The International Day For Disaster Reduction Essay

Writing in the wake of hurricane Katrina 2005, Neil Smith (2006) suggests ‘that there is no such thing as a natural disaster’. Smith contends that natural hazards become disasters due to location and the vulnerability of humans through their own decision making and the lack of appropriate mitigation measures. The opinion that human decisions and actions create or exacerbate vulnerability to disaster is shared by many observers, where so called ‘natural disasters’ are seen to be the result of poorly managed risk when natural hazards take place. There is strong argument that appropriate actions taken by humans before, during and after a natural hazardous event, will help to prevent that event turning into a disaster. The Dictionary of Human Geography (Gregory, 2009:198) describes natural hazards as ‘geophysical events†¦ that can potentially cause major economic damage and physical injury or death’. The International Day for Disaster Reduction, held every 13th October, focuses on how international organisations and countries around the world attempt to minimise the disastrous consequences of natural hazards. Initiated in 1990 by the United Nations when they announced the International Decade of Disaster Reduction, this led to the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) in 2000. In July 2016 fresh impetus was given to this strategy, with the launch of the Sendai Seven Campaign to encourage a refocusing on disaster prevention over the next seven years. There areShow MoreRelatedEmergency Preparedness, Response And Recovery Programmes1543 Words   |  7 Pagesrepresentatives met in Kobe, Japan to address one of the most important tests the world has to face: disaster r isk reduction (DRR). The product of the conference was the 10 year Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015. 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