Disaster Risk Management

Disasters are no longer rare, isolated shocks. They are an escalating development challenge.

In 2024 alone, global economic losses from disasters reached record levels, with the poorest countries hit hardest. Between 2019 and 2023, natural hazards caused economic losses of more than 5% of GDP in 12 countries —many of them highly vulnerable— with some cases exceeding 30-50%, according to the EM-DAT data. Beyond the immediate destruction, disasters carry profound socio-economic consequences: they disrupt economic growth and jobs, strain public finances, erode infrastructure, and push vulnerable households deeper into poverty.

For the World Bank, disaster risk management (DRM) is core development. It is directly linked to growth, fiscal stability, poverty reduction, and jobs. Disasters undo years of progress in moments, but investments in preparedness and resilience safeguard development gains, protect lives and livelihoods, and create the conditions for sustainable growth on a livable planet.

The World Bank supports countries in identifying, reducing, and managing disaster and climate risks. With the Bank’s cross-sectoral reach and financing at scale, DRM is integrated into investments in transport, energy, housing, health, education, and urban development. That means:

• Roads that withstand floods and keep economies moving.

• Schools that remain safe and operational during earthquakes and heatwaves.

• Health facilities that continue providing essential care in times of crisis.

• Cities that can manage storm surge and flood risks, enabling prosperity and attracting investment.

As the world’s leading source of official development assistance, knowledge, and support for DRM, the World Bank has a large portfolio that spans every region and sector.  It is also Trustee of the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR).

The World Bank’s support combines analytics, policy, and financing to help governments move from reactive crisis response to proactive, forward-looking resilience and preparedness planning. 

Last Updated: Sep 24,2025

The World Bank’s DRM strategy is built around the following priorities:

1. Risk reduction and resilient infrastructure 
   Investing in infrastructure that can withstand hazards, strengthening building codes, and mainstreaming risk reduction across sectors.

2. Preparedness and early warning 
   Building strong institutional capacity and community readiness for emergency response, while expanding early warning and forecasting systems that deliver actionable, timely information to the most vulnerable populations.

3. Financial resilience 
   Supporting countries with disaster risk finance strategies, innovative insurance solutions, and pre-arranged rapid-response financing to reduce economic disruption and enable swift recovery.

4. Mainstreaming DRM across development 
   Embedding risk management into sectoral policies and investments so resilience is a foundation of education, health, transport, housing, and urban growth, among other sectors. This includes advancing policy reforms that strengthen institutional capacity and create enabling environments, for example through Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Options (Cat DDOs), which require priori policy actions and help countries secure contingent financing for disaster response.

This comprehensive approach aligns with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, while advancing institutional priorities under IDA21 and the Crisis Preparedness and Response Toolkit.

Together, these priorities provide the policy and financing backbone for scaling resilience where it is needed most.

Nature-based solutions (NBS) remain a critical part of this agenda, helping countries restore ecosystems that reduce risks, protect biodiversity, and support livelihoods. 

Equity and inclusion are also central: recognizing that disasters disproportionately affect women, persons with disabilities, and marginalized groups, and people living in fragile, conflict, and violence (FCV) settings, the World Bank’s DRM work prioritizes inclusive approaches that leave no one behind.

By utilizing its scale, technical depth, and global partnerships, the World Bank is equipping countries to face a future of rising risks with stronger systems, safer infrastructure, and more resilient communities, while preserving development gains and protecting lives today and for future generations.

Last Updated: Sep 24,2025

The World Bank in FY24 committed $7.5 billion to finance projects that strengthen a country’s ability to manage disasters.* These projects help governments and communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and cyclones. They also support efforts to reduce disaster risks and improve decision-making through better information and governance systems.

*Note: The World Bank tracks the estimated dollar value of the financing it provides for disaster risk management through loans, credits and grants, called disaster risk management co-benefits (DRM CBs). This value is calculated annually, and the latest calculation includes operations approved in FY24.

Below are some examples of World Bank's support in various countries, in partnership with the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR).

AFRICA

• In Saint-Louis, Senegal, more than 433 permanent dwellings have been constructed that are now  providing safe, resilient homes for as many as 15,000 people who previously lived in areas vulnerable to coastal erosion or marine flooding. Based on information gathered from affected families, homes were designed according to universal access standards to ensure that the needs of people living with disabilities are met.
• In Malawi, the World Bank recently approved the Malawi First Growth and Resilience with  Development Policy Operation with a $57.6 million Cat DDO. The Cat DDO is a contingent line of credit that provides immediate liquidity in the aftermath of a disaster or emergency.  Just months after the Cat DDO was approved, it was activated after a March 2024 declaration of a state of  disaster by His Excellency President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera because of a food crisis. Activation of the Cat DDO ensured that the government had access to the resources it needed to respond without delay.
• In Côte d’Ivoire, a partnership between Côte d’Ivoire and IFC has been facilitated under which IFC which will work with Côte d’Ivoire’s Ministry of Sanitation to help design, structure, and competitively contract a public-private partnership to build and operate resilient solid waste management facilities. These facilities will potentially serve approximately 1,350,000 people in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire’s largest city, and two secondary cities.

