International meeting on disasters, mitigation strategies

Chennai, Jan 7 (UNI) An International Roundtable Meeting of non-aligned and other developing countries will be held in Vellore tomorrow to share experiences on lessons from natural disasters and discuss policy issues and mitigation strategies.

As many as 20 delegates from abroad, including from South Africa, Syria, Egypt, Indonesia, Vietnam, Pakistan, UAE, Mauritius, Brunei, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Malaysia, will attend in the five-day meeting.

The meeting is organised jointly by the Centre for Disaster Mitigation and Management (CDMM) at the Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) University, Vellore, and the Centre for Science and Technology of the Non-Aligned and Other Developing Countries, New Delhi.

Addressing a press conference here, CDMM Chairman R K Bhandari said various country reports to be presented and discussed at the meeting would focus on developing culture of preparedness and safety through joint initiatives and lessons learned from some of the deadliest of earthquakes, floods, cyclones, landslides and tsunamis.

The experts from different countries with diverse backgrounds would interact with one another to decode the messages that natural disasters reveal almost in every case, he added.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs S Regupathy would inaugurate the Roundtable Meeting, while National Disaster Management Authority Member M Sashidhar Reddy and Mr Sri Woro Budiati Harijono, a former Deputy Minister in Indonesia would be the Guests of Honour.

UNI