On October 10, 1980, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake destroyed the town of El Asnam (known today as Chlef) in Algeria, killing several thousand people and leading to considerable economic losses. Three hours later, a magnitude 6.3 aftershock followed, making it one of the largest and deadliest earthquakes ever recorded in Algeria. Twenty-three years later, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake shook the country again and caused devastating damage in five provinces in the northcentral region.

Disasters like these are far from rare in Algeria. Be it earthquakes, forest fires, or floods, Algeria has experienced many disasters and has learned valuable lessons from them. The Algerian government estimates that annual spending over the past 15 years to respond to floods, earthquakes, and forest fires averages approximately $255 million (DZD 35.14 billion), with about 70 percent spent on floods. Aware of the country’s growing disaster risk in the context of urbanization and climate change, the government has adopted numerous policies, regulations, and plans that demonstrate its commitment to prepare for, manage, and mitigate the impacts of disasters. It is equally aware that the journey to disaster resilience is far from over and that much remains to be done.

GFDRR has been supporting Algeria’s efforts to evaluate its national disaster risk management (DRM) system and to identify priority actions that could help boost the country’s resilience to future climate and disaster risks. The National Delegation for Major Risks, which coordinates DRM initiatives in Algeria, has been the key partner in this initiative.

A major focus for GFDRR’s engagement has been its support for a comprehensive diagnostic on climate and DRM in Algeria, which profiles the country’s disaster and climate risk, estimates the macroeconomic impacts of disasters, and highlights the advances in and challenges of Algeria’s DRM efforts. The report, developed from 2021 to 2023, is the culmination of an extensive review of more than 500 documents, a comprehensive multistakeholder consultation workshop conducted in 2021, and bilateral interviews held with the National Delegation for Major Risks and relevant stakeholders.

The study forecasts that disaster losses could average 0.7 percent of the country’s GDP per year, nearly double the historical average. This increase is largely due to the potential of a devastating earthquake in urban areas, which are experiencing rapid population growth and are hence the most vulnerable. Climate change increases the frequency and intensity of these shocks. The priority actions identified in the report include the need to improve interinstitutional coordination, deepen climate and disaster risk knowledge, promote investments to reduce the risks of floods and forest fires, strengthen early warning systems (EWS), and promote disaster risk financing and insurance.

The results and recommendations of the diagnostic were widely disseminated through a series of in-person events in Algeria to raise awareness of disaster risks and inform the dialogue on potential areas of collaboration at the regional, national, and international levels. A donor roundtable brought together participants from development partners and Algerian institutions to discuss the country’s disaster and climate challenges and explore potential avenues for government–donor collaboration. Subsequently, an official launch event organized in Algiers was attended by representatives from multiple Algerian government institutions. Following up on these events, a series of regional dissemination events reunited more than 600 representatives from three Algerian wilayas in the east, west, and southeast of the country. The goal was to engage regional stakeholders and communities in implementing identified priority actions.

GFDRR’s most recent support for Algeria builds on an emerging partnership for resilience-building. For instance, GFDRR’s expertise and experience in driving resilience across the Middle East and North Africa has shaped development of a virtual study tour for DRM experts and practitioners in Algeria.