“Every dollar invested in resilience saves many more avoided losses and protects the dignity of those most at risk. The choice is ours. We can continue to fund disaster response or we can invest in resilience,” said Amy Pope, head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
In 2024 alone, nearly 46 million people were displaced by disasters, the highest number ever recorded, but disaster risk reduction efforts remain underfunded, according to the IOM.
Costs of avoidable disasters
“As the climate crisis accelerates, disasters multiply and amplify, devastating lives and livelihoods and instantly erasing decades of development progress,” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in his message to mark the Day.
“The cost to the global economy is staggering: an estimated $2 trillion each year, when indirect costs are taken into account.”
Indirect costs include the broader social and ecosystem losses that occur as a result of natural disasters. According to the report, earthquakes, floods, storms, droughts and heat waves accounted for 95 percent of direct costs over the past two decades.
“The wildfires in Europe and America, and the devastating earthquakes in Myanmar and Afghanistan show that no country is immune, but the greatest cost falls on communities already struggling with conflict, poverty and hunger,” Ms Pope said.
Different natural disasters affect different regions of the world. In South Sudan, annual flooding can submerge homes, farmland and schools, forcing people to flee their homes and increasing food insecurity.
As a disaster prevention measure, dams have been built in South Sudan with the support of IOM, protecting farmland and restoring livelihoods.
Disaster reduction promotion
The International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction was established in 1989 to foster a global culture of risk awareness and celebrate how communities around the world are reducing their exposure to disasters.
“The impact of disasters depends largely on the decisions we make, how strong our infrastructure is, how much we invest in prevention and how well we protect the most vulnerable,” Ms Pope said.
With planning and financing, the negative impacts of disasters can be reduced. Accordingly, this year’s Day call is for increased disaster risk financing and for the development of resilient, risk-adapted private investment.
Guterres stressed that in every decision they make, the public and private sectors must take risk into account to minimize exposure and vulnerability to dangers.
“On this Day, let us commit to addressing rising risk with increased funding and building a safer, more equitable future for all,” he said.