Disaster Risk Management

In today’s unpredictable world, concerns about pandemics, natural hazards, climate variability, economic fluctuations, and job security are ever-present. These uncertainties often lead us to ponder numerous “what ifs,” creating a sense of apprehension. So, how do we manage these anxieties effectively? The first step is to understand the nature of the challenges we face, distinguishing between what we can influence and what is beyond our control. While we can't predict when a disaster will strike, we can certainly prepare for its impact by saving for shocks, investing in insurance, or reinforcing our infrastructure and systems.

The World Bank, in partnership with the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), plays a pivotal role in guiding countries and communities through these challenges. It focuses on identifying and assessing disaster risks, helping us to not only understand these risks better but also to make informed decisions on how to protect ourselves without exhausting our resources on unlikely events. This strategy has significantly changed our approach to dealing with risks, shifting from reactive responses to proactive preparedness, and steadily integrating disaster risk management into all areas of development work.

However, as climate change intensifies, the stakes are getting higher. Disasters do not discriminate, impacting people of all ages and socioeconomic statuses. Yet, the consequences are not felt equally by all; those who are less prepared or more vulnerable bear a heavier burden, such as women and people with disabilities. Countries supported by the International Development Association (IDA), part of the World Bank that helps the poorest countries, are also highly vulnerable to the impacts of a changing climate and intensifying disaster risks and are often affected by fragile, conflict and violent situations.

Recognizing this, the World Bank has introduced new instruments such as the Crisis Toolkit and the IDA Crisis Response Window to help countries better respond to crisis and strengthen preparedness for future shocks. It is also increasing funding for climate financing and focusing on knowledge to influence the global development agenda. Crucially, this effort extends to fostering partnerships with development institutions, technical firms, the private sector, civil society groups, and academia. These collaborative efforts ensure that the most vulnerable communities have the support needed to face an increasingly uncertain future with confidence, drawing on a wide network of expertise and resources to enhance resilience across the board.

Last Updated: Apr 29,2024

The World Bank has consistently led global efforts to foster resilience and improve crisis response capabilities. Through financial and technical support, it helps countries protect against climate change and natural hazards, aligning its initiatives with key international frameworks such as the Paris Agreement, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

In partnership with the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) the World Bank has helped countries’ shift their focus from a reactive disaster response to proactive preparedness and prevention. This collaboration has also been pivotal in guiding countries towards integrating disaster risk management into the broader development objectives. One key instrument in this effort is the Country Climate and Development Reports (CCDRS) that assists countries in identifying actions that both reduce greenhouse gas emissions and bolster adaptation efforts. In line with its  Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP),  the World Bank has committed to allocating 50% of its climate financing towards adaptation and resilience, ensuring that climate considerations are woven into development programs.

Evolving into a “Better Bank”, the World Bank is enhancing its crisis preparedness and response toolkit to improve financial resilience in low- and lower middle-income countries. It is also transitioning into a more effective "Knowledge Bank," adept at addressing contemporary developmental challenges though a knowledge compact that utilizes technology to boost development outcomes. This approach combines the World Bank Group's vast resources in data analytics, research, and best practices with a dynamic mix of public-private financing to drive innovative solutions.

The World Bank continues to lead in research, data utilization, and innovation for risk assessment and informed decision-making. The Global Rapid Post-Disaster Damage Estimation (GRADE) methodology, which is conducted remotely, allows for swift preliminary assessments of physical damages, thus facilitating the prioritization of resources where they are most needed. Investments to strengthen hydrometeorological (hydromet) services and early warning systems are playing a crucial role in protecting communities and improving the efficiency of weather-dependent sectors.  Nature-based approaches for climate resilience are also actively supporting green development.

