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| Sunday, 9 October 2005 |
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Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Int'l Day for Natural Disaster Reduction
The whole world is reeling under a multitude of natural disasters. We heard of hurricanes battering the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world, the USA. Close on their heels came the typhoons in China and Vietnam. Storms and floods were seen in India and Europe. And, who can forget the massive devastation caused in many Asian countries by last year's tsunami? Natural disasters are definitely on the increase and the death and destruction caused by them have also reached unmanageable proportions. It is at such a time that we commemorate the International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction on October 12. The special day is celebrated every year on the second Wednesday of October as a vehicle to promote a global culture of natural disaster reduction including the prevention and mitigation (lessening the impact) of disasters and preparing communities to face such calamities. It is said that natural disasters and their effects have been on the rise due to human activities that have increased people's vulnerability to such happenings and changes in the natural balance of the eco-system. Although the whole world is shocked and horrified to see the devastation caused by natural disasters, nothing much is done to protect communities against them. So it's important that disaster reduction is successfully incorporated into the broader goal of sustainable development to enable the building of disaster-resilient communities. The World Disaster Reduction Awareness Campaign for 2005 focuses on reducing the risks using micro-finance tools and safety nets. The objectives of the programme are twofold: to sensitise government and financial communities on their potential role in reducing disaster risks, and to raise awareness in disaster and risk management communities of the use of existing financial tools and safety nets to reduce the vulnerability of the people who are most at risk. The Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2065: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disaster will be one of the programmes implemented this year to recognise and reduce the underlying risk factions to build a safer world, and identify a number of measures that will help the impact of these hazards on the poorer sections of the population. |
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