Against the backdrop of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy to New Jersey, New York ,and New England, the Second Committee of the 67^th session of the United Nations General Assembly met in New York. The UN’s Office of Disaster Risk Reduction Chief, Margareta Wahlström, introduced the Secretary-General’s Report on the Implementation of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.  “The Report provides for an overview of the progress made in the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action (2005-2015) at the national regional and international levels and gives recommendations for the consideration of the General Assembly.”

Citing the impact of Hurricane Sandy ten days before, Wahlström stated that “the cost of inaction in addressing disaster risks is a burden too large for any nation to bear, however wealthy.” She also pointed out that “not only is there inadequate action in addressing risks across the world, but that disaster risk is increasing thereby exacerbating the challenges of striving for sustainable and resilient communities.” Wahlström went on, “Risk to both public and private investments continues to be concentrated in hazard-prone areas, and is growing rapidly in low and middle income countries."

The representative from Thailand, a country devastated by flooding in 2011, warned that “as the world becomes more and more interdependent, the impact of disasters would become increasing pronounced and sustainable gains in sustainable development would be reversed overnight. This frightening threat underpinned the importance of incorporating disaster risk reduction in the post-2015 development agenda.” The 2015 World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction will be hosted by Japan.