The focus of development actors working in the area of disaster management has shifted substantially from disaster recovery to disaster risk reduction over the past decade, coinciding with the decade of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) 2005-2015. Amidst this strategic shift, there is now the...

Risk-sensitive land use planning is vital for sustainable economic development and effective Disaster Risk Management (DRM). Urban development programs should adopt risk-sensitive land use planning to encourage resilient development guiding the growth of people, assets and services within and...

Tsunamis can be devastating. The 2004 Indian Ocean and 2011 Tohoku disasters provide frightening examples of the power of tsunamis. The Pacific has long been recognized as a place where tsunamis occur - the 'Pacific Ring of Fire' (PRF) contains regions of volcanoes and large earthquakes...

The East Asia region is highly prone to the impacts of natural disasters. Situated in the ring of fire, countries in the region are regularly hit by typhoons, earthquakes, floods, and other events. Natural disasters can have major impacts on the social and economic welfare of a population, and...

In this note, the instruments supporting risk retention and risk financing at the national and regional/international levels will be the sole focus. Risk transfer, including insurance, is a very broad subject and requires a separate discussion; however, when a hybrid solution involves a transfer...

Earthquakes, floods, cyclones, and such other hazards each year affect approximately 200 million people. Developing countries absorbed 98 percent of these disasters and accounted for nine out of ten disaster-related deaths in the period 1991-2005. In fact, low and middle income countries suffer...

This knowledge note addresses the importance of quality monitoring and evaluation in the disaster context. It provides an overview of how each can be used differently in the ex ante and ex post disaster scenarios. Finally, general guidance is given on how to construct a logical framework for...

Evidence from past events in the East Asia and Pacific Region demonstrates that such critical infrastructure as health and educational facilities is heavily exposed to natural disasters. In Myanmar in 2008, Cyclone Nargis damaged or destroyed nearly 75 percent of the health facilities and more...

This note presents relevant interventions that have aimed to stimulate rural economies a natural disaster based on case studies from the Philippines, Turkey, and Pakistan. Introducing new, untested infrastructure methods or designs involves careful analysis and may delay reconstruction. If this...

This note builds on the proactive measures taken by the Government of China as announced in: (i) the Decree of the state council of the people's Republic of China, issued on 9 June 2008, providing regulations on post-Wenchuan earthquake reconstruction; (ii) the Directive on Counterpart...