International Day for Disaster Reduction

International Day for Disaster Reduction began in 1989, after a call by the United Nations General Assembly for a day to promote a global culture of risk-awareness and disaster reduction. Held every 13 October, the day celebrates how people and communities around the world are reducing their exposure to disasters and raising awareness about the importance of reining in the risks that they face.

International Day for Disaster Reduction 2022

Early Warning For All is the theme of this year’s International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction on 13 October to reduce their disaster risk and disaster losses.

In 2022, the International Day focuses on Target G: “Substantially increase the availability of and access to multi-hazard early warning systems and disaster risk information and assessments to people by 2030.”

This is especially important in the case of sudden-onset or fast-moving hazards such as tsunamis, cyclones and volcanic eruptions, but is also relevant to slower hazards such as drought and disease outbreaks. 

It is not enough for an early warning system to correctly identify an incoming hazard, but it must also ensure that the populations and sectors that are at risk can receive the alert, understand it, and most importantly, act on it. Hence, an early warning must trigger early action.  In the case of fast-moving hazards, this sometimes means evacuating and seeking appropriate shelter.

An effective early warning system must be

• Multi-Hazard : They are designed to detect different hazards that may occur alone, simultaneously, or cascade.
• End-to-end : The system covers the entire range, from hazard detection to action, which includes providing understandable and actionable warning messages.
• People-centered : This means designing the systems with people in mind, to empower them to act on time and in an appropriate manner to reduce potential harm.

Sendai Seven Campaign

The Sendai Framework has seven strategic targets and 38 indicators for measuring progress on reducing disaster losses. In 2016, the UN Secretary-General launched “The Sendai Seven Campaign” to promote each of the seven targets over seven years. These indicators align implementation of the Sendai Framework with implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The 2022 target is target G: “Substantially increase the availability of and access to multi-hazard early warning systems and disaster risk information and assessments to people by 2030".

The primary goal of the Sendai Framework is to avoid creating new and reduce existing risk. But when that is not possible, people-centered early warning systems and preparedness can enable early action to minimize the harm to people, assets and livelihoods.

The Sendai Seven Campaign is an opportunity for all, including governments, local governments, community groups, civil society organisations, the private sector, international organisations, to promote best practice at international, regional and national level across all sectors, to reduce disaster risk and disaster losses.

• 2016 – Target 1: Substantially reduce global disaster mortality by 2030, aiming to lower the average per 100,000 global mortality rate in the decade 2020-2030 compared to the period 2005-2015.
• 2017 – Target 2 : Substantially reduce the number of people affected globally by 2030, aiming to lower the average global figure per 100,000 in the decade 2020-2030 compared to the period 2005-2015.
• 2018 – Target 3 : Reduce direct disaster economic loss in relation to global gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030.
• 2019 – Target 4 : Substantially reduce disaster damage to critical infrastructure and disruption of basic services, among them health and educational facilities, including through developing their resilience by 2030.
• 2020 – Target 5 : Substantially increase the number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies by 2020.
• 2021 – Target 6: Substantially enhance international cooperation to developing countries through adequate and sustainable support to complement their national actions for implementation of the present Framework by 2030.
• 2022 – Target 7 : Substantially increase the availability of and access to multi-hazard early warning systems and disaster risk information and assessments to people by 2030.

Related resources

• Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction
• IDDR 2022 website of UNISDR
• National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) - India