GENEVA, 29 July 2013 – The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) and partners today launched the first-ever survey of people living with disabilities on their coping capacity in the face of a disaster event.

Margareta Wahlström, head of UNISDR, said today: “The survey will focus on a major blind spot in disaster management, the needs of the one billion or more people estimated to live with some form of disability. We can expect that as many as 30 million people living with a disability are affected during an average year by earthquakes and weather-related hazards.”

The online survey asks questions such as “Do you have a personal preparedness plan for disasters?” It also focuses on issues such as the ability to protect oneself from a disaster event and having sufficient time to evacuate before a possible disaster. It also asks questions about knowledge, awareness and participation in disaster management plans at national and local level.

Ms. Wahlström said: “This survey has the potential to provide a very revealing insight into how we can reduce disaster risk for people living with disabilities which can then be included in the new global agreement on disaster risk reduction which will be in place by 2015.”

The survey results will be announced on International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction which is marked each year on October 13. UNISDR is working closely with UN ENABLE, the Disability-inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction Network for Asia and the Pacific (DiDRRN) and other partners on implementing the survey.

The survey can be accessed on the UNISDR web site at 2013 Survey on Living with Disabilities and Disasters

Sources: United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction

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