The 3rd World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction has kicked off in Japan, with the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warning that much needs to be done to decrease the impacts of potential natural disasters.

Ban told the meeting’s attendees, who had gathered in the disaster-hit northeastern Japanese city of Sendai, that low- and middle-income countries suffer nine out of ten disaster-related deaths, urging better help and more protection for the world’s poorest and weakest people as the threat from climate-related disasters grows.

“What we are discussing here is very real for millions around the world. We must keep their needs in sharp focus during the negotiations,” Ban said.

He called on policymakers at the gathering to forge a strong framework for preventing and coping with catastrophes similar to the 2011 triple disaster of a massive earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown that hit northeastern Japan’s coastline, including Sendai, four years ago.

The UN chief said the goal can be fulfilled by “supporting communities and backing promises with resources,” especially as extreme weather and rising sea levels intensify the risks for hundreds of millions of people particularly in small developing island states and coastal areas.

Ban also pointed out, “Disaster risk reduction is a front-line defense against the impacts of climate change. It is a smart investment for business and a wise investment in saving lives.”

In a related statement in Tokyo on Friday, the president of the World Bank said identifying revenues for financing the hugely expensive disaster prevention program is important.

“So one of the things we’re trying to do (in the conference) is to really broaden our sense of all the resources available, to tackle what’s going to be a huge new agenda” that could cost trillions of dollars, Jim Yong Kim said.

Also speaking at the conference, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said more than 70 countries have been identified as being prone to extreme weather conditions, including typhoons, torrential rain, and storms, etc.

“The most exposed countries are the poorest,” Fabius said, adding, however, that rich countries are not immune to disasters, either.

Officials from African and several small Pacific island nations attending the conference echoed Fabius’ remarks.

The 4-day conference started Saturday in the wake of Cyclone Pam thrashing the small Pacific island nation of Vanuatu late Friday.

At least eight people have been killed and 20 others injured in the disaster.

The president of Vanuatu, Baldwin Lonsdale, who is also attending the conference, received the UN chief’s condolences and pledges of emergency support.

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