Harsh Central Asian winter shows need to boost disaster planning – UN agency

from UN News Centre

The United Nations agency tasked with minimizing the threat posed by natural disasters today called on governments across Central Asia, which is facing its harshest winter in three decades, to swiftly implement measures so that they are better prepared to deal with the expected floods in the spring.

Floods remain the natural hazard that most affects the global population, with more than 164 million people suffering as a result of inundations last year, the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) said in a press statement issued from its headquarters in Geneva.

Sálvano Briceño, Director of the ISDR Secretariat, warned that experts believe this year’s spring flooding is expected to be especially severe in Central Asia as temperatures inevitably rise and snow begins to melt.

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