The International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction was started in 1989, after a call by the United Nations General Assembly for a day to promote a global culture of risk-awareness and disaster reduction. Held every 13 October, the day celebrates how people and communities around the world are reducing their exposure to disasters and raising awareness about the importance of reining in the risks that they face.

In 2015 at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan, the international community was reminded that disasters hit hardest at the local level with the potential to cause loss of life and great social and economic upheaval. Sudden onset disasters displace millions of people every year. Disasters, many of which are exacerbated by climate change, have a negative impact on investment in sustainable development and the desired outcomes.

It is also at the local level that capacities need to be strengthened urgently. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction is people-focused and action-oriented in its approach to disaster risk reduction and applies to the risk of small-scale and large-scale disasters caused by man-made, or natural hazards, as well as related environmental, technological and biological hazards and risks.

“There’s no place like home.” It is where we seek comfort, safety and shelter. But when floods rise, extreme heat takes hold or other hazards strike, the place meant to protect us can become the frontline of disaster.

That is why the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction is focusing this year on “Resilience Starts at Home.” The message is simple: everyone deserves a home that is safe, affordable and able to withstand the hazards around it.

Making that possible takes more than individual preparedness. Governments need safer planning and building standards; businesses must put long-term safety before short-term gains; and communities need information, resources and a voice in decisions about where and how they live.

Around the world, solutions are already taking shape — from families moving to safer homes in the Philippines to centuries-old earthen building techniques keeping homes cooler across West Africa.
Because resilience is not only about rebuilding after disaster. It starts before disaster strikes, and it starts at home.