The making of the Hyogo2 disaster prevention framework

JOHANNESBURG, 17 May 2013 (IRIN Global) - A month after the Indian Ocean tsunami struck in December 2004, affecting millions, 168 countries signed on to a 10-year plan to make the world safer from natural hazards. Yet the plan, the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) 2005-2015, focused primarily on “what to do to prevent disasters, but not enough on how to implement it,” says Neil McFarlane, chief coordinator and head of all regional programmes at the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). full report

Evacuation volunteers fan out in Bangladesh

DHAKA, 16 May 2013 (IRIN Asia) - Some 50,000 volunteers in coastal communities across southern Bangladesh are out and about warning people to move to higher ground ahead of Cyclone Mahasen. Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated so far. full report

Microcredit helps small businesses buck the system in Madagascar

TOLIARA, 16 May 2013 (IRIN Africa) - Justine Sija, 60, begins her day at 4am, when she buys catch from local fishermen to hawk on the streets of St Augustin Village, in Madagascar’s southern Atsimo-Andrefana Region. The work is hard, but in the last year, access to microcredit has boosted both her business and her hope for the future. full report

Rohingya evacuation under way in Myanmar

BANGKOK, 14 May 2013 (IRIN Asia) - The government of Myanmar has launched a large-scale effort to relocate to higher ground tens of thousands of Rohingya internally displaced persons (IDPs) ahead of Cyclone Mahasen, says the UN. full report

Bangladesh, Myanmar brace for Cyclone Mahasen

BANGKOK, 13 May 2013 (IRIN Asia) - Bangladesh and Myanmar are bracing for Cyclone Mahasen, a storm which could affect millions in the region, the UN has warned. full report

Analysis: Helping local aid workers build meaningful careers

DAKAR, 13 May 2013 (IRIN Global) - There has been much talk of decentralizing the northern-centric humanitarian aid sector to give more power to southern staff, but how much has changed over recent years? full report

Analysis: Getting governments to cough up for DRR

AQABA, 9 May 2013 (IRIN Global) - Investing in preparation for potential disasters is a “no brainer”, Elizabeth Longworth, director of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), told a recent disaster risk reduction (DRR) conference in Aqaba, Jordan. full report

“Super-fly” threatens “Rambo” cassava, food security

JOHANNESBURG, 7 May 2013 (IRIN Global) - A tiny, rapidly breeding cyanide-munching insect, dubbed a “super-fly” by scientists, is threatening the food security of millions of Africans. full report

Calamity planning - Bangladesh role-plays quake response

DHAKA, 7 May 2013 (IRIN Asia) - As Bangladesh armed forces retrieve bodies from the country’s worst ever industrial disaster, a garment factory collapse killing over 700, contingency planning is taking place for something worse - a long-predicted earthquake striking the mega-capital of Dhaka. full report