Funded by the European Union “Strengthening Financial Resilience and Accelerating Risk Reduction in Central Asia” (SFRARR) kicked off its last in a series of eight technical online workshop dedicated to the development of a regional multi-hazard disaster risk assessment. This event was devoted to modelling and mitigating earthquake and flood risks and spanned until July 29, 2022. During this four-day event, participants received an overview of challenges and new methods that can be used to produce regional-scale earthquake and flood risk estimates, focusing on data and its application to Central Asian countries.

The countries of Central Asia are vulnerable to an array of natural hazards - with earthquakes and floods having the most devastating effect on people and economies. It is estimated that annually nearly one million people are affected by floods and two million by earthquakes.[1] With climate change exacerbating intensity and frequency of weather-related natural hazards, more emphasis needs to be placed on disaster risk preparedness and mitigation - through risk modelling and assessment.

Disasters do not stop at national borders. By enhancing regional cooperation and strengthening national efforts in disaster risk preparedness and reduction, disaster losses can be significantly reduced. This workshop increases efforts in tackling cross-border natural hazards, by strengthening the capacity of local experts, institutions, and research groups with a role in disaster risk management and financing, and emergency planning, in developing regionally consistent risk information.

Participants learnt how to handle innovative tools to assess risks, estimate losses and emergency response, familiarized themselves with the latest risk metrices, and explore potential regional financial solutions to hedge residual disaster risks.

The EU-funded SFRARR Program – managed by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) and implemented by the World Bank in close collaboration with the Center for Emergency Situations and Disaster Risk Reduction (CESDRR) – supports Central Asian countries in building disaster resilience and strengthening capacities for financial protection.

[1] Всемирный Банк, https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/eca/publication/europe-and-central-asia-country-risk-profiles-for-floods-and-earthquakes