World Disasters Report - Previous issues

World Disasters Report 2007
Gender, race, colour, religion, age – there are so many reasons why people can be excluded from their society. Those who are face an uphill struggle for equality, even if they have the strength and wherewithal to take the first steps. However many do not. What, then, is the reality for these groups when disaster strikes? Hidden, ignored or simply invisible, the most vulnerable – and those potentially in the greatest need – are rarely, if ever, at the forefront of aid operations. The report turns the spotlight on these groups, examining how and why they face discrimination. It calls on communities, governments and agencies to work harder to identify the most vulnerable and work together to ensure that their specific needs are addressed in an emergency.

World Disasters Report 2006
Which people are missing out on humanitarian aid because no journalists report on them, no donors are interested in them, no agencies have assessed their needs, or because their governments ignore them? This report ventures into the shadows lying behind the brilliantly illuminated disasters of 2005-2006. It combines first-hand reporting from the field with critical analysis of aid flows and donor preferences to highlight places and issues starved of attention. The report calls on aid organizations, journalists, governments and academics to work together to address the symptoms - and causes - of neglected humanitarian crises.

World Disasters Report 2005
People need information as much as water, food, medicine or shelter. Information can save lives, livelihoods and resources. It may be the only form of disaster preparedness that the most vulnerable can afford. The right kind of information leads to a deeper understanding of needs and ways to respond. The wrong information can lead to inappropriate, even dangerous interventions. Information bestows power. Lack of information can make people victims of disaster. Do aid organizations use information to accumulate power for themselves or to empower others? The report calls on agencies to focus less on gathering information for their own needs and more on exchanging information with the people they seek to support.

World Disasters Report 2004
In the hours after sudden disaster strikes, most lives are saved by the courage and resourcefulness of friends and neighbours. During slow-onset crises such as drought, some rural societies have developed extraordinary capacities to cope and bounce back. How can aid organisations strengthen rather than undermine this local resilience? Perceptions of disaster differ between those at risk and those trying to help. Evidence suggests that everyday threats to livelihoods are a greater concern to most poor communities than 'one-off' disasters. Meanwhile, local consensus and cooperation are as important in protecting communities as concrete walls. The report argues that a more developmental approach to creating disaster resilience is needed, which puts communities in charge of defining their needs and crafting the right solutions.

World Disasters Report 2003
The World Disasters Report 2003 examines the ethical dilemmas raised by complex emergencies such as post-conflict situations, natural disasters and forgotten crisis, and analyses how the political agenda of donors - especially post-11 September 2001 - affects the aid industry, humanitarian principles and vulnerable people. The report also explores the reasons why it took so long for donors to respond to the southern Africa famine; probes the dilemmas facing recovery efforts in Afghanistan; and examines why, while IDPs are on the international agenda, the issue of economic (and environmental) migrants remains poorly understood. Further chapters look at the difficulties encountered in building local capacities for disasters and question how quality standards and accountability can play a part in ethics in aid.

World Disasters Report 2002
The tenth edition of the report argues that risk reduction is an essential condition for sustainable development. It examines disaster preparedness and mitigation initiatives from disaster-prone countries across the globe. The World Disasters Report 2002 includes chapters featuring the challenges and opportunities facing risk reduction, disaster preparedness success stories from Mozambique and Latin America and details of mitigating effects of global warming in Pacific island states. Further chapters look at earthquake risk in south-eastern Europe, humanitarian accountability and latest disaster and refugee data. In addition, the report presents a methodology to assess vulnerabilities and capacities using examples from Gaza/West Bank and Papua New Guinea.

World Disasters Report 2001
The World Disasters Report 2001 examines how governments and aid agencies are working to promote recovery from mega-disasters in India and Bangladesh. Chapters on Venezuela and Viet Nam propose ways to avoid 'reconstructing the risk' following floods and mudslides. The report presents a methodology for social-sector rehabilitation, based on a pilot project in post-conflict Somalia and analyses root causes of hunger in Tajikistan. Further chapters look at the recovery of local economies and the role of volunteers in disasters. For the first time, the regular data chapter includes statistics comparing the effects of natural disasters and conflicts around the world.

World Disasters Report 2000
The World Disasters Report 2000 studies public health in disasters, the legacy of Chernobyl, public health concerns in Kosovo and DPR Korea, AIDS in Africa, the case for an international disaster response law and the quantity of aid. Plus the comprehensive disasters database and Red Cross/Red Crescent listings. Fully illustrated with maps and index.

Previous issues from 1993 to 1999, are available as hard copy only. To order a copy of the book, please email wdr@ifrc.org

World Disasters Report 1999
The World Disasters Report 1999 looks at environmental trends, disasters and their implications; floods; Hurricane Mitch; institutional collapse in Russia; Afghan earthquakes; the effects of El Niño; the SPHERE project and falling aid budgets. Plus the comprehensive disasters database and Red Cross/Red Crescent listings. Fully illustrated with maps and index

World Disasters Report 1998
The World Disasters Report 1998 examines cities and crisis: urban disasters; the toll of traffic accidents; shelter and reconstruction, psychological support, the 1997 Eastern European floods, sanctions in Iraq, rebuilding Bosnia, refugee camp 'cities' and urban Red Cross action in Colombia. The report includes new data and full Red Cross/Red Crescent listings. Fully illustrated, with maps and index.

World Disasters Report 1997
The World Disasters Report 1997 includes: the future of NGOs and the military-humanitarian relationship, information management, epidemiological data for disasters, aid trends and disaster-response standards, China's floods, Caribbean natural hazards, the challenge of Somalia, and the former Soviet Union's re-emerging diseases. Plus a comprehensive 25-year disasters database and the International Federation's global activities. Indexed and fully illustrated. Maps.

World Disasters Report 1996
The World Disasters Report 1996 includes: global population movements, causes and consequences; global food security; emergency food aid and nutrition; developmental relief; trends in aid; the Kobe earthquake; Rwanda; Oklahoma's trauma; DPR Korea's crisis; meeting the need for systematic data; Code of Conduct update; full listings of National Societies and delegations; 25-year disasters database. Indexed and fully illustrated.

World Disasters Report 1995
The World Disasters Report 1995 includes: UN sanctions and the humanitarian crisis; good disaster-relief practice; early warning monitoring; measuring the effects of evaluation; psychological support; surviving cyclones in Bangladesh; Ethiopia ten years on; success and failure in Rwanda; working in Somalia's grey zone. Fully illustrated.

World Disasters Report 1994
The World Disasters Report 1994 includes: drought success in southern Africa; Somalia; challenges within the former Yugoslavia; Brazil's vulnerability; India's earthquake myths; Caucasus collapse; secrecy's role in disasters; anti-personnel mines; Chernobyl; African peace mechanisms; human rights and disasters; indigenous knowledge and response; and the full text of the Code of Conduct for disaster-relief agencies.

World Disasters Report 1993
The World Disasters Report 1993 – the pilot issue – includes: humanitarian gap, preparedness versus relief, role of foreign medical teams and military forces, equity in impact, media in disasters, AIDS, famine, flood, high winds, refugees, epidemics, earthquakes, volcanoes. Case histories from: Uganda, Sudan, China, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Peru, Zambia, Turkey, United States, Philippines. Fully illustrated.