Natural disasters come in many shapes and sizes. Most are related to the weather. Some are predictable like a hurricane. Some, like an earthquake, surprise us. What is certain is that they cause more fatalities and notable/irreversible damage in developing countries than anywhere else. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the costs are now 15 times greater than in the 1950s, the number has increased 400 percent since 1975, and one-third of the world's population has been affected over the past 10 years. The phase that follows immediate humanitarian aid is critical, but this may be precisely when the world's watching public loses interest. Often, the resources needed for reconstruction may well exceed the capacity of affected countries. This is why the United Nations, World Bank, and the European Commission are joining their efforts and resources. This session will explain the dynamics behind this emerging process and the details of the Joint Declaration for Post-Disaster Needs Assessment and Recovery Framework (PDNA). Speakers will evidence how combined efforts, for example in Haiti, are already speeding up recovery. In particular, they will provide insights into how shared advances in geospatial and information technologies are key tools to develop the data, assess the damage, and disseminate the results to all stakeholders in the PDNA process. The session will be a timely forerunner to two international workshops taking place in 2011 on this theme.