A year of evidence showing the impact of disaster risk reduction
Jan 22, 2026 | Source: www.undrr.org
From extreme heat and floods to earthquakes and cyclones, a wealth of examples collected on PreventionWeb offer clear evidence that disaster risk reduction delivers tangible results.
This small selection of cases shows how prevention, when backed by data and good governance, delivers real-world impact.
Extreme heat is a lethal occupational risk – but it can be managed with mandatory workplace heat standards. A peer-reviewed study comparing California with neighbouring states found a statistically significant 33% reduction in heat-related deaths among outdoor workers after the state strengthened workplace heat standard enforcement in 2010.
Simple measures – access to water, shade, rest breaks, and emergency response – proved highly effective, even as temperatures continued to rise. Where similar standards were absent, worker deaths climbed sharply – underscoring the protective value of regulation.
The research also highlights a critical lesson for disaster risk reduction: rules alone are not enough. Enforcement, inspections, and employer education made the difference between symbolic policy and real protection.
Heat-related deaths remain widely undercounted, particularly among vulnerable and undocumented workers, meaning the true benefits of prevention are likely to be even higher.
As climate change accelerates extreme heat worldwide, adopting and enforcing heat standards is a scalable, evidence-based solution to reduce preventable loss of life among workers most exposed to climate risk.
Investigate how workplaces can beat the heat
In northern Nigeria’s Kano State, the community-led Wall of Trees project has shown how locally designed nature-based solutions can reverse desertification while strengthening livelihoods.
In Makoda village, decades of land degradation had slashed crop yields and incomes as the Sahara advanced southward. By combining windbreaks, orchard trees, woodland parcels, and income-generating species such as moringa and neem, the initiative restored soil fertility, reduced erosion, and dramatically increased harvests – often tripling or quadrupling millet and bean yields.
The approach worked because it aligned environmental protection with everyday economic benefits, turning farmers into long-term stewards of the land.
The project also highlights both the promise and limits of community-driven adaptation. Alongside ecological recovery, the Wall of Trees supported women’s livelihoods through cottage industries and small manufacturing businesses, and created new income streams from tree products.
However, governance-related obstacles have constrained the initiative’s expansion, even as desertification continues to consume vast areas each year. The experience provides a valuable lesson: nature-based solutions can be highly effective when rooted in local needs, but scaling them requires sustained institutional backing and long-term investment.
When Türkiye was hit by devastating earthquakes in February 2023, the country’s long-term investments in school safety proved lifesaving. Out of 15,799 school buildings in the affected provinces, only 60 sustained damage, demonstrating the effectiveness of decades of seismic building codes, retrofitting programs, and the Disaster-Ready School campaign.
Since 2013, more than 10,500 classrooms have been constructed to modern earthquake-resistant standards, with thousands more underway – clear evidence that proactive infrastructure planning can save lives during major disasters.
Beyond structural improvements, Türkiye emphasises community preparedness. Nationwide disaster awareness training now reaches all 140,000 schools, embedding safety knowledge into everyday routines. Projects like the Istanbul Seismic Risk Mitigation Project (ISMEP) have retrofitted over 1,390 schools, and international collaborations through the EU-supported Earthquake-Resilient Schools initiative share Türkiye’s lessons globally.
The 2023 earthquake example shows how foresight, policy, and continuous investment transform schools into safe havens, protecting children and strengthening community resilience.
Learn lessons from Turkiye’s safer schools
India’s Odisha State has transformed disaster management by prioritising communities in its “zero casualty” approach, turning a history of cyclone devastation into a model for resilience.
Following the 1999 super cyclone, the state invested in early warning systems, cyclone shelters, and a specialised disaster response force while embedding local governance and community participation at the core of planning. When the State was struck by Cyclone Phailin in 2013 and Cyclone Fani in 2019, these measures saved thousands of lives, demonstrating how anticipatory action, strong infrastructure, and community mobilization can dramatically reduce fatalities and property loss during extreme weather events.
Odisha’s success underscores the importance of local leadership, trust-building with community groups, resilient infrastructure, and technology-supported early warning systems.
Governments, local authorities, international organizations, and the private sector each have distinct roles to amplify these practices, from funding and policy frameworks to knowledge exchange and innovative resilience solutions.
Odisha shows that true disaster resilience is about more than technology or resources: it is about empowering people and communities to act decisively when hazards strike.
Follow the zero casualty approach
A 70-year study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research shows that human adaptation measures – ranging from private preparedness and early warning systems to non-structural policies – have dramatically reduced the impact of floods in Europe.
Since 1950, these measures have cut economic losses by 63% and fatalities by 52%, offsetting much of the increased risk from climate change and population growth in flood-prone areas. The analysis of 1,729 floods highlights how improved building regulations, emergency planning, and flood awareness have strengthened resilience across the continent, particularly in western and southern Europe.
Despite these gains, adaptation still has limits. The study notes that exposure and climate-driven flood intensity are continuing to rise, and progress in adaptation has slowed over the past 20 years. While relative economic losses have declined to about one-third of 1950s levels, severe events like Germany’s 2021 Ahrtal flood show that extreme floods can still overwhelm protections.
The research emphasises the need for continuous monitoring, enhanced early warning systems, proactive planning, and urgent global emissions reductions to prevent flood impacts from surpassing Europe’s adaptation capacity.
Explore the findings on adaptation
Barbados is demonstrating the life-saving power of multi-hazard early warning systems, aligning with the UN’s Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative, which aims to cover every person on Earth by 2027.
In August 2024, authorities postponed the Soca 5.0 concert – a high-profile outdoor performance attracting multiple artists and an audience of thousands – when a rapidly developing thunderstorm was forecast using real-time meteorological data, lightning strike monitoring, and GIS-based risk analysis. The timely evacuation is likely to have prevented mass casualties, illustrating how evidence-based, risk-informed decisions can avert disaster even in densely populated events.
The case underscores critical lessons for global disaster risk reduction: early warnings must be integrated with actionable risk data, effective communication, and public trust.
Barbados is institutionalizing these lessons by expanding the Department of Emergency Management workforce, developing national disaster risk information platforms, and strengthening GIS and information management capabilities.
As climate change intensifies extreme weather, the Barbadian example offers a concrete model of EW4All in action, showing that science, data, and decisive governance together can prevent disasters before they strike.
Understand the impact of early action
Funafuti International Airport in Tuvalu is far more than a runway – it is a lifeline for the island nation, connecting residents to essential supplies, medical care, education, and emergency evacuations.
Built during World War II, the runway faced severe deterioration by 2012, and traditional repairs failed due to rare atoll-specific geotechnical pressures beneath the surface. Years of engineering challenges, compounded by remoteness and supply chain disruptions, threatened the nation’s connectivity and resilience.
Through the Tuvalu Safe and Resilient Aviation Project, engineers implemented innovative solutions, including porous asphalt and reinforcement using geosynthetic materials, to safely manage underground water pressure and stabilize the runway.
By 2025, the runway was fully resurfaced, withstanding king tides – exceptionally high tides linked to gravitational pull – and extreme weather, while restoring reliability for flights, emergency services, and daily community life.
This achievement demonstrates how technical innovation, persistence, and local leadership can safeguard critical infrastructure for vulnerable island nations, ensuring both development and disaster resilience.
Together, these cases reinforce a consistent lesson: disasters are not inevitable outcomes of hazards, but the result of choices made before they strike.
Where prevention is prioritised, losses fall, and resilience grows.
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