Post-Ketsana PDNA Leverages $13 Million of World Bank's IDA Resources for Recovery Activities in Lao PDR  
February 24, 2010. These resources will be mainstreamed into the Road Sector Project (US$7.8 million) and the Lao Upland Food Security Improvement Project (US$5.2 million). The Government's Poverty Reduction Fund (PRF), which is implementing a community-based rural infrastructure program, will serve as a mechanism to rehabilitate damaged community-level infrastructure in affected provinces with an allocation of US$1.5 million. Typhoon Ketsana, the severest to hit Laos till date, swept through five of the country’s southern provinces, devastating houses, crops, schools, hospitals, roads and bridges and causing wide-spread damages to irrigation schemes, aquaculture infrastructure, and riverbanks and affected more than 180,000 people in 30,000 households. The Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) was led by the Ministry of Planning and Investment. 12 other line ministries and numerous development partners, including the World Bank, GFDRR, ASEAN, ADB, FAO, and AusAID participated in the PDNA exercise which produced a total damage and loss estimate of $58 million. Laos will need $52 million to restore to pre-Ketsana levels. Of this, $40 million would be needed for the 3 most affected sectors:  housing, agriculture and transport. The PDNA, financed by GFDRR out of the contributions of the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia, was officially endorsed in a workshop chaired by Laos’ Minister of Planning and Investment before an audience of 90 participants from government agencies and development partners in end of January, 2010. Other international development agencies, including AusAID, the Asian Development Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are also in the process of allocating resources for recovery efforts.

Independent Evaluation Recommends Leadership Role for GFDRR in Donor Coordination and Harmonization of DRR and Climate Adaptation Agenda  
February 20, 2010. First independent evaluation of GFDRR provides an independent and strategic assessment of its performance since inception in 2007. The evaluation examines GFDRR's relevance, effectiveness, efficiency in the context of reducing  vulnerability to natural hazards and climate variability and in support of the implementation of the principal goals of the Hyogo Framework of Action(HFA). One of the objectives of the evaluation was also to identifying lessons and recommendations to enhance the results-based Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR) promoted by GFDRR, and optimize its partnership arrangements in anticipation of future growth of the Facility. The evaluation has concluded that  the GFDRR has played a marked role in the achievement towards the Hyogo Framework and that it has established both a strong global presence and has promoted comprehensive mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction in development. The evaluation has made several useful recommendations which are being implemented by the Secretariat of GFDRR.  Download Evaluation Report (Vol-I)  Appendices (Vol-II)

GFDRR and the World Bank Partner with Global Network of Scientists and Experts for Disaster Assessment in Haiti  
January 27, 2010. The World Bank, supported by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), announced today that it has mobilized scientists and technical experts around the world to help assess the impacts of the earthquake in Haiti. The initiative, called Operation GEO-CAN – which stands for Global Earth Observation – Catastrophe Assessment Network, will estimate and classify building damage based on high resolution aerial imagery in areas severely affected by the earthquake, including Port-au-Prince. See Press Release.

GFDRR Commits $1.65 Million for Recovery and Risk Reduction in Haiti 
January 13, 2010.  Funds will be used for immediate recovery and disaster risk reduction activities, including mobilization of experts for an inter-agency damage and needs assessment. Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, was struck by a 7.0 magnitude (Richter scale) earthquake yesterday, causing numerous buildings to collapse, and leaving thousands of people dead or missing. In addition to financial support, GFDRR is coordinating with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the European Commission, the World Bank, and other international agencies the deployment of experts to carry out a Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) to lay out the recovery and vulnerability reduction road map for Haiti which is a high priority country for GFDRR. The growing scale of the damages caused by the earthquake will require a major reconstruction effort on the part of the country and the international community. Discussions are also underway between GFDRR and its partners to ensure a comprehensive GFDRR program of support for Haiti's recovery and risk reduction program. The 2008 Caribbean hurricane season severely affected Haiti, and GFDRR supported an inter agency PDNA, which was endorsed by the Haitian Government, and served as the blue print for the recovery and rehabilitation effort. Disaster Risk Reduction has become a key priority in Haiti’s development programs, and the country received GFDRR grant of $500,000 for the implementation of a 3-year National Program for Vulnerability Reduction to Natural Hazards.  An early recovery and reconstruction effort to "build back better" after this devastating earthquake will benefit from this multi-stakeholder effort. See World Bank Press Release on Haiti.

Turkey to Establish a Center of Excellence in Seismic Risk Management 
January 21, 2010. In order to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the devastating Marmara earthquakes, the government of Turkey organized the International Conference on Seismic Risk Mitigation which took place in Istanbul last December.  Supported by the GFDRR, the 2-day conference gave an opportunity to the Government of Turkey to showcase what has been achieved during the last 10 years to reduce losses from earthquakes, including a special presentation on the Seismic Risk Mitigation and Emergency Preparedness Project (ISMEP) developed and implemented with the assistance of the World Bank to strengthen the city of Istanbul's infrastructure against future disasters.  The conference was also a platform for sharing good practices and lessons on disaster mitigation and management among 1,000 participants from 25 countries representing all regions in the world who gathered for this event.  A final declaration from the conference announced the creation of a Global Center of Excellence in Seismic Risk Management to be established in Turkey. 

Safer Homes, Stronger Communities Website Went Live Today 
January 04, 2010.  A new site providing resources for reconstructing housing and communities after the occurrence of natural disasters went live today. The site serves as a complement to the Handbook for Reconstructing after Natural Disasters, a tool developed by the East Asia and the Pacific Disaster Risk Management Team of the World Bank on behalf of GFDRR, to assist policy-makers, project managers and World Bank staff engaged in large-scale post-disaster housing reconstruction programs. The handbook guides decision-makers on issues related to housing and community development, infrastructure, environmental management, disaster risk reduction and public finance, among many others. The site caters to practitioners in the field and provides instruments for continuous exchange of knowledge and best practices through discussion fora, video and photo libraries, and social media technologies. For more information and to access the Handbook, please visit http://www.housingreconstruction.org

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