International Day for Disaster Reduction- 13 October

"Traditional and local knowledge is the essential information base for many societies seeking to live in harmony with nature and adapt to disruptive events of weather, global warming and rising sea levels." ~ UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

The International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR) is designed to encourage every citizen and government to take part in building communities and peoples more resilient to natural disasters.  

The UN General Assembly declared October 13 as the International Day for the Reduction of Natural Disasters in 2009. The activities promoted by this day are prevention, preparedness and reduction.

Natural disasters can be floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, avalanches, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, strong storms and other natural phenomena that cause destruction.

While we do not have control over natural disasters because they usually happen by force majeure, it is important first of all to save the planet, because global warming causes disasters, and we can also prepare for cases where God forbid something happens. We can develope and use early warning systems, build stronger buildings and more.

Link to UN's International Day for Disaster Reduction page.