Invest in disaster resilience today for safer tomorrow: PM Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said natural disasters are becoming more frequent and more severe, and their true impact on people, families and communities is beyond just numbers.

In a recorded message played at the 6th edition of the International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, the prime minister said, "Countries must invest in resilient infrastructure today for a better tomorrow. Resilience needs to be factored into new infrastructure creation and it also needs to be a part of post-disaster rebuilding after disasters." "As we all have witnessed, natural disasters are becoming more frequent and more severe. The damage they cause is usually reported in dollars, but their true impact on people, families and communities is beyond just numbers.

"Earthquakes destroy houses, making thousands of people homeless. Natural disasters can disrupt water and sewage systems, putting the health of people at risk. Some disasters can impact energy plants, leading to potentially dangerous situations. These things have a human impact," Modi said.

He said nature and disasters have no borders and disasters and disruption cause widespread impact in a highly interconnected world.

"The world can be resilient collectively only when each country is resilient individually. Shared resilience is important because of the shared risks. CDRI and this conference help us come together for this collective mission," the prime minister said.

Citing the high risk of disasters in Small Island Developing States, Modi said countries must support the most vulnerable to achieve shared resilience.

"CDRI has a programme which is funding projects across 13 such places. Resilient housing in Dominica, resilient transport networks in Papua New Guinea and enhanced early burning systems in the Dominican Republic and Fiji are some examples," Modi said.

It is heartening that CDRI also has a focus on the global south, he said.

The prime minister said that during India's G20 presidency, a new disaster risk reduction working group was formed with financing at the heart of the discussions.

Along with the growth of CDRI, such steps will take the world to a resilient future, he said.

Modi added that the growth of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure has been impressive in the last few years.

Launched in 2019, CDRI is now a global coalition of 39 countries and seven organisations.