Advances in big data computing, machine learning, and satellite imagery are being harnessed to better understand the changing urban environment, and heat mapping projects are being undertaken to address the extreme urban heat challenge. GFDRR’s City Resilience Program continues to help cities explore financing opportunities and ensure new urban resilience investments are risk informed. A tool for strengthening the health system to emergencies was developed as well as a comprehensive assessment report on building regulations in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The World Bank also advocates for an inclusive approach to disaster risk management that not only strengthens the resilience of communities and ensures fair access to resources and support, but also taps into the unique insights of all community members, including marginalized groups such as women, the elderly and people with disabilities. Additionally, the World Bank recognizes the unique challenges of people in fragile, conflict, and violence situations, and emphasizes the integration of disaster risk management to address both immediate relief and long-term resilience strategies to build sustainable development and peace to strengthen communities against future disasters.

Building on the wide range of current partnerships ranging from the United Nations, multilateral development banks, donors, private sector and the civil society, the World Bank is committed to enhancing its impact and better serving the needs of low- and middle-income countries.

Last Updated: Apr 29,2024

AFRICA

• In support of efforts by authorities in Chad to explore the use of nature-based solutions (NBS) for resilience, a technical team utilized the NBS Opportunity Scan to identify the areas in which NBS could reduce pluvial and fluvial flood risks and address the issue of urban heat in the country’s capital of N’Djamena. The creation or restoration of urban green spaces; the use of rain gardens and bioswales; the rehabilitation and maintenance of urban wetlands and/or retention basins; and the development of agro-sylvo-pastoral systems were determined to be the NBS types with the highest potential for reducing risks from flooding and stormwater runoff.

• In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the national government has been tackling the problem of soil erosion in the city of Kananga, with the support of an assessment which has helped identify which interventions it should prioritize in both the short and long-term. It is anticipated that the immediate focus for the DRC authorities will be the stabilization of priority sites as identified in the assessment, an effort that will be supported by the World Bank’s Kananga Emergency Urban Resilience Project.

• In Mozambique, a rapid assessment of the post-disaster damage from Tropical Cyclone Freddy in early 2023, which used the World Bank and GFDRR’s Global Rapid Post-Disaster Damage Estimation (GRADE) methodology, has informed the country’s recovery and reconstruction as well as its longer-term resilience-building. The findings have also paved the way for $300 million in assistance under the World Bank International Development Association’s Crisis Response Window (CRW), which provides funding to help countries respond to exceptionally severe crises.

• The new report, “Building Regulations in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Status Review of the Building Regulatory Environment,” provides the first comprehensive snapshot of the building regulatory environment in Sub-Saharan Africa, where regulations are often still based on colonial-era documents and are not adapted for disaster and climate risks. Imparting valuable guidance on enhancing and modernizing building regulatory frameworks based on a comprehensive assessment, the report has already sparked a critical dialogue around an important issue that profoundly affects countless lives and livelihoods in the region.

EAST ASIA & PACIFIC

• In Cambodia, local authorities in the capital of Phnom Penh have taken the lead in strengthening their capacity to analyze flood risk, while also integrating this analysis into their flood risk management planning processes. A key focus of the technical team’s support has been to assist the authorities in fully incorporating social and gender dimensions into their flood risk analysis and management processes. The team has also developed a mobile application which enables users to generate flood risk profiles for their respective sangkat or commune based on their current location.

• In the Marshall Islands, a workshop on disability-inclusive disaster risk management (DRM) has facilitated the translation of recommendations from a regional assessment of disability-inclusive DRM – for instance, using legal frameworks to advance disability inclusion – into practical actions relevant to the local context. Bringing together diverse perspectives and expertise, the workshop also enabled the customization of DRM strategies and initiatives to address the specific challenges and needs of the Marshall Islands. 

• In the Philippines, the historically conflict-torn Bangsamoro region has been taking steps toward adopting a conflict-sensitive approach to climate and disaster resilience. Sixty-seven officials, nearly half of whom were female, have received in-depth training on how to design conflict-sensitive disaster recovery frameworks. Informed by the training, officials are beginning to integrate conflict-sensitive interventions in disaster recovery frameworks. For instance, there are now plans to use multipurpose halls not only as evacuation centers but also as spaces for peacebuilding activities.

