chapter 4 - DRK

Strictly under embargo until Wednesday 22 September at 00:01 GMT (02:01 Geneva time)Making cities resilient:A ten-point checklist forlocal governmentsCities and local governments need to get ready, reduce the risks and become resilientto disasters. For the next two years and beyond, the United Nations InternationalStrategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) will campaign together with its partnersfor this to happen.Making cities resilient, the 2010–2011 World Disaster Reduction campaign, addressesissues of local governance and urban risk while drawing upon previous UNISDRcampaigns for safer schools and hospitals, as well as on the sustainable urbanizationsprinciples developed in the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) World Urban Campaign 2009–2013.Overall, the campaign seeks to raise awareness and effect change by urging localgovernments to take immediate action and to build multi-stakeholder partnerships toachieve the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action at the local level. Thefollowing ten-point checklist of ‘essentials’ for making cities resilient, which builds onthe priorities identified in Hyogo Framework for Action 2005–2015: Building the resilienceof nations and communities to disasters (available online: www.unisdr.org / hfa), willserve as a guide for commitment during the campaign.Ten essentials for making cities resilient1. Put in place organization and coordination to understand and reduce disasterrisk, based on participation of citizen groups and civil society. Build local alliances.Ensure that all departments understand their role in disaster risk reductionand preparedness.2. Assign a budget for disaster risk reduction and provide incentives for homeowners,low-income families, communities, businesses and the public sector toinvest in reducing the risks they face.3. Maintain up-to-date data on hazards and vulnerabilities, prepare risk assessmentsand use these as the basis for urban development plans and decisions.Ensure that this information and the plans for your city’s resilience are readilyavailable to the public and fully discussed with them.Photo opposite page:Cities need to beable to respond tothe needs of bothinhabitants andvisitors. Not aneasy task in citiesattracting largenumbers of visitors,such as Mecca,which is visited bymillions of peopleduring the annualHajj pilgrimage,the world’s largestgathering.© Saudi Arabian RedCrescent SocietyWorld Disasters Report 2010 – Disaster data191