ABU to launch next phase of disaster warning campaign at DBS

The ABU is launching the next phase of its Early Warning and Disaster Risk Reduction campaign, to help members deal with the increasing frequency of natural disasters.

The ABU Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Broadcast Media Initiative will be the focus of a special workshop on 8 March 2013, during the Union’s Digital Broadcast Symposium in Kuala Lumpur. 

The initiative is supported by the Trust Fund for Tsunami, Disaster and Climate Preparedness and involves ABU members in ten countries. It aims to link broadcasters and national disaster management authorities in efficient ways so information about pending disasters can reach those in danger in a clear and timely way.

Since the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union has been a regional leader in early warnings and disaster preparedness through the media. Working with more than 50 of its members, the Union is spearheading a wide-ranging campaign to make national broadcasters an integral part of their nations’ disaster management systems.

Asia and the Pacific Islands region is the widest and most natural disaster prone area in the world, with typhoons, tsunamis, floods, droughts, fires and other cataclysms. In 2008, disasters across the region accounted for almost 99% of the world’s reported victims.

People wanting more information about the initiative and the March workshop “Saving Lives: Early Warnings and DRR Broadcasting” can visit www.abu.org.my or contact Ms Natalia Ilieva at natalia@abu.org.my