UN Resident Coordinator Ugochi Daniels on Monday expressed profound solidarity with the flood-stricken people in Iran and examined various avenues in hampering natural disaster in the country.
She said in a training workshop themed ‘Sendai Framework Monitoring and Disaster Loss and Damage Assessment’ in Tehran on Monday.
In the workshop, she expressed profound solidarity with the people and government of Iran over the casualties, losses and damages caused by recent massive floods in various parts of Iran.
Asia and the Pacific is the most disaster-prone region in the world. Floods, cyclones, earthquakes, and sand storms lead to tragic loss of life, trap people in poverty over generations, and all while economic costs are on the rise. As the effect of climate change intensifies, increasingly, disasters know no borders.
The recent floods in Iran is a strong indication that the world is facing more and more slow-onset and extensive risks which are the results of climate change, made worse by various types of physical and non-physical vulnerabilities. Policies and systems are needed to prevent and reduce the risk and negative impacts of such disasters and risks.
‘As I recently saw when I visited Lorestan, the response to the recent floods in the country shows the capability of the government and national institutions in preparing for and responding to disasters. However, more preventative and risk reduction measures are needed in Iran and in many countries of the world as scale, complexity and intensity of disasters increase,’ she said.
The Sendai Framework (2015-2030) and the Asia Action Plan to implement Sendai both highlight the need to “build capacity of national and local governments and actors to collect and record disaster risk, displacement, damage and loss data, including from at-risk communities living in geographically remote areas, with consistent levels of disaggregation for sex, age and disability”.
‘I am very pleased that this workshop is taking place when national institutions are assessing the loss and damages caused by the recent floods. I hope that the workshop, with your active participation, will achieve its objectives and expected outcomes which are so very important at this time,’ she said.
The UN family in Iran stands alongside the people and government of Iran, she pointed out.
‘From the early hours of the recent floods, we have mobilized our capacities and resources to support the emergency relief operation and are making our best efforts to support the recovery and long-term risk reductions efforts of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran,’ UN Resident Coordinator said.