The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) Making Cities Resilient Campaign membership continues to grow.  Two towns in The Dominican Republic, Santa Cruz de Barahoma and Villa Central, and Sendai City in Japan have now joined the ranks of over 1,200 participating local governments in the campaign.

The UNISDR website reported that: “Octavio Suberví Nin, Mayor of Santa Cruz de Barahona, also announced the creation of a Municipal Risk Management Unit with the support of the European Union and Plan International.” The town, which has a population of 138,000, is located in the Enriquillo Region which includes the “Enriquillo Fault” which crosses the south of the island into Haiti. The mayor also said: “In a region like the Enriquillo which is committed to tourism for economic growth, it is important to position ourselves internationally as a safe and resilient city. We all benefit from this. In addition to launching the Municipal Risk Management Unit we will train firefighters and civil defense in post-earthquake search and rescue.”

Ms. Emiko Okuyama, Mayor of Sendai City, a location that suffered unprecedented damage following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, wrote in her letter of confirmation joining the campaign and quoted on the UNISDR website: “However, it is not to say that we were completely unprepared. We could clearly see the benefits of our previous efforts in strengthening buildings and disaster prevention training. This preparation coupled with the ‘Power of the People’, in other words, the bonds between people in their local areas, were instrumental in overcoming this grave situation. We also learned valuable lessons following the disaster through the effectiveness of our interconnectedness with other cities in Japan which promotes disaster preparation and of the need for a system that effectively utilizes assistance from around the world.”