EUROPE & CENTRAL ASIA

• In Moldova, an assessment of the disaster risk financing gap has provided the national government with crucial insights into the potential financial shortfalls that it may face in the wake of disasters. By estimating the size of this potential funding gap, the assessment has enabled the government to explore strategies for bolstering its financial readiness for disaster scenarios. A planned situational analysis, encompassing the economic impacts of past and potential future disasters across various sectors, will further inform the government about the fiscal impacts from such events.

• In Romania, local authorities have made headway in ensuring that the Romanian capital’s emergency preparedness and response system is fully inclusive and does not leave people living with disabilities behind. Majority (80%) of participants found that the trainings on disability-inclusive emergency preparedness and response supported by the team improved their understanding of the specific vulnerabilities and needs of persons living with disabilities, while 64% said that they would be likely to apply knowledge and skills from the trainings in their work.

• In Türkiye, 57 schools, representing over 1,400 classrooms, have been built based on the country’s latest seismic code, which was updated in 2018 in accordance with international earthquake engineering standards. In a testament to the success of these efforts, every single one of the 24 schools located in areas affected by the February 2023 earthquakes and aftershocks in Türkiye survived. In addition to seismic safety, each of the 57 schools built also comply with Turkish codes and regulations on land use planning, energy efficiency, fire protection, workplace safety, and access for people with disabilities.

• Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, continuous cross sectoral assessments of the war’s impacts, supported by baseline data collection, rapid remote analytics, and sectoral deep dives, have been informing recovery and reconstruction planning by the national government and the donor community. Recently, following the destruction of the Kakhovka dam on June 6, 2023, a rapid remote assessment of the impact of the dam break was conducted.  Previously, a national rapid damage and needs assessment, the second such assessment, was conducted, covering 20 sectors and including damages, losses, and needs.

LATIN AMERICA & CARIBBEAN

• In the Caribbean, Earth observation (EO) data and artificial intelligence (AI) are increasingly being harnessed to rapidly generate baseline geospatial data designed to inform resilient infrastructure efforts. For example, in Dominica, a pilot study has been conducted where AI was used to automatically extract building footprints and classify rooftops from very high-resolution aerial images, achieving correct prediction for approximately 90%  of the houses.  An ongoing priority for the technical team is to collaborate with local experts to manually interpret, validate, and refine the AI model outputs.

• In Colombia, analytical work has supported the national government’s efforts to ensure the resilience of its health sector. To cite just one finding, geospatial analysis found that 1 in 5 health care facilities in Colombia are directly exposed to disruptive floods. This and other findings from the analytical work are expected to inform a forthcoming World Bank project that will upgrade the resilience of health facilities in Colombia. It is expected that the project will prioritize health facilities based on a tool assessing both risk exposure and vulnerability indicators which was also developed as part of the analytical work.

• In Saint Lucia, technical assistance has been provided toward the design and implementation of the country’s first-ever risk-based infrastructure asset management system. For instance, a technical team has worked closely with their St. Lucian counterparts so that they could gain hands-on practical training at every step of the development of a risk-based asset management system, from the identification of assets to the creation of protocols for asset prioritization and maintenance and repair. A risk-based approach to infrastructure asset management would enable St. Lucia to incorporate assessments of disaster and climate risks, among other risks, into how they prioritize investments.

MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA

• In Djibouti and Tunisia, a technical team has developed comprehensive roadmaps for strengthening their respective hydromet services. Each of the roadmaps provide an extensive diagnostic of the gaps, challenges, and opportunities facing the countries’ hydromet services, while also proposing strategic frameworks for hydromet modernization covering short-term, medium-term, and long-term actions. The roadmaps also underscored the value of hydromet investments through a costbenefit analysis, which revealed that, in both Djibouti and Tunisia, investment in hydromet will produce socioeconomic benefits significantly greater than their costs—by up to $8 in socioeconomic benefits for every $1 invested in hydromet.

• In Jordan, the over 100 officials who participated at a workshop on strengthening disaster risk management held in Amman have begun to draw on the lessons learned to drive and inform actions toward advancing the country’s resilience-building. For instance, the Municipality of Greater Amman is moving forward with an emergency preparedness and response assessment—the first ever at the city level— in an effort that is expected to inform a short- and medium-term DRM action plan for the Jordanian capital.

