PRESS RELEASE
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WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION
A SPECIALIZED AGENCY OF THE UNITED NATIONS
For use of the information media Not an official record
WMO-No.715
International Day for Disaster Reduction (13 October)
TIMELY ACCESS AND RESPONSE TO ACCURATE EARLY
WARNINGS ARE CRUCIAL FOR MINIMIZING IMPACTS OF
NATURAL DISASTERS
Geneva, 13 October 2004 (WMO) - “Natural hazards are inevitable and can
threaten everyone, but they tend to hit communities in developing countries,
especially the least developed countries, the hardest, increasing their
vulnerability and setting back their economic and social growth sometimes
by decades”, Mr Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General of the World
Meteorological Organization (WMO) said today in a message released on the
occasion of the International Day for Disaster Reduction. “It is critical to
build a culture of prevention. This could be done through further
improvements in risk assessment, monitoring, forecasting for early
warnings, capacity building and raising the awareness of the public as well
as decision-makers through education and sharing of knowledge and
information.” Mr Jarraud emphasized.
The World Meteorological Organization, the National Meteorological and
Hydrological Services (NMHSs) and the WMO Regional Specialized
Meteorological Centres provide information that is vital to disaster reduction.
Statistics from the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED)
reveal that during the 10-year period from 1992-2001, about 90% of all natural
disasters were of meteorological or hydrological origin, killing 622 000 people and
affecting more than two billion more. The total value of economic losses over the
same period is estimated at US$ 446 billion, accounting for about 65% of damage
arising from all natural disasters.
Once again, in 2004, many countries worldwide have been inflicted with
considerable loss of lives and socio-economic impact as a result of weather-,
climate- and water-related disasters. These Include hurricanes in the Caribbean
and USA, typhoons in West Pacific, floods in East and South East Asia and
invasion in North West Africa of locusts whose incubation, population and
trajectory of movement are highly dependent on weather conditions. Four
hurricanes struck the Caribbean and the United States in August and September
this year, killing more than three thousand people and causing damage worth
billions of dollars. It was the first time that USA had been hit by four destructive
hurricanes in such rapid succession since 1950.
While the loss figures have been high, it is important to stress that they would have
been much higher without pre-disaster efforts, particularly early warnings. They
contribute significantly to disaster preparedness, particularly in reducing loss of life
and property. WMO and the NMHSs place specific emphasis on increased
accuracy and timely dissemination of early warnings along with insuring effective
response of the communities to this information through public training and
education.
As a partner in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, WMO is
committed to the protection of life and property, and sustainable social and
economic development. WMO’s target is to reduce, by 50 per cent over the decade
2010-2019 the associated ten-year average fatality of 1995-2004 for natural
disasters of meteorological, hydrological and climatic origin. WMO and NMHSs are
promoting a culture of prevention and pre-disaster strategies as part of national
and regional disaster preparedness plans, built upon an improved knowledge base,
strong institutions and public outreach and education. To this end, WMO has
launched its Natural Disaster Mitigation and Prevention Programme, which will
work together with international, regional and national partners on key initiatives to
address these goals. In this regard, WMO is working closely with the Secretariat for
the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) in preparing for the World
Conference on Disaster Reduction to be held in Kobe, Japan, from 18 to 22
January 2005.
The World Meteorological Organization is the United Nations System’s
authoritative voice on Weather, Climate and Water
For more information please contact:
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Ms. Carine Richard-Van Maele, Chief, Communications and Public Affairs,
WMO.Tel: +41(0) 22 730 8315, Fax: +41 (0) 22 730 8027. E-mail: cvanmaele@wmo.int
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Mr Yunjie Zheng, Press Officer, Communications and Public Affairs, WMO. Tel: +41 (0) 22 730 8168.
Fax: +41 (0) 22 730 8027. E-mail: yzheng@wmo.int, Website: http://www.wmo.int
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Ms Maryam Golnaraghi, Chief, Natural Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Programme, WMO. Tel: + 41
(0) 22 730 8006, E-mail: mgolnaraghi@wmo.int