Blogs

In November 1970, Cyclone Bhola made landfall and devastated Bangladesh's coastline. Fifty years later, the country has become a leader in disaster risk reduction.

While countries at all levels of development face flood risk, the vast majority of the world’s flood exposed people – 89% – live in low- and middle- income countries.  Critically, it is not only major, more infrequent floods, but also smaller, frequent events that can reverse years of progress in poverty reduction and development. 

Central Asia still needs stronger regional cooperation and increased information exchange. The COVID-19 pandemic has underlined the importance—and advanced the possibility of—closer collaboration. Identifying and understanding the risks of various hazards requires continued investment. We also need to find ways to mitigate or minimize these risks, including from pandemics, which are bound to recur.

A recent publication released by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), The Power of Partnership: Public and Private Engagement in Hydromet Services, explores the “vitals” for successful public and private engagement. These include open data policies enabling private sector participation with a clear division of roles and responsibilities between sectors, as well as non-restrictive country legislation and legal frameworks. 

The GFDRR and HEPRTF programs at the World Bank share a commitment to help countries prepare for and respond to unexpected and unforeseeable events.  Whilst the programs are different in how they operate and function and with whom they interact in government counterparts, they share commonalities such as a strong commitment to strengthen the capacity of governments to systematically prepare for and respond to emergencies.

Resilient Shores, a new report jointly developed by the government of Vietnam, the World Bank, and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) offers a systematic analysis of disaster risks, and sets out an action plan for boosting resilient coastal development.

Our latest knowledge note, prepared in collaboration with experts from China’s Academy of Disaster Reduction and Emergency Management (ADREM) at Beijing Normal University, presents recent progress in China's national resilience building and distills insights on what it takes to strengthen resilien­ce at scale.

When disasters strike, local government leaders and humanitarian organizations look to data to inform their responses. Maps can provide a snapshot of the people exposed to the disaster, the extent of the damage, and the places important to the community such as schools and health.