On January 17 – 20, 2011 the organizing committee for ENHANS (Extreme Natural Hazards and Societal Implications) invited researchers from all over the world to attend a workshop in Pretoria, South Africa on Extreme Natural Hazards and Disasters in Africa, which was co-sponsored by the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG), Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR) International Geographical Union (IGU), International Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS), International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (IUTAM), Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, UNESCO, and American Geophysical Union. The workshop provided an opportunity to the research community in Africa and other countries to discuss and analyse topics related to disaster risk. In the first session of the workshop Dr Jane E. Rovins presented on the behalf of IRDR on Integrated Disaster Risk: From Research to Practice, in the fourth session her and Sálvano Briceño moderated the discussion on Disaster Risk Reduction and Mitigation in Africa, its current state and perspectives. IRDR Science Committee members Djillali Benouar (Algeria) and Colleen Vogel (South Africa) also presented.