António Guterres on a recent visit to the Caribbean island of Barbuda which was devastated by Hurricane Irma

Millions of lives have been shattered this year by drought, storms, earthquakes, landslides and heatwaves. Last weekend, I witnessed first-hand the dramatic levels of devastation caused by severe hurricanes in the Caribbean.

An average of 24 million people are pushed into poverty every year by disasters. Many millions are forced to leave their homes. If vulnerable countries are in a constant struggle to rebuild and recover after catastrophic events, we will never achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

On this year’s International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, the challenge is to move from managing disasters themselves to managing disaster risk. Poverty, rapid urbanization, weak governance, the decline of ecosystems and climate change are driving disaster risk around the world.