Mira Sarker grew up along the Kapotaksha River in southern Bangladesh, where her childhood was shaped by frequent cyclones, disasters, and displacement. Living near the coast, she and her community have faced persistent challenges, reflecting a broader trend: in the past three decades, Bangladesh has experienced over 200 natural hazards. Extreme weather events are becoming more severe and frequent, and globally, disasters cause around $202 billion in direct losses annually, with total economic and ecosystem costs nearing $2.3 trillion. In 2024, disasters displaced 45.8 million people within their own countries, illustrating the widespread human impact.
Women and girls are disproportionately affected by disasters, often facing heightened risks to safety, health, and livelihoods. Displacement, loss of homes, and income insecurity can increase exposure to gender-based violence and disrupt access to essential services like healthcare and education. Women frequently bear the burden of unpaid care responsibilities during crises and face limitations in accessing land, finance, or early warning information, which can delay effective response and recovery. Despite these challenges, women actively organize preparedness efforts, lead emergency response, and guide recovery and rebuilding efforts in their communities.
Community preparedness is strengthened by local engagement and coordination, with women playing a crucial role in ensuring disaster risk reduction measures reach everyone and trigger timely action. In the Philippines, for instance, women are central to the SHIELD Programme, which enhances disaster preparedness and climate resilience. Survivors like Felisa Ramasa Castro have established women-led organizations that work with authorities to raise awareness, conduct training, and implement early warning systems, ensuring communities are better prepared for storms and typhoons.
Reducing disaster risks also involves addressing underlying vulnerabilities, with nature-based solutions proving particularly effective. In the Bahamas, mangrove restoration projects protect coastal communities from storms and support livelihoods such as fisheries. Conservation practitioners like Jewel Beneby lead these initiatives, mobilizing hundreds of volunteers to replant mangroves, which serve as natural defenses against flooding while sustaining ecosystems and economic activities.
Women are also increasingly involved in emergency response and recovery planning. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, they participate in multi-agency exercises to test evacuation, rescue, and medical procedures while integrating considerations for sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence. In Armenia, women contribute to community-level disaster risk assessments and contingency planning, ensuring that early warning systems and response measures address the specific needs of vulnerable populations.
In southern Bangladesh, women like Mira Sarker are adopting climate-resilient livelihoods and improving water security, raising salinity-tolerant crops, farming fish and crabs, and securing safe drinking water. Across disaster-prone regions, women’s knowledge, skills, and leadership are essential in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. As climate change intensifies hazards and uncertainty, strengthening women’s roles in disaster risk reduction remains critical for building safer, more resilient communities.
