To mark the International Day for Disaster Reduction on 13 October, the UNISDR secretariat is calling on its partners to play a more active role to protect cities against disasters. As part of its “Making Cities Resilient: My City is getting ready!” campaign, UNISDR encourages more mayors and local governments to join the 100 cities that have already signed up to the global campaign.

Many cities have been disrupted this year by disasters: earthquakes in Haiti, Chile and New Zealand; floods and heavy rainfalls in Pakistan, Eastern Europe, Mozambique and other parts of Africa; forest fires in Russia; and volcanic eruptions in Indonesia and Iceland. All have caused huge human suffering and economic damage. Cities have never been so at risk.

More action is needed to anticipate the negative impacts of such disasters; no city is immune.

13 Mediterranean cities have already joined the campaign: Alexandria, Cairo and Sharm Al-Sheikh in Egypt; Amman in Jordan; Aleppo and Homs in Syria; Saida, Beirut, Byblos and Tripoli in Lebanon; Istanbul and Yalova in Turkey; Venice in Italy.

Is your city GETTING ready?
What are you doing to make cities more resilient and protect citizens?

UNISDR, member of the PPRD South Managing Consortium”, encourages all partners, National Platforms for Disaster Reduction and cities to use the International Day for Disaster Reduction to raise awareness on how to build resilience to disasters, to publicize the "ten essentials" and how YOUR community, town, city or province is advancing in getting ready.

Please send your plans for the International Day for Disaster Reduction to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . UNISDR will post your plans and experience reports on the website.

----------------------

Ideas for the International Day for Disaster Reduction:

- Organize radio programs, press briefing or public debates on how your community/municipality/city is getting ready: Read the UN Secretary-Generals message and add a message from your Mayor or other personalities on what is being done in your community;

- Organize a disaster drill or exercise preparedness plans in your community/ school/ municipality/ city

- Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies might want to launch the 2010 World Disaster Report on Urban Risk in their communities that day and discuss what can be done in partnership with others

- Launch the call for nominations for good practice and candidates for the UN-Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction, which will feature achievements in making cities resilient. The Award will be delivered in May 2011 at the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva

- Showcase to the public ("open day" or round tables) any visible activity or project undertaken by participants in the campaign (see www.unisdr.org/campaign - Section ?How to get engaged in the campaign?)

- Promote the One Million Save Schools and Hospitals Pledging Initiative and encourage pledges. (The initiative calls for pledging of specific schools and hospitals to be safe, sign-up for individuals or groups to become advocates or champions, collects good practice and provides guidance documentation prepared by partners and /or UNISDR.)
www.safe-schools-hospitals.net


The attachment includes the ideas for the International Day for Disaster Reduction (see above) and a list of events UNISDR is directly involved.

High level decision makers from the countries participating to the Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Initiative of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe met in Ankara on 22 July 2010 in the occasion of a coordination meeting in the framework of the project Harmonization of Seismic Hazards Maps for the Western Balkan Countries.

The meeting had the objective of further bringing forward the preparation of new seismic hazard maps for the Western Balkan region using modern scientific methodologies that will ensure harmonization among the countries of the region as well as with the European seismic zoning standards specified in the so called Eurocode 8.

The Eurocodes are a set of European structural design codes for building and civil engineering works. Conceived and developed over the past 30 years with the combined expertise of the member states of the European Union, they are arguably the most advanced structural codes in the world. The Eurocodes are intended to be mandatory for European public works and likely to become the de-facto standard for the private sector – both in Europe and world-wide. Eurocode 8 explains how to make building and civil engineering structures resistant to earthquakes.

The Meeting was chaired by Mr. Mehmet ERSOY, Director-General of the Turkish Disasters and Emergency Management Presidency (DEMP) and was attended by Mr. Samir AGIC Deputy Minister of Security, Protection and Rescue of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Prof. Sali KELMENDI Director-General of the Planning and Coordination Department of the Albanian Ministry of Interior, Mr. Trajko TODORCEVSKI Chief Supervisor responsible for disasters of the Ministry of Interior of Macedonia, Mr. Orhan TOPCU Head of the Secretariat of the Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Initiative of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, Mr. I. Ejder KAYA Head of Planning and Mitigation Department of DEMP, Prof. Dr. Mr. Sinan AKKAR from METU Construction Engineering Department and Prof. Dr. Atilla ANSA from Bogazici University Earthquake Engineering Department.

The project Harmonization of Seismic Hazards Maps for the Western Balkan Countries was launched in 2007 in the framework of the Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Initiative of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe with the support of the NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme. The main objective of the project is to prepare the ground for joint preparedness and prevention activities in disaster management among the countries of the region. The process of harmonization of the earthquake terminology and of the seismic risk maps will allow to improve scientific collaboration between the project partners and to enhance  cooperation and coordination in the field of seismic hazard management.

The project is implemented by the national institutions and/or the organizations that are responsible for disaster management and seismic risk reduction in the participating countries: Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania and Turkey.

Project web site: http://www.wbseismicmaps.org/Home.htm

The Cairo based World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean published in 2007 the WHO e-Atlas of disaster risk for the Eastern Mediterranean Region, Volume 1: Exposure to natural hazards. The e-Atlas uses geographic information systems and various disaster models to assist disaster management decision-makers, particularly those in the countries of this Region regularly experiencing disasters, to reduce health risks to vulnerable populations due to emergencies and health crises.

In support of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA), the UNISDR has launched PreventionWeb, a website on disaster risk reduction (DRR). PreventionWeb informs and connects professionals working in disaster risk reduction, and promotes an understanding of the subject by non-specialists.

PreventionWeb provides a common platform for institutions to connect, exchange experiences and share information about DRR. Readers can submit content to PreventionWeb, as well as syndicate PreventionWeb content to their own websites.

The website is updated daily and contains DRR news, events, online discussions, contact directories, policy documents, reference documents, training and academic programmes, jobs, terminology, and country information, as well as audio and video content.

Visit Preventionweb