The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on Wednesday urged countries worldwide to devote more efforts to natural disaster preparedness.

Extreme events are "foreseeable to the extent we understand their likelihood," said Geoffrey Love, WMO Director of the Weather and Disaster Risk Reduction Services Department.

"They only become disasters when we fail to prepare for them," Love explained at a Wednesday celebration marking the International Day for Disaster Reduction.

In fact, over the past 50 years, the development of early warning systems in high-risk countries had greatly reduced the loss of life and property, he noted.

He said the WMO would continue to work with its international partners and 188 members worldwide to integrate early warning systems and best practices into emergency preparedness and response.

The UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank will jointly hold a celebration Wednesday for the 2009 International Day for Disaster Reduction, which is dedicated to the theme "Hospitals Safe from Disasters."

"Since the beginning of the campaign, much has been achieved to make hospitals safer, but more investments are still needed to improve the functionality of hospitals when disasters occur," said Margareta Wahlstrom, special representative of the UN secretary-general for disaster risk reduction.

As part of the "Hospitals Safe from Disasters" campaign, Mexico, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Oman, Sudan and Tajikistan have applied a Hospital Safety Index to assess hospitals in high-risk areas. Meanwhile, hundreds of health professionals worldwide have been trained in emergency preparedness.

"Hospitals Safe from Disasters" is a two-year global campaign launched in January 2008 by the UNISDR, WHO and the World Bank. It is aimed at ensuring access to health facilities during and after natural disasters.

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