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UN Symposium Seeks to Enhance Early Warning for Natural Disasters

Some 90 experts in early warning systems and natural disaster risk management met at a United Nations symposium in Geneva today to strengthen global mechanisms, especially for less developed countries, that have already helped to reduce the number of fatalities by nearly two-thirds at a time when such catastrophes have increased four-fold.

"From 1980 to 2005, over 7,000 natural disasters worldwide have taken the lives of nearly 2 million people and produced economic losses of over $1 trillion," UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Michel Jarraud told the Symposium on Multi-hazard Early Warning Systems for Integrated Disaster Risk Management, convened by his agency.

"However, as the number of disasters increased four-fold, the number of fatalities decreased by nearly two-thirds. This noteworthy achievement is due to several factors, one of which has been the development of end-to-end early warning systems for many hazards," he added of the shift in strategic focus from response and recovery to proactive prevention and preparedness

The issue has gained added significance since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, when experts said scores of thousands of the more than 200,000 dead could have been saved if early warning systems had existed to give them time to escape to higher ground in the hours between the earthquake that triggered the giant waves and their landfall.

The Symposium, bringing together of 18 agencies involved in the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR), is co-sponsored by UN Development Programme (UNDP), the ISDR, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Bank.

"We are particularly encouraged that leaders from other key institutions have also committed to support this process and create a strong international agenda to help the most vulnerable communities increase their resilience to disasters," UN Assistant-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Margareta Wahlström said.

The two-day Symposium, which began yesterday, will prepare recommendations aimed at the effective development and strengthening of early warning systems through a more integrated and coordinated approach at international, regional and national levels for the benefit of all countries, particularly those with least resources.

Early warning systems for specific hazards, such as tropical cyclones and floods, already exist in many countries and in some cases share similarities and components.

"A multi-hazard approach can result in enhanced operational efficiency, cost effectiveness and sustainability. This Symposium is a step to further explore the concept and the related potential economies and synergies, and to recommend the actions required," Mr Jarraud said.

Source: United Nations

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