Disaster resilience starts where we live.
Homes are where people live, sleep, and care for one another, and seek shelter and security. For many, they are central to wellbeing and stability. However, the ways homes are planned, built, financed and maintained determine whether risk is reduced or created. When houses are located in high-risk areas, built without disaster-resilient designs, or inadequately maintained to withstand growing hazards, homes become sites of vulnerability, contributing to loss of lives, displacement and economic losses. These risks often have differentiated impacts on women, children, older persons, persons with disabilities, low-income households and gender-diverse groups, particularly where inequalities in housing, land tenure, access to resources, mobility, caregiving responsibilities and decision-making persist. The Midterm Review of the implementation of the Sendai Framework found persistent challenges in enforcing risk-sensitive land-use and building regulations, and in effectively involving commu...
