Learning from experience Australia’s Ministry of Human resources has backroom plans in place to deal with disasters. Hundreds of staff can be mobilized in the ‘Channel Operation Center’ in Canberra which co-ordinates governments financial and physical response.     40 screens at the center simultaneously assist in dictating action in diverting relief and assistance suitably to... Read More

The Sendai Framework for DRR recognizes the role of volunteers and voluntary organizations as active actors in relief and to better understand community risks and increase collaborative efforts.  Volunteer role can be decisive and it is important that they have adequate training, which is relevant at the national, regional and global levels. A parallel session... Read More

Humanitarian aid has not been very successful in delivering on its goals at times of disaster, mainly due to lack of coordination among NGOs, resulting in duplication of services. Studies of major disasters show 60% of items arriving at disaster sites are non-priority items with rescue teams wasting precious time dealing with them. Meantime victims... Read More

  On the occasion of the sixth anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, a disaster drill was exercised at Sensoji Temple, a popular tourist destination in Taito Ward and adjacent areas of Tokyo’s Asakusa district on March 8. The drill was organized by the Asakusa Tourism Information Association in which 250 foreign... Read More

This is the second year that the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has released an earthquake forecast citing wastewater disposal from fracking as triggering the quakes. The number of Americans likely to be affected this year is lower than last year where 7 million were at risk, but despite this decrease, there is still a significant likelihood... Read More

  A paper by the Overseas Development Institute, Disasters and national economic resilience, highlights the need to smoothen recovery over time for high disaster risk countries. Analysis of over 42 years of a group of developing countries across Sahel, East Africa and Asia  shows  short term recovery in first year (international aid and insurance policies)... Read More

The UAE has formed a national committee for disaster management which has representation of all stakeholders such as health-care facilities, health authorities of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and the Ministry of Health and Prevention, ambulance services of all emirates and the police.   While UAE is fully equipped to deal with emergency and disaster situations, they... Read More