Period covered: January to December 2012

Overview

The DREF allocated a total amount of CHF 22,836,393 in 2012. Seventy-five per cent of the allocations, CHF 17,076,253, were made as grants to small-scale operations implemented by National Societies for which no emergency appeal was launched, known as DREF operations. CHF 5,760,140 was allocated as loans of start-up funding to emergency appeals.

This report covers the period 1 January to 31 December, 2012.

Overview

The Caritas Annual Report shows our work in 2012 through five strategic priorities identified during the year: addressing poverty at home and abroad, responding to emergencies, upholding the dignity and rights of indigenous peoples, promoting environmental justice, and connecting effectively with our Catholic community.

Public donations topped $3 million last year, including a record Lent total of more than $900,000. We are grateful for the government’s New Zealand Aid Programme which contributed almost $1 million towards Caritas development and relief programmes.

PLOS Currents: Disasters has published a set of five papers on the human impact of five different natural disasters: cyclones, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes.

The Global Overview collates information from a range of sources and displays it in a manner that allows for quick comparison of different humanitarian crises.

A new guide will help disaster managers in governments to use international tools and services.

Lessons learned from Hurricane Sandy are high on the agenda of a meeting convened by the World Meteorological Organization to review the 2012 tropical cyclone season in the Atlantic and eastern North Pacific and prepare for the forthcoming season.

The Hurricane Committee of WMO Regional Association IV (North and Central America and the Caribbean) meets in Curacao 8-12 April to discuss how to strengthen warning services and regional coordination to protect lives and property.

The Global Overview collates information from a wide range of sources and displays this information in a manner that allows for quick comparison of different humanitarian crises.

03/18/2013 22:31 GMT

WASHINGTON, 18 mars 2013 (AFP) - Un réchauffement de deux degrés de la planète pourrait entraîner une décuplement du nombre des ouragans de grande puissance, selon une étude d'un climatologue danois publiée lundi aux Etats-Unis.