Hurricane Melissa struck Cuba as a Category 3 storm on 29 October, tearing across the island in six hours with powerful winds and torrential rain. It battered five eastern provinces, forced more than 735,000 people to evacuate and affected millions of others. Floodwaters swept through towns, winds damaged infrastructure, and power outages rippled across entire districts, disrupting essential services across eastern Cuba when communities most needed them. Extensive flooding in Santiago de Cuba has submerged farmland and surrounding homes, leaving stagnant water that heightens the risk of mosquito-borne and waterborne diseases in already hard-hit communities. is helping national authorities and the UN Resident Coordinator steer and organize the emergency response under the , which guides multi-agency support across shelter and housing, food security, health, logistics, education, and water, sanitation and hygiene.
Disaster Relief
A village fighting rising seas with unshakable spirit and an unbreakable promise to its ancestral land.
By using anticipatory action and trigger-based early warnings, WFP is able to deliver timely cash and food assistance to millions, reducing the impact of disasters like and before they escalate.
After devastating destroyed her home in Burundi, Alphonsine and thousands like her are rebuilding their lives with IOM’s support, proof that with compassion, resilience, and sustained climate action, recovery is possible.
From climate-fuelled disasters to destruction caused by conflict and other human-made crises, the focus of recovery is often fixed on the visible – collapsed buildings, flooded streets and shattered infrastructure. Yet, the deepest wounds are often the invisible losses – the emotional scars and the anguish of those who have been permanently displaced, carrying with them the memories of a home and a community they may never be able to return to. Decades of underground salt-mining beneath the coastal city of Maceió in Brazil led to land sinking and the flooding of entire neighbourhoods, forcing tens of thousands to abandon their homes. The tragedy unfolding in Maceió stands as the largest ongoing urban social-environmental disaster in Brazil. is offering psychological support workshops in the Bebedouro neighbourhood – helping residents rebuild social connections and move forward together.
A powerful earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan on 31 August 2025, displacing thousands of children and instilling fear and uncertainty in their lives. Many children experienced trauma, crying at night and withdrawing from friends. In response, and HYSIO established child-friendly spaces at the Zeri Baba camp, providing safe environments for children to learn and play, helping them cope with their emotions. These spaces also serve as referral points for health, nutrition, and mental health services, benefiting over 2,300 children through case management and over 13,500 through recreational and psychosocial activities.
The World Food Programme is racing to support Jamaica as approaches, threatening catastrophic flooding, landslides, and widespread destruction across the island.
As climate change drives more extreme weather, systems are vital to protect lives and economies. These systems rely on climate information—data from sensors and stations—transformed into insights for forecasts and planning. Despite their proven value, investment remains low. Yet early warnings can cut damage by 30% and yield up to . In sectors like agriculture and energy, better climate services could unlock in global economic gains.
Floods, cyclones, and wildfires devastate communities, but these disasters are shaped by human choices—where we build, how we farm, and what we invest in. Climate change amplifies these hazards, causing over $200 billion in annual damages and $2.3 trillion in total costs. The human toll is immense: displaced families, lost livelihoods, and stalled development. Yet, many governments spend less than 1% of budgets on disaster risk reduction. The choice is clear: invest in resilience or keep paying for disasters.
The rising cost of disasters highlights the impact of climate change and poor development choices, with direct costs at $202 billion annually and broader economic impact estimated at $2.3 trillion. Developing nations suffer most, while wealthier ones also face major losses. Yet, less than 1% of public budgets go to disaster risk reduction (DRR). Public and private sectors often overlook these risks. National strategies should integrate DRR and climate adaptation. The International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (13 October) reminds us to invest in resilience and risk-informed development.
One year after the UN Secretary-General’s Call to Action on Extreme Heat, countries are implementing strategies to build heat resilience. UN agencies, including UNDRR, are collaborating with governments to scale up responses. Kamal Kishore, UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, highlights , such as heat action plans and climate-aware urban planning.
Many disasters, whether man-made or weather-related, are unpredictable. Nevertheless, a growing number of disasters can now be predicted thanks to continuously improving early warning systems. Action before disasters strike can help limit the devastating impact that these have on people and communities everywhere. As extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and humanitarian needs are soaring, it is more crucial than ever to ensure that each dollar goes further. The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization () promotes anticipatory action to help people in vulnerable situations stay steps ahead and weather the storm.
An explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986 spread a radioactive cloud over large parts of the Soviet Union, now the territories of Belarus, Ukraine and the Russian Federation. Nearly 8.4 million people in the three countries were exposed to the radiation. Since then, the UN, along with the Governments of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, has been leading the recovery efforts to support the affected regions. Humanitarian assistance was provided in the immediate aftermath of the accident, followed by years of reconstruction to secure the area and protect the population.
World Food Programme is swiftly mobilizing to assist , despite ongoing humanitarian challenges.
80,000 people, including 1,230 pregnant women, need humanitarian assistance after the devastating earthquake in Vanuatu. “It pains me to see this vibrant country battered by yet another natural disaster,” says Dr. Natalia Kanem, who recently visited the Pacific island. See .