October 13 is the International Day for Disaster Reduction. The goal of this date is to minimize the risks posed by natural disasters and create a culture of prevention and preparedness for these phenomena.
The history of this International Day begins in 1989, the year in which the United Nations (UN) General Assembly proclaimed it, according to information published on the diainternacionalde.com website. However, as planned at the time, the celebration would take place every second Wednesday in October. It was from 2009 when the 13th of that month was adopted.
In 2021, the campaign focused on international cooperation in this area. The chosen motto for 2022 is: “Early action and early warning for everyone”. Exactly, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, declared last March that within five years all people on earth should be protected from disasters by early warning systems. It is a laudable goal, but difficult to achieve.
In the context of this topic, the term “natural disasters” refers to property damage and human life as a result of natural events. These can be of hydrometeorological origin (heavy rainfall, droughts, hurricanes, sea slumps) or geological (tidal waves, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions).
The effects of natural disasters result in deaths, injuries, displacement, loss of homes and other infrastructure. They tend to be particularly severe in developing countries, which are becoming more vulnerable because they have fewer resources to deal with prevention, risk reduction and recovery.
Although the occurrence of these events is inevitable, human action can minimize their consequences. Therefore, in December 1999, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) was created as part of the UN Secretary General. This is the multilateral body in charge of the Sendai framework.
What is the Sendai framework?
According to the UNISDR website, this agreement, adopted in this Japanese city in March 2015, proposes that member states take action against disaster risk. It is linked to other agreements of the 2030 Agenda and sets goals such as reducing global mortality, the number of people affected, economic and infrastructure losses, the disruption of basic services and the strengthening of international cooperation and availability of early warning systems.
Image taken from the internet. Developing countries become more vulnerable because they have fewer resources to address prevention, risk reduction and recovery.
The Sendai Framework states that the primary role in disaster risk reduction lies with states, although “it is a responsibility that needs to be shared with other actors such as local governments, the private sector and other stakeholders”.
The Cuban Experience
The genesis of Cuba’s disaster management bodies lies in the National Civil Defense Commission, established in 1941 in the context of World War II. After the victory of the revolution, the National Civil Protection Council was founded on July 12, 1966. In 1994, Law 75 “of National Defense” established the main principles of civil defense that governed the management of any type of disaster in the country.
Civil Defense in Cuba: a great bastion with 60 years of experience.