SOUTH ASIA

• In Bangladesh, assistance has been provided toward the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) in incorporating weather-related hazard and climate risk data into the design of the country’s rural electricity infrastructure. For example, a technical team undertook the task of mapping power infrastructure that faced exposure to climate and disaster threats, with a particular focus on cyclone-related impacts, and pinpointing areas in need of enhancement within the rural distribution network. This analysis provided a framework for BREB to assess risks, conduct a cost-benefit analysis, and guide climate-resilient power system distribution network planning.

• In Bhutan, a technical team has provided support toward strengthening Bhutan’s policy and legislative framework for a resilient and green built environment. One of the key results has been the development of a construction quality compliance mechanism (CQCM) which will serve as a framework for regulating and enforcing compliance with the country’s national building regulations. Bhutan’s progress on advancing this and other reforms helped pave the way for the World Bank’s approval of $14.8 million in funding for the country under a Development Policy Financing (DPF) with Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Option (Cat DDO) package. 

• In the state of Nagaland, India, rapid diagnostics were conducted on 70 sample schools to understand the vulnerabilities, intervention needs, and socioeconomic characteristics of representative school infrastructure types. This engagement directly supported the Nagaland: Enhancing Classroom Teaching and Resources Project, co-financed by the World Bank, which aims, among others, to improve learning environments in schools in Nagaland. In conjunction with the rapid diagnostics, school upgrade design guidelines have also been developed which will holistically improve the safety, resilience, learning environment, and environmental health of schools in Nagaland.

Last Updated: Apr 29,2024

The World Bank collaborates with a diverse range of partners to enhance its development impacts. Its partners include the United Nations, other multilateral institutions, local development partners, renowned universities, the private sector, civil society organizations, foundations, and national government agencies responsible for technical and development aspects of its work.

The Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), a global partnership within the World Bank, is at the forefront of strengthening existing partnerships and forging new ones to continue scaling up resilience efforts. For example, Understanding Risk is an initiative of GFDRR, which is a global community of experts with the purpose of driving disruptive innovations to solve key development challenges related to disaster and climate risk management. The next global forum will be held in Japan in June 2024. Below are examples other partnerships that the World Bank and GFDRR are involved in.

United Nations Institutions and Agencies

Partnerships with UN organizations such as the United Nations office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), World Meteorological Organization, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), UN Women, and United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), etc. are based on utilizing the respective comparative advantages of each party. These partnerships involve collaboration in the areas such as joint advocacy efforts, participation in new initiatives, strategic consultations, and joint project implementation at the country level.

International Organizations

Collaboration with international organizations and foundations often center around common thematic areas of interest. For example, GFDRR works closely with the European Space Agency (ESA)  to accelerate adoption of frontier Earth observation tools and services to enhance resilience of countries and communities to climate change and natural hazards. Other partners include the African Development Bank (AfDB), the World Resources Institute (WRI), and the Green Growth Knowledge Partnership, for example, to identify common priorities for investment in nature-based solutions (NBS) for climate resilience and adaptation in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Private Sector Engagement

GFDRR primarily utilizes its City Resilience Program (CRP) to establish partnerships with the private sector, to explore ways that private sector development can contribute to funding resilience investments. In the realm of disaster risk finance, GFDRR provides ongoing support to organizations such as the Insurance Development Forum, the Global Risk Modeling Alliance, and the Global Resilience Index Initiative to strengthen public-private partnerships by facilitating the transfer of technical knowledge from the reinsurance industry to sovereign governments.

Academia and Civil Society Organizations

The World Bank works closely with academic institutions to leverage their research and knowledge in disaster risk management and collaborates with civil society organizations to strengthen community resilience against disasters. For example, in FY23, Tokyo University of Science provided in-depth inputs for a new knowledge product that the GFDRR developed to advance fire safety of the built environment. GFDRR also worked with civil society on NBS capacity building with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Uzbekistan, and it has initiated further collaboration with IUCN for a series of capacity-building activities in West Africa for FY24.

Last Updated: Apr 29,2024