IDB Group Launches New Tools to Improve Disaster Risk Management

Two technological solutions and a collaboration with Google and the World Meteorological Organization to strengthen regional resilience

BELÉM, Brazil -The Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group) launched two tools at COP30 to help Latin American and Caribbean countries assess the risks and costs of disasters with greater precision.

RiskMONITOR, a tool developed by the IDB Group, visualizes data on disaster risk and its management and evolution over time across countries. It is based on 20 years of accumulated knowledge and uses specific indicators to assess each country's level of preparedness, disaster-response capacity, resource availability, and degree of vulnerability.

RiskHUB is a platform that uses emerging technology such as artificial intelligence to project potential disaster impacts and apply this information to emergency response, territorial planning, infrastructure design, and the development of fiscal policy. It is intended for experts on risk assessment in both the public and private sectors.

RiskMONITOR and RiskHUB are part of Ready and Resilient Americas, a regional program launched by the IDB Group this year to increase disaster resilience. The program's three pillars are: improving information on disaster risks, strengthening coordination mechanisms for an effective regional response, and implementing innovative financial instruments to enhance resilience and protect against disasters.

In addition, the IDB Group is collaborating with Google and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to expand the region's adoption of two cutting-edge tools: the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) and Flood Hub, a Google platform for flood monitoring. Authorities can use CAP to share critical safety alerts simultaneously across multiple communication channels, including sirens, radio, television, smartphones, and the internet. Flood Hub uses artificial intelligence and satellite data to provide flood forecasts up to seven days in advance.

This year, the IDB Group worked with Google in Honduras, one of the most disaster-prone countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, to support the first adoption of CAP and Flood Hub in the region.