International Day for Disaster Reduction at the World Bank

Disaster Risk Management in the Information Age

A joint training workshop by GICT, GFDRR, infoDev and LCSUW to mark the International Day for Disaster Reduction

Day 1

Day 2

Program Description

Between 1980 and 2006, natural disasters killed more than 2 million people worldwide and reported damages totaled 1.2 trillion USD. For example, the 2005 Pakistan earthquake caused about $5 billion damages. There were 5,210 disasters worldwide between 1991 and 2005. The World Bank has a large lending portfolio of natural disaster risk management projects: 195 active and pipeline projects amounting to over $8 billion. How does information revolution change the way we deal with disasters?

The key objective of this workshop was to raise awareness of World Bank operational staff on the opportunities to improve the impact of disaster risk management projects via innovative and effective use of ICT and to help them understand better key lessons learned, success factors and good practices. A series of case studies and presentations discussed the enabling and transformational role of ICT applications throughout the full cycle of Disaster Risk Management activities: risk assessment, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.

The Workshop identified challenges and key issues, best practices and critical success factors, latest trends, solutions and technologies, as well as the policy recommendations and opportunities for mainstreaming and more effective use of ICT in the World Bank disaster risk management portfolio.

External Speakers:

Bank Speakers: