PHILIPPINES: Containing radioactive rumours
MANILA, 15 March 2011 (IRIN) - The Philippines sought to assure a panicked public on 15 March that a potential nuclear meltdown in Japan would not affect the country amid fears following widely circulated text messages - dismissed by the country's leading nuclear regulatory agency [ http://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php] as a prank - that warned Filipinos to wear raincoats outdoors, hunker down, and stockpile food and medicine because of an imminent radioactive hit.
In the Philippines, an estimated one billion text messages are sent every day. Some eight out of 10 people had mobile phones in 2009, according to the National Telecommunications Commission.
At least two public schools sent home their students after text messages spread quickly across the country's millions of mobile phone users, with anxious parents and office workers flooding emergency phone lines demanding to know what do in the case of contaminated rain, officials said.
"We have a national radiological emergency preparedness and response plan that was approved as early as 2000. We will put into action this existing plan if there is an emergency," said Philippine Nuclear Research Institute chief Alumanda dela Rosa.
"The level of alert at the moment is zero."
She said current wind models indicate that the Philippines, 3,000km southwest of Japan's coast, is not in the direct path of any air-borne radioactive material, which is currently blowing eastwards, according to regional monitoring agencies.
But even in a worst-case scenario in Japan, the impact on the Philippines will still be minimal, she said.
Health Secretary Enrique Ona said that at the moment there was no need to procure large amounts of iodine to counter possible contamination or quarantine people who transited through Japan.
"Let me be very clear. We don't see the necessity for that. However, we know where we get it if necessary. But we are not going to order it yet," Ona said, adding that the emergency medical personnel were on high alert just in case.
"Outrageous"
Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo said the public's mass hysteria was "outrageous" and that the government was capable of responding to any emergency related to Japan.
"The university that suspended classes yesterday did not ask us for any recommendation. I don't know how to describe it, except perhaps outrageous and weird that we would even think of suspending classes when in Japan itself classes and office work have resumed," Montejo said.
But for housewife Loida Valenzuela, 40, whose house was swept away by massive flooding that followed tropical storm Ketsana in 2009 [ http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=86362 ], extreme preparation is the only way to save lives.
Like Japan, the Philippines sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, and large parts of its urban areas sit atop fault lines. An estimated 20 typhoons, some of them destructive, batter the country annually, making it among the most disaster-prone places in the world.
"They can call me crazy anytime, but when I got that text yesterday [14 March], I just had to pull out my son from the university," said Valenzuela, whose 18-year-old son is a sophomore [second-year student] at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines that decided to call off classes as a result of the hoax.
"We already lost our house to Ondoy [local name for Ketsana] and I can't take any chances," she said.
Asked whether she does not believe government assurances, she said: "They've made wrong forecasts about typhoons in the past, so we're just being extra careful."
fv/pt/cb
[END]
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Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Prioritization of ICT-infused ‘disaster science’ pushed
Prioritization of ICT-infused ‘disaster science’ pushed
Submitted by Argilli Lydia on Tue, 15/03/2011 - 14:15
After the devastating 8.9-magnitude earthquake that hit Japan and the worldwide tsunami warnings that it triggered, a lawmaker has called for the development of an ICT-led “disaster science” in the Philippines to make the country better equipped to face natural calamities.
The Disaster Science Management Center (DSMC) is a project of the Congressional Commission on Science, Technology, and Engineering (Comste), which is primed to become a regional training center for disaster preparedness.The DSMC recently announced that that Sentinel Asia, an international project of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), has appointed Manila Observatory as a Data Analysis Node (DAN).
A joint study by Columbia University and the World Bank entitled ‘Natural Disaster Hotspots: A Global Risk Analysis’, which identifies countries which are at high risk for six major natural hazards: earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, floods, drought, and cyclones, has the Philippines pegged as one of riskiest countries in the world.
Published by: Newsbytes on March 14,2011
Full article: http://newsbytes.ph/2011/03/14/prioritization-of-ict-infused-%E2%80%98disaster-science%E2%80%99-pushed/
Submitted by Argilli Lydia on Tue, 15/03/2011 - 14:15
After the devastating 8.9-magnitude earthquake that hit Japan and the worldwide tsunami warnings that it triggered, a lawmaker has called for the development of an ICT-led “disaster science” in the Philippines to make the country better equipped to face natural calamities.
The Disaster Science Management Center (DSMC) is a project of the Congressional Commission on Science, Technology, and Engineering (Comste), which is primed to become a regional training center for disaster preparedness.The DSMC recently announced that that Sentinel Asia, an international project of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), has appointed Manila Observatory as a Data Analysis Node (DAN).
A joint study by Columbia University and the World Bank entitled ‘Natural Disaster Hotspots: A Global Risk Analysis’, which identifies countries which are at high risk for six major natural hazards: earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, floods, drought, and cyclones, has the Philippines pegged as one of riskiest countries in the world.
Published by: Newsbytes on March 14,2011
Full article: http://newsbytes.ph/2011/03/14/prioritization-of-ict-infused-%E2%80%98disaster-science%E2%80%99-pushed/
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
AID POLICY: Toolkit to boost response to rapid onset emergencies
humanitarian news and analysis
a service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
AID POLICY: Toolkit to boost response to rapid onset emergencies
BANGKOK, 15 March 2011 (IRIN) - Experts have developed an Emergency Market Mapping Analysis (EMMA) guidebook and training programme to improve the humanitarian community's ability to respond to rapid onset emergencies.
"Markets are critical to how people survive and run their lives. The most important thing to people is to be able to earn a living and get food on the table," Mike Albu, a market development consultant and EMMA developer, told IRIN. "Ultimately, once the emergency is resolved people need functioning markets to continue on with their lives."
Since 2007, the US Agency for International Development's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) has collaborated with experts from OXFAM, Save the Children and the International Rescue Committee, spending almost one million dollars to develop a 10-step guidebook, and train humanitarian practitioners to be able to conduct a market analysis in rapid onset emergency environments.
Coined EMMA, the procedure they have developed is appropriate for teams of 5-10 relief workers, providing a quick, rough-and-ready picture of the goods and services most critical to the survival of the local economy, in a matter of weeks. This enables practitioners, even those without market analysis expertise, to assess where aid could best support local livelihoods, making aid more efficient and effective.
EMMAs have already been conducted in 10 different countries around the world, including the recent Haiti earthquake (2010) and cyclone Nargis (2008) in Myanmar. By the end of 2011 almost 200 relief practitioners will be trained to use the toolkit, train others to use it, and to lead an EMMA mission in a rapid onset scenario.
More efficient aid
The knee-jerk response of the humanitarian community to a natural disaster or sudden onset emergency is often to immediately ship or airlift in commodities such as food, clothing and shelter, said Tony Stitt, a regional adviser with OFDA. But that response ignores local capacity and can lead to more expensive and less effective aid.
"In post-Nargis Myanmar, it cost around US$35 to ship a single plastic tarp from overseas, but only $60 to make a house locally out of thatch materials," said Stitt, who conducted market analysis in Myanmar following cyclone Nargis.
"Our analysis revealed that housing materials were readily available; people just needed money to buy them."
EMMAs can point out when a cash-based initiative (giving loans or vouchers to buy local goods) could be more effective, allowing relief organizations to spend less money and ultimately giving the local population more choice as to how they re-build.
Reducing dependency
Understanding the local market better also ensures that aid does not put local providers out of business, ensuring long-term economic recovery.
"Understanding the market helps us come up with not only a cost-effective and more efficient response but also gives us a better exit strategy," said Emily Henderson, an EMMA specialist and regional coordinator with OXFAM who led an EMMA mission in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake. "By providing aid through local food and shelter suppliers rather than simply replacing them, you reduce the dependence on foreign aid in the long-run."
In the future, EMMA reports of past disasters could be useful for disaster preparedness.
"Having a baseline analysis of critical markets, particularly in recurrent places like Haiti and Vietnam would make us better off the next time it hits," said Albu.
With that in mind, the developers have created a website where all EMMA reports will be posted and freely accessible.
cm/cb
Read report online
[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
Feedback | Terms & Conditions | News Feeds | About IRIN | Jobs | Donors
Copyright © IRIN 2011. All rights reserved. This material comes to you via IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations or its Member States. The boundaries, names and designations used on maps on this site and links to external sites do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the UN. Republication is subject to terms and conditions as set out in the IRIN copyright page.
a service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
AID POLICY: Toolkit to boost response to rapid onset emergencies
BANGKOK, 15 March 2011 (IRIN) - Experts have developed an Emergency Market Mapping Analysis (EMMA) guidebook and training programme to improve the humanitarian community's ability to respond to rapid onset emergencies.
"Markets are critical to how people survive and run their lives. The most important thing to people is to be able to earn a living and get food on the table," Mike Albu, a market development consultant and EMMA developer, told IRIN. "Ultimately, once the emergency is resolved people need functioning markets to continue on with their lives."
Since 2007, the US Agency for International Development's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) has collaborated with experts from OXFAM, Save the Children and the International Rescue Committee, spending almost one million dollars to develop a 10-step guidebook, and train humanitarian practitioners to be able to conduct a market analysis in rapid onset emergency environments.
Coined EMMA, the procedure they have developed is appropriate for teams of 5-10 relief workers, providing a quick, rough-and-ready picture of the goods and services most critical to the survival of the local economy, in a matter of weeks. This enables practitioners, even those without market analysis expertise, to assess where aid could best support local livelihoods, making aid more efficient and effective.
EMMAs have already been conducted in 10 different countries around the world, including the recent Haiti earthquake (2010) and cyclone Nargis (2008) in Myanmar. By the end of 2011 almost 200 relief practitioners will be trained to use the toolkit, train others to use it, and to lead an EMMA mission in a rapid onset scenario.
More efficient aid
The knee-jerk response of the humanitarian community to a natural disaster or sudden onset emergency is often to immediately ship or airlift in commodities such as food, clothing and shelter, said Tony Stitt, a regional adviser with OFDA. But that response ignores local capacity and can lead to more expensive and less effective aid.
"In post-Nargis Myanmar, it cost around US$35 to ship a single plastic tarp from overseas, but only $60 to make a house locally out of thatch materials," said Stitt, who conducted market analysis in Myanmar following cyclone Nargis.
"Our analysis revealed that housing materials were readily available; people just needed money to buy them."
EMMAs can point out when a cash-based initiative (giving loans or vouchers to buy local goods) could be more effective, allowing relief organizations to spend less money and ultimately giving the local population more choice as to how they re-build.
Reducing dependency
Understanding the local market better also ensures that aid does not put local providers out of business, ensuring long-term economic recovery.
"Understanding the market helps us come up with not only a cost-effective and more efficient response but also gives us a better exit strategy," said Emily Henderson, an EMMA specialist and regional coordinator with OXFAM who led an EMMA mission in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake. "By providing aid through local food and shelter suppliers rather than simply replacing them, you reduce the dependence on foreign aid in the long-run."
In the future, EMMA reports of past disasters could be useful for disaster preparedness.
"Having a baseline analysis of critical markets, particularly in recurrent places like Haiti and Vietnam would make us better off the next time it hits," said Albu.
With that in mind, the developers have created a website where all EMMA reports will be posted and freely accessible.
cm/cb
Read report online
[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
Feedback | Terms & Conditions | News Feeds | About IRIN | Jobs | Donors
Copyright © IRIN 2011. All rights reserved. This material comes to you via IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations or its Member States. The boundaries, names and designations used on maps on this site and links to external sites do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the UN. Republication is subject to terms and conditions as set out in the IRIN copyright page.
Top UN officials speak about the importance of disaster risk reduction following a massive earthquake off Japan's coast
Top UN officials speak about the importance of disaster risk reduction following a massive earthquake off Japan's coast
Type:News briefs
Date:14 Mar 2011
Source:United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Secretariat (UNISDR)
Language:English
Speaking to UN Radio, two of the UN's top officials on disaster reduction weigh in on the devastation caused by an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale that struck northeastern Japan on Friday and triggered a tsunami that engulfed coastal towns and cities along Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima prefectures. In the interviews, they highlighted the importance of disaster risk reduction and Japan's disaster preparedness.
Margareta Wahlström, UN Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, spoke to Gerry Adams about the international response and the preparedness measures taken by countries to reduce their disaster risk.
"After the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004, a lot of work has been invested in building early warning systems", said Ms. Wahlström when asked about what small island nations were doing to reduce their risk to disasters. She said many small island nations, such as Fiji, were given evacuation warnings hours before the tsunami reached these countries.
Sálvano Briceño, Director with the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, spoke to Rocío Franco about disaster preparedness in Japan and the risk and impact of a tsunami on the country and the rest of the world.
“In Japan, it’s a traditional effort to reduce their risk to disasters. And their education system includes the relevant information for children from very early ages to be aware and to be prepared to respond to these natural hazards.” Compared to earthquakes, tsunamis are a different hazard affecting a wider geographic area and population. They are high risk hazards since most populations are located along the coast, stressed Mr. Briceño.
Available here
UNISDR YouTube channel
Related Links
UN Secretary General on the earthquake that hit Japan
Type:News briefs
Date:14 Mar 2011
Source:United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Secretariat (UNISDR)
Language:English
Speaking to UN Radio, two of the UN's top officials on disaster reduction weigh in on the devastation caused by an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale that struck northeastern Japan on Friday and triggered a tsunami that engulfed coastal towns and cities along Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima prefectures. In the interviews, they highlighted the importance of disaster risk reduction and Japan's disaster preparedness.
Margareta Wahlström, UN Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, spoke to Gerry Adams about the international response and the preparedness measures taken by countries to reduce their disaster risk.
"After the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004, a lot of work has been invested in building early warning systems", said Ms. Wahlström when asked about what small island nations were doing to reduce their risk to disasters. She said many small island nations, such as Fiji, were given evacuation warnings hours before the tsunami reached these countries.
Sálvano Briceño, Director with the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, spoke to Rocío Franco about disaster preparedness in Japan and the risk and impact of a tsunami on the country and the rest of the world.
“In Japan, it’s a traditional effort to reduce their risk to disasters. And their education system includes the relevant information for children from very early ages to be aware and to be prepared to respond to these natural hazards.” Compared to earthquakes, tsunamis are a different hazard affecting a wider geographic area and population. They are high risk hazards since most populations are located along the coast, stressed Mr. Briceño.
Available here
UNISDR YouTube channel
Related Links
UN Secretary General on the earthquake that hit Japan
Friday, March 11, 2011
To build the resilience of nations and communities to disasters, we need equal and active participation of men and women in disaster risk reduction.
To build the resilience of nations and communities to disasters, we need equal and active participation of men and women in disaster risk reduction.
Type:News briefs
Date:8 Mar 2011
Source:United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Secretariat (UNISDR)
Language:English
Disasters affect men and women differently, and so we will continue to lobby for gender-sensitive vulnerability, risk and capacity assessments. Studies show that women’s vulnerabilities during and after disasters is linked to their role and status in society, making women and children 14 times more likely to die than men during a disaster.
At the same time, we will work towards increasing women’s understanding, knowledge and capacity on disaster risk reduction, and of its links with other development sectors. We will continue to encourage governments to invest in discovering women’s needs, so that women are better able to prepare for, and respond to, disasters.
However, advancing gender perspectives and women’s rights is not just a job for women – more men must advocate at a high level for the empowerment of women, and for the incorporation of gender budgeting into national and local development plans.
The United Nations has increased its leadership in gender issues and UN Women has been created for concerted action in promoting gender equality in and outside the United Nations system. For its part, the UNISDR secretariat has the mandate and responsibility for gender mainstreaming in disaster risk reduction, in line with the Hyogo Framework for Action adopted by 168 countries at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction in 2005.
Making disaster risk reduction gender sensitive will secure the equal participation of men and women in policy making and policy implementation in disaster risk reduction, making it possible to achieve disaster-resilient nations and communities. And, as the frequency and impact of climate-related disasters increases, UNISDR is committed to building a culture of prevention that is founded on the specific needs, voices, roles, and potential of women, men, boys, and girls.
***********
Margareta Wahlström
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Disaster Risk Reduction
March 2011
Related Links
UNISDR Publications: Gender and Disaster Risk Reduction
Contact Information
Other Details
UNISDR
9-11 Rue de Varemb
1202 Geneva, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 917 8908/8907
Fax: +41 22 917 8964
Type:News briefs
Date:8 Mar 2011
Source:United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Secretariat (UNISDR)
Language:English
Disasters affect men and women differently, and so we will continue to lobby for gender-sensitive vulnerability, risk and capacity assessments. Studies show that women’s vulnerabilities during and after disasters is linked to their role and status in society, making women and children 14 times more likely to die than men during a disaster.
At the same time, we will work towards increasing women’s understanding, knowledge and capacity on disaster risk reduction, and of its links with other development sectors. We will continue to encourage governments to invest in discovering women’s needs, so that women are better able to prepare for, and respond to, disasters.
However, advancing gender perspectives and women’s rights is not just a job for women – more men must advocate at a high level for the empowerment of women, and for the incorporation of gender budgeting into national and local development plans.
The United Nations has increased its leadership in gender issues and UN Women has been created for concerted action in promoting gender equality in and outside the United Nations system. For its part, the UNISDR secretariat has the mandate and responsibility for gender mainstreaming in disaster risk reduction, in line with the Hyogo Framework for Action adopted by 168 countries at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction in 2005.
Making disaster risk reduction gender sensitive will secure the equal participation of men and women in policy making and policy implementation in disaster risk reduction, making it possible to achieve disaster-resilient nations and communities. And, as the frequency and impact of climate-related disasters increases, UNISDR is committed to building a culture of prevention that is founded on the specific needs, voices, roles, and potential of women, men, boys, and girls.
***********
Margareta Wahlström
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Disaster Risk Reduction
March 2011
Related Links
UNISDR Publications: Gender and Disaster Risk Reduction
Contact Information
Other Details
UNISDR
9-11 Rue de Varemb
1202 Geneva, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 917 8908/8907
Fax: +41 22 917 8964
In times of dwindling resources, disaster risk reduction is an easy win
UNISDR
Description
Posted: Thursday, March 10, 2011
In times of dwindling resources, disaster risk reduction is an easy win
Type:Press release
Date:9 Mar 2011
Source:United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Secretariat (UNISDR)
Language:English
Geneva, Switzerland – A new report from the United Nations confirms what governments already hear but are slow to believe: that disciplined public sector involvement in “disaster risk reduction” can significantly reduce setbacks brought by hundreds of droughts, earthquakes, wildfires, hurricanes and other hazards that befall the world each year, on average.
