Disaster risk management is becoming increasingly important as population densities rise in urban areas around the world. A new report, Learning from Megadisasters, shares lessons learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. Even poor countries with limited resources can build their capacity to prepare for and cope with disasters. While not all natural disasters can be avoided, their impact can be mitigated through effective planning and preparedness. These are the lessons to be learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, the first disaster ever recorded that included an earthquake, a tsunami, a nuclear power plant accident, a power supply failure, and a large-scale disruption of supply chains.