Valerie Amos praises Dhaka's disaster preparedness
A senior UN official has said Bangladesh has set an example in disaster preparedness and other countries can learn from its successes.
“In the past 20 years, it's estimated that 135 million people have been affected in Bangladesh by disasters. But the government is addressing this challenge head-on by investing in its local communities," said UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos.
She said, “Bangladesh has trained 50,000 community volunteers to be the first-line of response after a storm or flood. It's cost effective and it saves lives.â€
Valerie Amos has recently visited Dhaka and discussed the challenges in improving disaster management, said a press release issued from New York on December 3.
The release said in 1991, a cyclone killed more than 1.4 lakh people in Bangladesh but in 2007, when another major cyclone struck, many volunteers helped evacuate thousands of people, saving countless lives. The death toll from that tragedy was 1,071, it said.
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