The 4th Pan American Conference of the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine is taking place from 15-17 October in Leesburg, Virginia (United States). The conference's motto is "Building the science of disaster health: from terminology to practice".

The International Day for Disaster Reduction is celebrated every year on 13 October. This year’s celebration aims to acknowledge and appreciate the millions of women and girls who make their communities more resilient to disasters and climate risk.

The International Day of Peace, celebrated every year on September 21, is a global opportunity to reflect on how each institution can contribute to conflict reduction and the elimination of violence. PAHO/WHO, through the Area on Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Relief, emphasizes in this celebration a contribution to peace in Colombia through the provision of health care for the population displaced due to violence.

The situation in Costa Rica is going back to normal after the 7.6 earthquake that shook the Central American country on 5 September. Now that efforts are being oriented to damage assessment in the field, gradually more details are emerging on how the earthquake affected the different areas. More than 300 communities have been affected and damages have been reported on houses, bridges, the road network, aqueducts, educational facilities and official buildings, among others.