur, and worsen their effects when they do.

2001: Countering Disasters, Targeting Vulnerability

Vulnerability is increasing. While no country is entirely safe, poorer countries in particular lack the capacity to and prevent and prepare for disasters. With the urban population of developing countries having reached more than 1.3 billion, people are forced to inhabit disaster-prone areas such as flood plains and deforested lands.

2000: Disaster Prevention, Education and Youth

It is important for future generations, as the leaders of tomorrow, to learn about the long-term aspects of environmental protection and to provide them with the necessary early education for a better understanding of both natural hazards and the way to prevent their disastrous impact on societies.