Released today, the “Mid-Term Review of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters,” points out that a majority of countries have roadmaps for creating and safeguarding wealth, but many are lacking capacity. In some cases, there is capacity but no legal basis for coordination among the different government sectors.
“The world needs to hear from its leaders, ‘This fragmentation leads to weakness. The political, economic and social agenda is not complete if we can’t protect our wealth from the next earthquake or storm,’” says Ms. Wahlström, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction. “The report emphasizes that countries need to conduct risk assessments that lead to wiser development plans, to be carried out by institutions that are well-funded, well-coordinated and trustworthy.”
The report, written half-way through the ten-year mandate of the Hyogo Framework, analyses the findings from nine workshops around the world on disaster risk reduction, four online debates involving over 300 participants, six in-depth studies, a literature review and internal reviews conducted by major non-governmental organizations and bilateral and multilateral aid organizations.
Agreed in 2005, the Hyogo Framework for Action is the world’s only blueprint for staving off losses caused by natural hazards, often overshadowed by news on losses from war, unemployment or inflation. The earthquake in Haiti in January 2010 and New Zealand in September 2010 and February 2011, and the floods in Pakistan in July 2010 and in Australia in December 2010 are some recent examples of the devastating effects of disasters on lives and social and economic fabric of the societies.
According to the report, countries that regularly experience disasters have become more safety conscious. Those countries are now trying to ensure that disaster lessons are not forgotten, such as Japan with its National Day of Earthquake Remembrance and National Disaster Risk Reduction Day. Similar examples can be found in Bangladesh, Chile, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Madagascar, Mexico, Mozambique, and Vietnam.
Countries are also more serious about implementing the Hyogo Framework. The number of countries voluntarily reporting on progress through the “HFA Monitor,” developed after the 2005 World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe, has risen since the Framework came into being in 2005. During the first reporting cycle ending in 2007, 27 governments completed reports on HFA implementation. The number grew to 77 during the second reporting cycle, ending in 2009. For the cycle ending in 2011, more than 100 reports have been initiated nationally.
Many countries also have recently enacted laws relating to disaster risk reduction, among them India, Sri Lanka, El Salvador, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Anguilla (UK), Gambia, Indonesia, Egypt, Philippines, Zambia and Papua New Guinea. The report however notes that countries must strive for “a senior, over-arching authority” that can set policies, be accountable for how policies are carried out and ensure enough funds to sustain work in disaster risk reduction.
Ms. Wahlström cautioned: “We are still far from having empowered individuals adopt a disaster risk reduction approach in their daily lives. We need individuals to demand that development, environmental and humanitarian policies and practices be based on sound risk reduction measures.”
When the Hyogo Framework for Action ends in 2015, a successor framework for disaster risk reduction, was indicated in the report, should be based on “solid, structural links” with sustainable development and climate change international framework agreements.
Said Ms. Wahlström: “This report provides an opportunity to catalyze discussion and focus attention on activities that must be undertaken urgently if we are to achieve the outcome expected in the Hyogo Framework for Action by 2015 and contribute to setting the agenda for the Rio+20 world summit on sustainable development, planned for 2012.”
Available here
Press Release [PDF 26.66 KB]
Download the HFA Mid-Term Review
Related Links
HFA Mid-Term Review on PreventionWeb
Description
Posted: Thursday, March 10, 2011
In times of dwindling resources, disaster risk reduction is an easy win
Type:Press release
Date:9 Mar 2011
Source:United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Secretariat (UNISDR)
Language:English
Geneva, Switzerland – A new report from the United Nations confirms what governments already hear but are slow to believe: that disciplined public sector involvement in “disaster risk reduction” can significantly reduce setbacks brought by hundreds of droughts, earthquakes, wildfires, hurricanes and other hazards that befall the world each year, on average.
Released today, the “Mid-Term Review of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters,” points out that a majority of countries have roadmaps for creating and safeguarding wealth, but many are lacking capacity. In some cases, there is capacity but no legal basis for coordination among the different government sectors.
“The world needs to hear from its leaders, ‘This fragmentation leads to weakness. The political, economic and social agenda is not complete if we can’t protect our wealth from the next earthquake or storm,’” says Ms. Wahlström, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction. “The report emphasizes that countries need to conduct risk assessments that lead to wiser development plans, to be carried out by institutions that are well-funded, well-coordinated and trustworthy.”
The report, written half-way through the ten-year mandate of the Hyogo Framework, analyses the findings from nine workshops around the world on disaster risk reduction, four online debates involving over 300 participants, six in-depth studies, a literature review and internal reviews conducted by major non-governmental organizations and bilateral and multilateral aid organizations.
Agreed in 2005, the Hyogo Framework for Action is the world’s only blueprint for staving off losses caused by natural hazards, often overshadowed by news on losses from war, unemployment or inflation. The earthquake in Haiti in January 2010 and New Zealand in September 2010 and February 2011, and the floods in Pakistan in July 2010 and in Australia in December 2010 are some recent examples of the devastating effects of disasters on lives and social and economic fabric of the societies.
According to the report, countries that regularly experience disasters have become more safety conscious. Those countries are now trying to ensure that disaster lessons are not forgotten, such as Japan with its National Day of Earthquake Remembrance and National Disaster Risk Reduction Day. Similar examples can be found in Bangladesh, Chile, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Madagascar, Mexico, Mozambique, and Vietnam.
Countries are also more serious about implementing the Hyogo Framework. The number of countries voluntarily reporting on progress through the “HFA Monitor,” developed after the 2005 World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe, has risen since the Framework came into being in 2005. During the first reporting cycle ending in 2007, 27 governments completed reports on HFA implementation. The number grew to 77 during the second reporting cycle, ending in 2009. For the cycle ending in 2011, more than 100 reports have been initiated nationally.
Many countries also have recently enacted laws relating to disaster risk reduction, among them India, Sri Lanka, El Salvador, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Anguilla (UK), Gambia, Indonesia, Egypt, Philippines, Zambia and Papua New Guinea. The report however notes that countries must strive for “a senior, over-arching authority” that can set policies, be accountable for how policies are carried out and ensure enough funds to sustain work in disaster risk reduction.
Ms. Wahlström cautioned: “We are still far from having empowered individuals adopt a disaster risk reduction approach in their daily lives. We need individuals to demand that development, environmental and humanitarian policies and practices be based on sound risk reduction measures.”
When the Hyogo Framework for Action ends in 2015, a successor framework for disaster risk reduction, was indicated in the report, should be based on “solid, structural links” with sustainable development and climate change international framework agreements.
Said Ms. Wahlström: “This report provides an opportunity to catalyze discussion and focus attention on activities that must be undertaken urgently if we are to achieve the outcome expected in the Hyogo Framework for Action by 2015 and contribute to setting the agenda for the Rio+20 world summit on sustainable development, planned for 2012.”
Available here
Press Release [PDF 26.66 KB]
Download the HFA Mid-Term Review
Related Links
HFA Mid-Term Review on PreventionWeb
Managing floods through proactive governance
Managing floods through proactive governance March 2011
By N Vinod Chandra Menon
Indian officialdom is pioneering efforts to incorporate disaster management in development planning.
Art: Sworup Nhaisiju
Flood-preparedness measures are divided into structural and non-structural varieties. The former include embankments and related flood-protection walls, while the latter include measures such as zoning within floodplains, building shelters, raising the platforms of borewells and hand pumps above flood level, public-awareness campaigns and capacity-building for a range of preparedness. Forecasting and early-warning systems constitute another significant non-structural measure when dealing with flood-prone areas. In India, the Central Water Commission (CWC) has established a country-wide forecasting system, with alert information shared with all concerned state governments. During the monsoon season, data from 945 stations in the country’s 62 river sub-basins is collected, analysed and applied on a daily basis.
Let us start with a bit of historical context. During the British period, the agency mandated with disaster management in India was the Ministry of Agriculture, as the most frequent disasters in the Subcontinent were recurrent floods and famines. After Independence, the Ministry of Agriculture continued to play this role until as late as 1999, when an official review suggested formulating disaster-management plans at the national, state and district levels. One of the most significant recommendations included in the subsequent report of 2001 was to vest the Ministry of Home Affairs with responsibility for disaster management. Another important recommendation was to establish institutional mechanisms for disaster management, including an apex body at the national level and similar institutions at the state and district levels.
The Indian Ocean tsunami, in December 2004, was a major turning point in understanding the need for comprehensive disaster-management approaches. A year later, the government enacted the Disaster Management Act, following which the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA, of which this writer is a former member) was established and took on the apex role. The NDMA’s executive committee is headed by the home secretary, and its membership includes the secretaries of 14 key ministries; this body performs the tasks related to the implementation of the policy, plans and guidelines. The Disaster Management Act of 2005 also mandated the establishment of State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs), headed by the chief ministers of the states of India, as well as District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMAs), headed by district collectors and co-chaired by the elected representative of the respective zilla parishads.
Serious challenges still remain in disseminating alert and early-warning information to flood-prone communities themselves. With the spread of new telecommunication technologies, multiple communication channels are today being used to try to get this critical information ‘the last mile’. The CWC currently operates a network of 878 hydro-meteorological observation sites and disseminates flood forecasts, alert and early-warning messages through a countrywide network of over 500 wireless stations to district authorities; this is now buttressing telephone, telex, fax, satellite and VoIP (Internet telephone) facilities for communicating early-warning messages to various authorities. This has helped to reduce the loss of lives and disruption to livelihoods to a large extent.
From the district headquarters to taluka and tehsil levels, phone, fax and wireless communication is often used. From the tehsil headquarters to villages and smaller settlements, wireless, phone and mobile phones are used. At the very lowest level, even loudspeakers are used to spread evacuation messages. These multiple channels of communication have been used by various agencies to transmit alert and early-warning messages over the past several years. In the recent past, however, innovative approaches have also been attempted by civil-society organisations in several disaster-prone areas to disseminate these messages to the community level, deploying combinations of communication media, including wireless communication supplemented by public-address systems.
The CWC has also deployed automatic water-level-monitoring sensors and tidal gauges with satellite-based transmitters. These can transmit information on rising water levels to designated control rooms, which in turn communicate with district authorities who are tasked with alerting flood-prone communities. During monsoon season, these messages are sent two or three times a day – and during peak flood situations, even hourly. Agencies such as the Indian Meteorological Department, Ministry of Water Resources and Ministry of Earth Sciences also use remote sensing information to identify areas that are likely to be inundated, backed by scenario analysis and simulation models. The CWC uses 175 stations for flood forecasting, of which 147 are for river stage forecast and 28 stations are for flow forecast. These stations are spread over nine major river basins in the country. The 147 ‘river stage’ forecast stations use sensors to monitor the water levels in the rivers that flood regularly, and transmit messages to designated control rooms for onward transmission to government officials. The 28 ‘flow forecast’ stations are located at critical locations for monitoring the inflow into the rivers, especially from reservoirs that release water when their water level rises.
Heads together
Given the nature of Southasian rivers, floods in India are frequently the result of waters coming from across the borders in Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet/China and Bangladesh. An Indo-Bangladesh Joint River Commission, headed by the water ministers of both countries, has been functioning since 1972, tasked with monitoring all concerns related to common rivers. Since 1989, Kathmandu and New Delhi have been maintaining 42 monitoring stations in Nepal and 18 in India to monitor flooding situations in rivers common to the two countries. In addition, 35 stations are maintained by the Bhutanese government, which shares all such information with New Delhi.
In 2002, New Delhi and Beijing also signed an agreement for information-sharing related to water levels on the Tsangpo Siang/Brahmaputra at three sites; during the monsoon, Indian officials receive this information twice a day. In 2005, another agreement was signed with China to establish a monitoring station in Tibet on the Sutlej river (Langquin Zangbu), and again to share information with New Delhi twice a day. As envisaged in the Indus Water Treaty in 1960, India and Pakistan have created permanent posts – Commissioners for Indus Waters – in each government, and together they form the Permanent Indus Commission. India shares daily data from 280 hydrological sites in six basins of the Indus system every month with counterparts in Pakistan. For the rivers of the Indus system, India also shares priority telegrams, telephone messages and radio broadcasts with Pakistan based on monitoring. These messages are sent to the Indus Commissioner’s Office in Pakistan and, depending on the nature of the message, appropriate channels are chosen for the communication.
While these constitute relatively good starts, crossborder information needs to be made available on a real-time basis if appropriate flood-preparedness measures are to be initiated by local communities after early warnings. Trans-boundary concerns on disaster-related information-sharing have been discussed at several bilateral and regional meetings. But inter-governmental platforms (such as SAARC and ASEAN) as well as relevant institutions (such as the new SAARC Disaster Management Centre and ICIMOD, the mountain-focused agency) have yet to place adequate priority on these concerns and improve coordination for effective data-sharing. Most of these issues have been treated as concerns to be addressed bilaterally, but the solutions tend to be ones that require a regional focus. The potential of bilateral agreements has yet to reach its full strength, typically due to other contentious undercurrents between the governments.
There is also a pressing need to document successful flood-management practices, and to share this information with flood-prone communities. Eventually, there will also need to be a widespread risk assessment and vulnerability analysis of flood-prone areas, including the preparation of highly detailed base maps. In the case of most river basins, the CWC and the Ministry of Water Resources have carried out studies, but more needs to be done in terms of scenario analysis and modelling. Still, one of the most important mitigation measures remains the simple preventive maintenance of embankments and flood-protection walls. To date, embankment maintenance, desilting, canal repair and constant monitoring of field channels have been neglected by most state governments, often due to resource constraints and the low priority assigned to these tasks under a ‘business as usual’ approach.
Due to improvements in early warning and flood forecasting, district authorities in India can today initiate proactive evacuation action. In areas that face recurrent flooding, zones that can serve as temporary relief camps are identified in advance, and arrangements are being made for safe drinking water, sanitation and health facilities. Local youths are also being trained to carry out search-and-rescue operations, and to evacuate individuals caught in flooding. Training programmes and mock drills have been conducted in flood-prone areas to teach people to make rafts from locally available materials, and to prepare improvised life-saving equipment. Flood-prone communities are also being provided training in preparing emergency relief kits, and storing valuables and important documents in safe locations in their houses.
