Disaster Recovery Journal Summer 2025

This pillar focuses on ensuring communication and information reach all relevant audiences with adequate access. Messages and instructions must be clear, understandable, and effective. It also emphasizes the importance of community feedback and adjustments for continuous improvement. n Pillar 4: Preparedness to respond. This pillar aims to build the response capacity of disaster response agencies, authorities, and communities to act effectively during a disaster. It includes organization, coordination among stakeholders with clearly defined roles and responsibilities, the establishment of procedures, protocols, and instructions, as well as ensuring the availability of resources and logistics. According to WMO’s analysis, the status of countries regard ing these pillars compared to the ideal target reveals significant gaps that need to be addressed:

include Hurricane Iota (2020), the Haiti earthquake (2021), wildfires in the Amazon region (Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru from 2019 to 2023), floods in Colombia (2024), and droughts in Chile (2021–2022). Specifically, regarding hurricanes in Central America and the Caribbean, 2024 has seen an increase in the number of hurricanes surpassing the normal average. Recent events, such as Hurricanes Milton, Rafael, Helen, and Beryl, confirm the growing frequency and intensity of disasters. On a global scale, least developed countries face significant gaps in the implementation of MHEWS, as illustrated in the fol lowing graph:

Figure 1: Percentage of Least Developed Countries with MHEWS Source: Based on the report “Status of Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems 2024,” UNDRR.

2. Pillars to Develop for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals In alignment with the Sendai Framework Global Target Goals: “Substantially increase the availability of and access to MHEWS and disaster risk information and assessments to the people by 2030,” four key pillars have been identified for the successful implementation of MHEWS: n Pillar 1: Risk knowledge. This pillar involves defining the scope for identifying and understanding risks. It includes contextual analysis, hazard and vulnerability mapping, collecting and compiling historical data from diverse sources, and identifying patterns and trends. n Pillar 2: Observations & forecasting. This involves establishing inter-institutional agreements and partnerships with specialized organizations to share information. It includes monitoring parameters to ensure they fall within acceptable patterns, applying and leveraging technologies such as analytical models, artificial intelligence, and scientific methods to identify trends and forecasts. n Pillar 3: Warning dissemination & communication.

Figure 2: Gaps in Developing Countries in the MHEWS Pillars. Source: Based on the report “Status of Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems in the Least Developed Countries, 2024,” UNDR. To reduce these gaps, the design, implementation, operation, and success of MHEWS must necessarily be a multidisciplinary effort involving individuals, communities, and institutions at all levels of society and across all economic sectors. Collaboration is key to establishing, maintaining, and improving every element of the ecosystem and the integrated multi-hazard early warning system. 3. Best Practices in the Implementation of MHEWS Based on Technology The best and most advanced practices in MHEWS facilitate the identification of hazards and vulnerabilities, reduction of associated risks, and more effective and timely management once events materialize. These practices include the integration of advanced technologies to strengthen the resilience of potentially affected communities: 3.1 Data Collection and Compilation from Diverse Sources

28 DISASTER RECOVERY JOURNAL | SUMMER 2025