Experts meet in London to understand disaster risks

More than 800 experts in disaster risk management from across the world were in London on Monday to take part in the week-long Understanding Risk Forum. The experts come from different backgrounds which include civil society, governments, private companies and the technology sector.

The forum is an important platform for collaboration, sharing and innovation in disaster risks assessment.  Understanding disaster risks is necessary to check their human and financial impact. The theme for this year is “Producing Actionable Information”. The ExCeL London Exhibition and Convention Centre will be the venue for the first three days followed by the next two days at the University College London. More than 24 technical sessions on issues such as human behavioral changes due to disasters and tools for risk modeling will be held during the event. 

The event will also see announcement of three prize winners for the Code for Resilience, an initiative under which local technologists and disaster risk management experts are paired to participate in hackathons held across the world.

Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery , managed by the World Bank, is organising the forum in partnership with University College London’s Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy, and the Willis Group, a leading global risk advisor. Vice president of the World Bank Group Rachel Kyte and UK Secretary of State Justine Greening are among the notable speakers at the forum.