The theme for October 13, 2026, is " Resilience Begins at Home ." This motto reminds us that home is more than just a place where we live. It is our primary line of defense against the elements, the space where we shelter from the elements, raise our children, and build our lives. It is here, within the walls of our own homes, that our ability to withstand the blows of life begins.
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2030 emphasizes that policies and investments must be focused on the needs and capabilities of people and communities. However, the reality is that risks are unevenly distributed. A home that provides shelter for some becomes a source of danger for others. When housing is built in high-risk areas, when seismic safety principles are ignored during construction, or when houses are poorly maintained, they become traps. This problem is particularly acute for women, children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and low-income families, for whom inequalities in access to resources, land ownership, and participation in decision-making become additional barriers.
The midterm review of the Sendai Framework identified persistent challenges in enforcing risk-based land use and building codes. Many countries still lack adequate mechanisms to ensure resilient construction in hazard-prone areas. Residents of informal settlements are often left outside the scope of planning and risk mitigation measures. This means that millions of people worldwide live in conditions where their safety depends not on well-designed policies, but on chance.
Home resilience cannot be achieved by government efforts alone. It is a complex system, intertwining the actions of governments, local authorities, the private sector, and households themselves. Construction companies, financiers, and insurance agents directly decide where and how to build, what materials to use, and what insurance products to offer. The combination of these decisions affects the vulnerability or resilience of entire communities. This is why it is so important to ensure strict oversight and transparency in housing construction and maintenance, and to incentivize all participants to properly ensure safety.
This can only be achieved through concrete action at all levels. Governments must protect people in their homes by developing and enforcing risk-based land use and sustainable building codes, increasing public investment in sustainable housing, and ensuring that accessible, localized risk information reaches every community. The private sector must prioritize long-term resilience over short-term gains, comply with building codes, disclose climate and other risks to buyers and renters, and support the development of accessible financial instruments. Households themselves must strive to understand the risks, respond to early warnings, make informed decisions when buying, renting, or upgrading homes, and participate in local resilience initiatives.
Around the world, there are already inspiring examples of how homes can be transformed into foundations for resilience. One of the most striking cases occurred recently in Venezuela, where a series of powerful earthquakes destroyed dozens of multi-story buildings and private homes in Caracas. Against this backdrop of tragedy, high-rise buildings built in the city by a Belarusian company attracted particular attention. While many local houses made of unreinforced brick and adobe succumbed to the elements, the Belarusian high-rises remained unscathed, as confirmed by a video from a local resident. The secret to their resilience is simple and revealing: the buildings were designed and built from the ground up to withstand the region's high seismic activity, while other buildings were not. This contrast clearly demonstrates that investing in thoughtful design and construction that takes local risks into account is not an unnecessary precaution, but the only way to ensure that a home truly remains a safe haven and does not turn into a death trap when disaster strikes.
Examples like these prove that resilience is not a luxury, but a right and an investment. Everyone deserves a home that can withstand the dangers around them. When households are informed, prepared, and involved in planning, entire communities become stronger. Sustainable housing must be accessible, safe, and inclusive for everyone. Inclusion saves lives: resilience is strongest when everyone is involved in planning and decision-making. Resilience begins at home —and this principle should guide us all.
The International Day for Disaster Reduction was first observed in 1989. Its primary objective is to promote a culture of disaster prevention and response. The classic approach to disaster management is to respond to the aftermath. The " disaster-response-recovery-repeat " cycle is a vicious cycle that hinders further development.
Risk assessment, disaster risk reduction, and early warning systems are underfunded. Only 3.8% of international aid is spent on disaster prevention, while the rest is spent on mitigating their consequences. Prevention could save significant amounts of money and save lives.
Natural disasters are typically classified by their causes. Thus, hydrological, meteorological, and climatological disasters are distinguished . Collectively, these are considered weather- or climate-dependent. Geophysical disasters form a separate category . A slight complication arises with avalanches and landslides. If they are caused by soil erosion by water, they are considered hydrological. If caused by geological processes, they are considered geophysical.
The damage that natural disasters can cause is difficult to assess. Typically, only financial losses are taken into account: destroyed buildings and infrastructure; medical costs, lost businesses, and other production can be indirectly calculated. However, the full scale of the damage, including its long-term impact, is almost impossible to estimate.
According to the World Bank, natural disasters over the past three years have reduced overall labor productivity by 7%. Disruption of supply chains can lead to shortages and price increases. Investment is less likely in regions at risk from hurricanes and earthquakes. Stress and loss of homes significantly increase the risk of mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression. Children suffer the most: in addition to all of the above, they are forced to relocate and miss school, which prevents them from receiving a full education. Taking all these factors into account, the damage from natural disasters will be significantly greater than is commonly believed.
Effective disaster prevention requires a sound risk assessment . Damage from tsunamis and hurricanes can be significantly reduced by using special seawalls to protect the coast. Earthquake-resistant building designs can protect against earthquakes. While this cannot completely eliminate the risk to populated areas, early warning systems are essential: both sensors and observation posts, as well as an alarm system for the population. Naturally, the population itself must be prepared for emergencies. While Japanese residents are taught from childhood how to react to a tsunami, Indonesians were unfamiliar with this natural phenomenon. The tragic result was the catastrophic wave in 2004, which claimed the lives of over 200,000 people.
Protective measures require time and resources. It's necessary not only to identify the areas most vulnerable to disasters, but also to locate sensors. Of course, monitoring the entire planet at once is neither feasible nor practical. Therefore, it's crucial to assess the risks and set priorities.
According to the modern systems approach, risks include three components: threat, vulnerability, and security . Each facility is vulnerable to different types of threats to varying degrees and is unevenly protected from each. For example, a coastal city is more vulnerable to tsunamis and hurricanes than to forest fires. Depending on the presence of protective structures and a developed warning system, it may be better or worse protected from each threat. This combination determines the degree of risk.
Risk assessment itself presents challenges. Firstly, due to the nature of risks: they are probabilistic, remote events that are often not taken seriously. For example, the development of new technologies for detecting and predicting giant waves in the Indian Ocean only fully commenced after the 2004 tragedy, and even then, it took two years for them to be fully operational.
Secondly, natural disasters involve numerous factors, both global and local. Taking into account all their diversity and the degree of their influence on one another is virtually impossible without comprehensive information. This includes atmospheric monitoring data, Earth remote sensing, on-site seismic activity measurements, and even information on the regional economic situation.
While some participants in the process have the ability to collect such data, they are not always able to interpret and analyze it. Those who can conduct the analysis either lack access to comprehensive information or are unwilling to share their findings. All of this hinders the practical application of this knowledge for the common good.
Although the Sendai Framework operates an online data collection system, data collection is uneven and delayed. This hinders risk assessments and global forecasts, the setting of priorities, and the development of recommendations. Much work remains to be done to overcome all technical and organizational barriers. Only open, efficient, and equitable cooperation can help achieve the goals of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 .
To this end, in 2016 the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction launched the Sendai Seven Campaign under the slogan “Seven Years – Seven Goals.”
This Programme is an opportunity for everyone, including government, local authorities, public organizations, businesses, UN Volunteers, and simply concerned individuals, to take part in promoting local and global initiatives aimed at reducing the damage and loss of life from natural disasters.
Start Date: 13.10.2026
End Date: 13.10.2026