“As a follow up to this workshop, we plan to continue this joint UN effort by supporting the Government of Iran develop and implement its first comprehensive national disaster risk reduction strategy,” declared Ms Loretta Hieber Girardet, Head of the UNDRR Regional Office for Asia-Pacific.

Proper management of disaster risk calls for a holistic multi-stakeholder approach. The development of a national disaster risk reduction strategy will help Iran focus on how to reduce disaster risks and set priorities for action.  

One gap that emerged in the course of the workshop is the need strengthen Iran’s multi-hazard early warning system, with a focus on tailoring its downstream alerts to the requirements of local-level officials and various segments of the population. In addition to floods, droughts and earthquakes, sector representatives also emphasized the need to strengthen local capabilities to forecast and minimize the impact of extreme temperatures. Iran is currently in the midst of an unusual cold spell and the NDMO has been called up to help deal with an outbreak of locust swarms that are threatening farmlands.

“We need to develop a more impact-based warning system, and we need to able to disseminate understandable and useful warning messages that can help municipal officials make the right decisions and help people take protective measures,” said Mr Rahmatinejad.

As a result of the knowledge gained from this workshop, national officials are now better equipped to understand their disaster risk landscape.  They are also better positioned to enhance their early warning system to alert communities in advance of a potential disaster, and hopefully reduce future losses.

Date:

30 Apr 2019

Sources:

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction - Regional Office for Asia and Pacific (UNDRR AP)

Themes:

Capacity Development, Disaster Risk Management, Critical Infrastructure

Hazards:

Flood

Countries:

Iran, Islamic Rep of

Regions:

Asia