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 an escalating development challenge. In 2025, global losses from natural hazards reached approximately $224 billion, with around 17,200 lives lost. Natural hazards cost the world roughly 90 million full-time job equivalents every year, through destroyed workplaces, extreme heat, and disrupted supply chains, with the heaviest burden falling on IDA countries, fragile and conflict-affected states, and the poorest workers. Without stronger resilience, climate change could push up to 132 million more people into extreme poverty by 2030.
Countries are responding. Governments are moving from reactive crisis management to deliberate resilience-building, by strengthening policies, systems, and institutions that reduce risk, maintain essential services, and enable faster, smarter recovery.
Closing the resilience gap requires investment at scale, both public and private. The World Bank Group helps create the conditions for that investment: through risk analytics, regulatory reforms, technical standards, institutional strengthening, and financing solutions that open the way for private capital to flow into resilient infrastructure and services.
As Trustee of the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), the World Bank advances innovation, capacity building, and financing for disaster and climate resilience across all regions.
The World Bank Group's disaster risk management strategy helps countries shift from reactive crisis response to proactive resilience, linking risk reduction, preparedness, financial protection, and inclusive recovery into one coherent framework. Disasters are not inevitable; they are the result of unmanaged risk. The strategy addresses that risk across interconnected priorities, each backed by results on the ground.
Risk reduction and resilient infrastructure. Investing in infrastructure that can withstand hazards, improving building standards, and integrating risk reduction across development sectors. In Dakar, Senegal, GFDRR-supported investments in drainage and urban infrastructure benefitted 420,000 residents, reduced disruptions to livelihoods and essential services, and identified new opportunities for nature-based solutions.
Preparedness and early warning. Building institutional capacity and community readiness before crises strike, while expanding forecasting and early warning systems that deliver timely, actionable information. In the Philippines, PlanSmart has enabled over 150 local governments to prepare disaster recovery plans using hazard and risk data ahead of any disaster. When disasters do occur, the World Bank Group's Global Rapid Post-Disaster Damage Estimation (GRADE) provides governments with fast, decision-ready damage and impact estimates to inform recovery planning and donor coordination. Since 2015, GRADE has been deployed across around 80 disasters in approximately 60 countries.
Financial resilience and private sector mobilization. Supporting countries with disaster risk finance strategies, pre-arranged financing, and innovative instruments that reduce economic disruption and enable faster recovery. A proactive approach makes a measurable difference: in 2025, Jamaica drew on the Crisis Preparedness and Response Toolkit, including a Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Option (Cat DDO), to strengthen its response to Hurricane Melissa. As of June 2026, 76 Cat DDOs have been approved globally. The World Bank Group is also supporting private sector engagement, including a public-private partnership for resilient urban solid waste management in Cote d'Ivoire that could benefit more than one million people.
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 across all sectors.
The strategy aligns with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, IDA21 priorities, and the World Bank's Climate Change Action Plan, Water Forward, and Small States and SIDS agenda. Equity and inclusion remain central: the work prioritizes women, persons with disabilities, marginalized groups, and people in fragile and conflict-affected settings.
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
