International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
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Disaster management
Welcome to the disaster section of the International Federation
Disaster management Reducing risk Preparing for disasters
Americas Europe Africa Middle East and North Africa Asia and Pacific
Africa Americas Asia and Pacific Europe Middle East and North Africa
Responding to disasters Helping people to recover Partnering in disasters Resources corner
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Disaster response continues to represent the largest portion of the international Federation work, with assistance to around 30 million people annually from refugees to victims of natural disasters. This section includes our emergency response units and issues relating to humanitarian policies as we strive to improve the quality of our immediate response and long-term rehabilitation work. (Note that news and situation reports relating to all our operations are found in the Where we work section.)

The sharp increase in the number of natural disasters worldwide in recent years has prompted the Federation to devote more attention to disaster preparedness activities. These aim to make National Societies and communities more aware of the risks they face, how to reduce their vulnerability, and how to cope when disaster strikes.
Ongoing operations Ongoing operations
Bringing emergency relief to refugees and victims of poverty and disasters has been a key activity of the International Federation and its member National Societies for more than 80 years.		 Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF)
A pool of unearmarked money used to provide immediate funding for emergencies.
Climate change Climate change
Millions of people face climate change related disasters every year.		 Emergency Response Units (ERU) Emergency Response Units (ERU)
Pre-trained teams of specialist volunteers and pre-packed sets of standardized equipment ready for immediate use.
Disaster Management Information System (DMIS) Disaster Management Information System (DMIS)
 A web-based tool for Red Cross/Red Crescent personnel including disaster trends, tools and databases.
DMIS site (password protected)		 Field assessment and coordination teams (FACT) Field assessment and coordination teams (FACT)
Teams of experienced Red Cross/Red Crescent disaster managers on standby to support sudden major disasters.
World Disaster Report 2007 World Disaster Report 2007
Read the chapter summaries of the report, which examines the issue of discrimination in disasters.		 Types of disasters Types of disasters
 Find out information on disaster definitions, the Federation's work and operations in these areas, related news and external links as well as other useful documents and publications.
International Disaster Response Laws, Rules and Principles programme (IDRL) International Disaster Response Laws, Rules and Principles programme (IDRL)
IDRL seeks to address how legal frameworks at the international, regional and national levels can best address the operational challenges in disaster relief operations.		 Code of Conduct Code of Conduct
 The Code of Conduct seeks to maintain the high standards of independence, effectiveness and impact to which disaster response NGOs and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement aspires.
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