Blogs

As the built environment provides the first line of defense against natural hazards, we are living through a rare opportunity to lock in either resilience or risk in many fast-growing parts of the globe.

In 2015, GFDRR along with DFID launched the first Challenge Fund focused on funding disruptive technologies and approaches in the disaster risk identification field. The fund was designed and implemented in-house; the second round is currently on-going. Here’s a few things we’ve learned along the way.

In the face of adversity, various public institutions in charge of urban rail operations are leading the way to repair damaged infrastructure (“fix”), protect assets from future similar disasters (“fortify”), restore services to millions of commuters and rethink the standards for future investments. Their experience provides some valuable lessons for cities around the world.

A severe and prolonged heat wave stifled much of Central Europe this summer, buckling train tracks in Serbia and forcing at least 10 countries to issue red alerts for health concerns and water conservation. Once a rare nuisance, extreme weather events like this are becoming more commonplace throughout the region – and more dangerous.

Challenges in development are growing at unprecedented rates, driven by complex human crises: refugees, rapid and unsustainable urbanization and climate change, failure to meet basic infrastructure needs, youth unemployment and disengagement, and stubbornly poor health and education outcomes, to name a few.

Incorporating disability inclusiveness into long-term disaster and climate risk management is necessary, not only to ensure that persons with disabilities are not disproportionately impacted by natural hazards, but because disability-inclusive disaster risk management interventions have the potential to benefit all members of society.

Instead of looking at potential future damages, we must look at how hydromet services can help cities and communities flourish with greater resilience today:

Globally, river floods affect more than 21 million people. By 2030, due to climate change, population growth, and rapid urbanization, this number could rise to 54 million.

The World Bank recently committed that lending operations should incorporate resilience to disasters, but that doesn't mean that project leaders suddenly need to become experts in natural hazards...