One of the immediate and common effects of disasters usually involves damage to water supply, sewerage, and drainage systems, as well as damage to basic sanitation services. The multi-agency publication The Challenge in Disaster Reduction for the Water and Sanitation Sector: improving quality of life by reducing vulnerabilities illustrates the severity of the situation for the disaster-affected population when problems are compounded by the absence of safe water. Along with real examples, it describes actions that can be taken to reduce the vulnerability of water and sanitation systems.