International Day for Disaster Reduction

Held on : 13th October

A natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard like flood, tornado, volcano eruption, earthquake, or landslide. These affect the environment and lead to financial, environmental and / or human losses. Earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, volcanic eruptions and other natural disasters are an inevitable part of life. Many people around the world have lost their lives, homes or access to essential facilities, such as hospitals, due to natural disasters, including earthquakes, droughts, tsunamis, heavy flooding, hurricanes or cyclones. Some of these disasters have caused economic damage to some countries. The UN acknowledges that education, training, and information exchanges are effective ways to help people become better equipped in withstanding natural disasters.

History - On December 22, 1989, the UN General Assembly designated the second wednesday of october as the International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction. This event was to be observed annually during the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, 1990-1999. On December 20, 2001, the assembly decided to maintain the observance to promote a global culture of natural disaster reduction, including disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness. In 2009, the UN General Assembly decided to change the earlier second wednesday of october schedule. It designated October 13th as the official date and also changed the name to International Day for Disaster Reduction.

The United Nations’ (UN) International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction is thus annually observed to raise the profile of disaster risk reduction. It also encourages people and governments to participate in building more resilient communities and nations. The World Disaster Reduction Campaign is coordinated by the secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO).

Events - Activities for the International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction usually include media announcements about launches for campaigns that centre on the day's theme.

Governments and communities also take part in the International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction through various events such as:

1. Drawing, drama, essay or photography competitions that focus on making people aware of natural disaster reduction and increasing their preparedness for such situations.
2. Other activities include: community tree planting; conferences, fairs and seminars; and street parades.

Themes - Every two years, the ISDR system selects a topic that reflects one of the five priorities of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015. The theme of the 2008-2009 world campaign was 'Hospitals safe from disasters: reduce risk, protect health facilities, save lives'. Previous year themes have been -

• 2004 - 'Learning from today’s disasters for tomorrow’s hazards'.
• 2005 - 'Invest to prevent disaster'.
• 2006-2007 - 'Disaster risk reduction begins at school'.

Holiday Status - It is not a public holiday.

Alternate Name - International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction (previous name).