EAST ASIA & PACIFIC

• In the Philippines, support has been provided toward the development of PlanSmart, a digital application that enables more rapid disaster recovery through the automated generation of recovery and reconstruction plans for various disaster scenarios based on risk and hazard data.  In conjunction with these efforts, more than 2,300 national and local officials have also been trained on risk-informed recovery planning. Thus far, 153 local governments in the Philippines have prepared recovery and reconstruction plans using PlanSmart.
• In Cambodia, technical assistance is enabling the country’s National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) to use multi-purpose flood shelters as temporary healthcare facilities, filling gaps in healthcare service delivery during non-emergency times. The technical assistance has encompassed such key areas as maintenance costs, community trust to increase shelter uptake, and location selection criteria. Dialogue with NCDM is ongoing about how to use the shelters to strengthen healthcare service delivery in underserved areas.

EUROPE & CENTRAL ASIA

• In Romania, fire stations in five localities (Mizil, Tecuci, Carei, Obor and Calarasi) have been reconstructed and upgraded to meet seismic and building codes, enabling more than 600 emergency personnel to provide fire services for more than 920,000 people. Technical assistance has also been provided to ensure that the upgraded emergency infrastructure is inclusive and sustainable, in addition to being resilient. The upgraded fire stations, for instance, have dormitories and sanitary facilities for women and men.
• In the Kyrgyz Republic, analytical work has informed the design and implementation of nature-based solutions (NBS) under the Kyrgyz Republic Resilient Landscape Restoration Project, which is being supported by a $45 million financing commitment from the IDA. The analytical work, among others, has highlighted key considerations for planners with regard to the design and implementation of a range of potentially suitable NBS options for the Kyrgyz Republic. Such options including slope stabilization and riverbank and riverbed protection.

LATIN AMERICA & CARIBBEAN

• In the Caribbean, technical assistance has enabled governments to improve disaster risk data by enhancing national spatial data infrastructure. An innovative machine learning model was developed to create a detailed inventory of roof types that can be used to monitor retrofitting progress and assess post-disaster damage. Thus far, 134,000 street-view images have been collected and analyzed, enabling the extraction of key building characteristics, such as wall materials and number of stories, thus creating a baseline for housing stock monitoring.
• In Honduras, technical assistance has been provided to the national government which has enabled the construction of 37 disaster- and climate-resilient schools in vulnerable communities, with 30 additional schools under construction. The technical assistance enabled the incorporation of universal access principles into the designs of the resilient schools. This includes the addition of ramps, railings, and accessible toilets, ensuring that schools are functional and inclusive for everyone, regardless of their physical ability.

MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA

• Within just three weeks of a devastating earthquake in Morocco in 2023,  a technical team estimated the direct physical damage at a fraction of the cost of traditional assessments through the Global Rapid Post-Disaster Damage Estimation (GRADE) methodology.  The team’s findings informed the design of Morocco’s $11.8 billion resilient recovery and reconstruction plan for affected areas. The findings also informed Morocco’s engagement with development partners including the World Bank, leading to the rapid mobilization of more than $300 million in pre-arranged disaster risk financing.
• In Yemen, technical teams have adapted traditional methodologies of damage and needs assessment to ensure that the analytical work fully accounts for the interaction between disasters and FCV dynamics. Such FCV dynamics include internal displacement and food insecurity. By fully accounting for interactions between disasters and FCV dynamics, the teams have unearthed findings that have informed recovery efforts. For example, the 2023 assessment highlighted the importance of prioritizing internally displaced persons in the recovery from Cyclone Tej.

SOUTH ASIA

• In India, analytical work has enabled a deeper understanding of the costs and benefits of a range of flood risk mitigation options in the city of Surat in Gujarat state. Local authorities are now proceeding with an update of a masterplan for resilient development along the Tapi river which straddles Surat. The work is informing development of the proposed Surat Resilience Enhancement Project, which is expected to receive $196 million in financing from the World Bank.
• In Bhutan, a longstanding partnership with the country on strengthening hydromet and early warning systems has paved the way for the development of the country’s Agrometeorological Decision Support System which uses machine learning algorithms to generate specific crop advisories based on weather and climate data. Bhutan’s Department of Agriculture has recently enhanced and operationalized the system and it now disseminates advisories to 11 gewogs, a group of villages, covering a total population of approximately 43,270 people.

Last Updated: Feb 10,2025

Building disaster resilience requires collective action. The World Bank, through the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), collaborates with governments, United Nations agencies, academia, civil society, and the private sector to mobilize expertise, resources, and innovative solutions. Some of the partnerships supported in 2024 include:

• International Agreements: GFDRR worked with partners such as the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and the World Health Organization (WHO) to advance disaster risk reduction, improve early warning systems, and integrate health resilience into disaster management. Collaborations with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Women promoted gender-responsive and inclusive recovery strategies.
• Technical Agendas: Partnerships with agencies such as the European Space Agency (ESA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the African Development Bank supported advancements in nature-based solutions, emergency preparedness, Earth observation technology, and resilient housing.
• Research and Innovation: GFDRR partnered with institutions such as Purdue University and University College London to develop tools and insights, addressing global challenges such as heat resilience and infrastructure vulnerability.
• Civil Society: GFDRR engaged local organizations in community resilience projects, including nature-based solutions training in West Africa and citizen-led heat mapping campaigns in South Africa.
• Private Sector: Partnerships with entities such as Fathom and the Insurance Development Forum enabled better disaster risk data, financial protection strategies, and urban resilience financing.

These collaborations foster innovation, bridge knowledge gaps, and drive scalable solutions for disaster resilience worldwide.

Last Updated: Feb 08,2025