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Pacific Disaster Net provides daily updates in wake of cyclone Pam

Thursday, 19 March 2015 15:00 administrator
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18 March 2015, Suva - The Pacific’s largest and most comprehensive information management resource on disaster risk management and national sustainable development has commenced daily email updates in the wake of cyclone Pam.

Anyone wanting to subscribe to the Pacific Disaster Net service can do so online at http://lists.spc.int/mailman/listinfo/pdn. The portal is updated daily by a dedicated team at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) in Suva, Fiji, on behalf of an international partnership initiative.

“The main target audiences for Pacific Disaster Net are National Disaster Management Officers, government officials, emergency responders and communities to help them prepare for, and manage, natural disasters in the Pacific Islands region,” the Director of SPC's Geoscience Division, Professor Michael Petterson, said in Suva today.

“With more than 15,000 documents and materials, the portal facilitates informed decision-making and really comes into its own in the wake of significant disaster events,” Prof Petterson said.

According to Prof Petterson, the portal contains extensive information on cyclone Pam and other disasters, such as situation reports, response updates from international partners, various agencies on the ground and media coverage that has been compiled by the team in Suva.

The Pacific Disaster Net portal is developed with support from partners, such as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the UN Development Programme Pacific Centre (UNDP PC), the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) and the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).

The information usually comes in the form of weekly updates and a monthly disaster risk management calendar for the Pacific region, but for now a temporary daily update is also available.

It is part of a comprehensive response by SPC and its partners designed to support Pacific Community members impacted by cyclone Pam. Anyone who wishes to view information in the portal can do so online at www.pacificdisaster.net.

 

Media contact: Sereima Kalouniviti, Researcher – Pacific Disaster Net, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or +679 3381 377

Last Updated on Thursday, 19 March 2015 15:04  

Newsflash

The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) are pleased to announce the 2014 meeting of the Pacific Platform for Disaster Risk Management which will be held from 2nd – 4th June 2014 at the Novotel Hotel in Suva, Fiji. The Pacific Platform for Disaster Risk Management is the annual opportunity for Pacific island countries and territories, development partners and donors, civil society, private sector as well as other stakeholders to share experiences and knowledge in building the resilience of their communities to disasters. In addition, the SPC will also convene the 20th Regional Disaster Managers Meeting also at the Novotel Hotel from 5th – 6th June 2014.

In 2011, the Pacific islands region agreed to develop a Strategy for Climate and Disaster Resilient Development in the Pacific (SRDP) by 2015 to succeed the Pacific Disaster Risk Reduction and Disaster Management Framework for Action 2005 – 2015 and Pacific Islands Framework for Action on Climate Change 2006 – 2015. The new strategy will provide a new approach on how to efficiently address DRM and Climate Change within the context of risk resilient development. The process of developing this new strategy has become known as the ‘Roadmap’.