Resilience and Disaster Management
Extreme heat is costing South Asia nearly the equivalent of 31 million full-time jobs every year and is on track to reduce the region's economy by nearly 7% by 2050, according to a new World Bank report.
The World Bank Group and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) have been steadfast partners of Senegal in its drive to move from reacting to disaster to proactively building resilient cities, coasts, and systems.
Effective response require fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV) sensitive strategies that tackle disaster vulnerability and conflict dynamics together.
INVESTING IN RESILIENCE
Disasters are no longer rare, isolated shocks. They are an escalating development challenge. In 2024, global economic losses from disasters reached record levels, with the poorest countries hit hardest. Beyond the destruction they cause, disasters disrupt growth and jobs, strain public finances, erode infrastructure, and push vulnerable households deeper into poverty.
For the World Bank, disaster risk management is core to development: vital to growth, fiscal stability, and poverty reduction. Disasters can undo years of progress in moments. Investments in preparedness and resilience safeguard those development gains, protect lives and jobs, and create conditions for sustainable growth on a livable planet.
The World Bank helps countries identify, reduce, and manage disaster and climate risks through analytics, financing, and policy support integrated across all sectors.
- Global economic losses from disasters reached record highs in 2024.
- Between 2019 and 2023, 12 countries lost more than 5% of GDP to disasters.
- In some countries, single disaster events can wipe out up to half of annual GDP.
As the world’s leading source of official development assistance, knowledge, and technical expertise on disaster risk management, the World Bank supports resilience-building across all regions.
It also serves as Trustee of the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), a global partnership advancing innovation, capacity building, and financing for disaster and climate resilience.
Through analytics, policy advice, and financing, the World Bank helps governments shift from reactive crisis response to proactive resilience and climate adaptation planning, ensuring that development progress is not only achieved but sustained.
The World Bank’s disaster risk management strategy strengthens countries’ ability to withstand shocks and sustain growth in a world of rising risks. Rooted in development, it links risk reduction, preparedness, financial protection, and inclusive recovery into one coherent framework.
Disasters are not inevitable; they are the result of unmanaged risk. By helping countries anticipate, reduce, and manage these risks, the World Bank supports safer infrastructure, stronger economies, and sustainable jobs.
The strategy focuses on the following priorities: reducing risk through resilient infrastructure, improving preparedness and early warning, building financial resilience, and mainstreaming disaster risk management across all sectors. Together, these priorities provide the foundation for building resilience where it is needed most.
Risk reduction and resilient infrastructure
Investing in infrastructure that can withstand hazards, improving building standards, and integrating risk reduction across development sectors.
Preparedness and early warning
Building institutional capacity and community readiness for emergency response, while expanding forecasting and early warning systems that deliver timely, actionable information to vulnerable populations.
Financial resilience
Supporting countries with disaster risk finance strategies, innovative insurance instruments, and pre-arranged financing that reduce economic disruption and enable faster recovery.
Mainstreaming disaster risk management across development
Integrating risk management into policies and investments so resilience supports progress in education, health, transport, housing, and urban development. This includes policy reforms such as Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Options (Cat DDOs), which link contingent financing for disaster response to prior policy actions.
- The strategy aligns with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
- It supports institutional priorities under IDA21 and the Crisis Preparedness and Response Toolkit.
- Nature-based solutions (NBS) are a key part of the approach, restoring ecosystems that reduce risks, protect biodiversity, and support jobs.
Equity and inclusion are central. The World Bank’s disaster risk management work prioritizes women, persons with disabilities, marginalized groups, and people living in fragile and conflict-affected settings. By drawing on its scale, technical expertise, and partnerships, the World Bank helps countries build stronger systems, safer infrastructure, and more resilient communities that protect lives and preserve development gains for the future.
In FY26, the World Bank committed $7.29 billion to finance projects to help countries better manage disasters.* These projects strengthen the ability of governments and communities to prepare for, respond to, and recover from events such as earthquakes, floods, and cyclones. They also reduce disaster risks and improve decision-making through stronger institutions, better information, and governance systems.
*Note: The World Bank tracks the value of disaster risk management financing through loans, credits and grants known as disaster risk management co-benefits (DRM CBs). This figure is calculated annually, and includes operations approved in FY26.
Examples below highlight how World Bank support is helping countries build resilience in every region, often in partnership with the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR).
AFRICA
In Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, 75 kilometers of stormwater drains were rehabilitated or constructed, reducing flood risk for communities and protecting over 400 hectares of urban land from flooding.
EAST ASIA & PACIFIC
In Indonesia, 75 educational facilities in Central Sulawesi, spanning kindergarten, primary, secondary and higher education, were rehabilitated or reconstructed to be resilient, while also incorporating gender-sensitive features.
EUROPE & CENTRAL ASIA
In Tajikistan, 17 bridges in the Mountainous Badakhshan Autonomous Region have been reconstructed to be resilient, reducing travel time and improving access to markets.
LATIN AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
In Jamaica, a multi-layered and pre-arranged disaster risk financing framework meant that the country did not need to resort to immediate post-disaster borrowing following Hurricane Melissa in 2025, helping protect the country’s fiscal position.
MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA, AFGHANISTAN & PAKISTAN
In Morocco, a pilot early warning system launched in four provinces, Mohammedia, the Gharb region, the Ourika valley, and Guelmim province, has benefitted 240,000 people.
SOUTH ASIA
In Sri Lanka, drainage system upgrades and wetland conservation have strengthened flood protection for roughly 2.5 million people in Colombo.
BY THE NUMBERS: DISASTER MANAGEMENT
RESULTS & IMPACT ON RESILIENCE AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT
$7.29 billion
136 million people
29 million people
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RESEARCH & PUBLICATIONS
THE LATEST ON RESILIENCE AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT
As the world’s leading source of official development assistance, knowledge, and technical expertise on disaster risk management, read and explore how the World Bank supports resilience-building across all regions.
PROGRAMS & PROJECTS ON RESILIENCE AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Helping Cities Manage Disaster and Climate Risks
The World Bank supports countries and cities in designing, financing and implementing comprehensive and integrated strategies and approaches to urban resilience.
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Strengthening Resilience of Infrastructure and Systems
The World Bank helps embed resilience across sectors such as transport and energy, while also advancing risk-informed decision-making, planning and governance around resilient infrastructure.
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Harnessing Nature to Build Resilience
The World Bank is helping countries mobilize nature-based solutions which are not only strengthening the resilience of communities, but also restoring ecosystems, improving biodiversity, and boosting local economies.
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CONNECT WITH US
Topic Expert
Contact
Yoko Kobayashi
ykobayashi2@worldbankgroup.org
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ACROSS REGIONS: RESILIENCE AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT
