The "Making Cities Resilient: My City is Getting Ready!" campaign seeks to enlist local government leaders to invest more in disaster risk reduction, including taking measures to adapt to the increasing impacts of climate change.
15 September 2010: The UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) has announced that Overstrand Municipality, South Africa, and Maputo, Mozambique, have joined the World Disaster Reduction Campaign on “Making Cities Resilient: My City is Getting Ready!” The campaign seeks to enlist over 1,000 local government leaders to invest more in disaster risk reduction, including: improving urban planning, infrastructure and building safety; reinforcing drainage systems to reduce flood, storm and health threats; installing early warning systems; conducting public preparedness drills; and taking measures to adapt to the increasing impacts of climate change.
The signing ceremony took place at the Planning Africa 2010 conference, in Durban, South Africa, on 13 September. According to UN/ISDR, extreme climate conditions are among the major contributors to disaster risk, and with cities becoming more prone to climate-triggered disasters, local governments face a greater challenge in strengthening the public’s readiness to reduce disaster impacts. [UN/ISDR Press Release]