Brussels, 22/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - The increase in extreme weather events and the heavy cost in both human and economic terms mean that better preparation is needed. Responding to this necessity is the Disaster Resilience Journal, a joint European Commission-International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, launched on Monday 22 September.
Available online at http://www.disaster-resilience.com , this awareness-raising journal for everyone - from European citizens to policy makers - will, for 42 days, present daily stories of how communities from 24 different countries across the globe prepare for disasters, strengthening their resilience.
“Disasters take lives and ruin prospects, often making the situation of already impoverished people even worse,” said EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response Kristalina Georgieva adding “every euro invested in disaster risk reduction measures has a return of four to seven times”.
The preparation for disasters that the Commission and the 12 Red Cross-Red Crescent Societies are seeking to encourage by making people more aware of its importance consists, for example, of building safer shelters in Haiti and in the Philippines, terracing to prevent soil erosion in Rwanda, practising evacuation drills in Bangladesh and planting vegetable gardens in the desert of Mauritania.
The Journal will also show the difference made for vulnerable people by the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies with financial support from the European Union. In the last 20 years disasters have killed 1.3 million people and affected 4.4 billion, as well as causing major economic losses. By 2030, the annual economic cost of disasters is forecast to reach €328 billion. (AN)