After the immediate crisis of the flooding has passed, transparency in the distribution of relief assistance to flood-affected people is widely known to improve confidence levels in affected communities. The publication of relief entitlements – on, for instance, gram panchayat notice boards – can help in ensuring that there are no leakages, and also guarantee that eligible individuals are not deprived from the assistance they are owed.
Local youth volunteers must be made aware of the possibility of the spread of water-borne diseases after the onset of floods, as hand pumps and borewells frequently become contaminated by muddy water during and after floods. Similarly, the disposal of animal carcasses and the cremation of the deceased also require special care in such situations. The caregivers in each community must be trained to provide psycho-social support and mental health care, as some of those who have lost their relatives, lands, houses or assets will undoubtedly be traumatised, and might need help to overcome their grief and trauma.
Planning ahead
In the aftermath of the Kosi floods of 2008, the Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka floods of 2009 and the Uttarakhand floods of 2010, the state governments cumulatively estimated the damage caused at some INR 800 billion. If the capacities for disaster preparedness, mitigation and emergency response had been strong enough, most of these losses could have been prevented. For the sake of comparison, note that for the period 2005-10 around INR 213.3 billion had been earmarked for India-wide disaster management. The gap between this and the actual losses clearly highlights the strong justification for investing in strengthening disaster preparedness, mitigation and emergency response. So far, most governments have only reacted to disasters after the fact, typically by providing relief assistance to affected communities. More recently, however, the emphasis has shifted to strengthening pre-disaster preparedness, capacity-building of local communities and introducing disaster-related risk-reduction interventions.
In the tenth Five-Year Plan (2002-07), the National Planning Commission for the first time introduced a separate chapter on disaster management, which focused on looking at disasters from a development perspective. ‘Development programmes that go into promoting development at the local level have been left to the general exercise of planning,’ it read.
Measures need also to be taken to integrate disaster mitigation efforts at the local level with the general exercise of planning, and a more supportive environment created for initiatives towards managing of disasters at all levels: national, state, district and local. The future blue-print for disaster management in India rests on the premise that in today’s society while hazards, both natural or otherwise, are inevitable, the disasters that follow need not be so and the society can be prepared to cope with them effectively whenever they occur … the compounded costs of disasters relating to loss of life, loss of assets, economic activities, and cost of reconstruction of not only assets but of lives can scarcely be borne by any community or nation.
During the early stages of drawing up strategies for inclusive growth for the 11th Five-Year Plan (2008-13), the Planning Commission set up a working group chaired by a Member of the NDMA to work out ways to incorporate disaster management in development planning. Based on subsequent recommendations, the 11th Five-Year Plan extended the spirit of the transition initiated in its predecessor, aiming to give ‘impetus to projects and programmes that develop and nurture the culture of safety and the integration of disaster prevention and mitigation into the development process.’ It also noted that ‘the guidance and direction to achieve this paradigm shift’ would be expected to come specifically from the NDMA.
The Planning Commission further explained that ‘mainstreaming’ disaster management into development planning means looking at every part of that process ‘not only from the perspective of reducing the disaster vulnerability of that activity, but also from the perspective of minimising that activity’s potential contribution to the hazard.’ Examples of such an approach include zoning and urban planning, upgrading and enforcing building codes, adopting disaster-resilient building designs, expanding insurance and early warning systems, and creating additional technical competence among a range of engineers, etc.
In consultation with the Planning Commission, the NDMA and concerned ministries have worked out ways to scrutinise the incorporation of disaster management concerns in development plans throughout the central and state governments. For instance, if hospitals or school buildings have to be constructed in areas of high seismic risk, their design must incorporate earthquake-resistant construction techniques. Similarly, if roads are to be built in areas that are prone to flooding or storm surges, the specifications require that these are built in such a way that they cannot be washed away during the monsoon season or when the rains arrive. These now have to be complied with while submitting any plan proposal before the Planning Commission. In so doing, the Indian government has become one of the first in Southasia (and one of the leading examples around the world) to operationalise the mainstreaming of disaster management in development plans. The 12th Five-Year Plan is likewise expected to build on this success by institutionalising the processes within the development-planning framework in the central and state governments.
New roles
As local communities are always the first to respond to a disaster situation, the Indian government is encouraging the involvement of all stakeholders in strengthening community-based disaster management through comprehensive training programmes, public-awareness campaigns, mock drills and so on. This is one of the pillars of the National Policy for Disaster Management, as officially approved in October 2009. While formulating individual State Disaster Management Policies, many state governments have also started to apply these principles for emphasising communities in disaster preparedness, disaster-related risk reduction, mitigation and emergency response, rehabilitation and recovery.
Over the past few years, disaster situations in India have also witnessed changing roles of women, from passive victims to agents of social change. During the immediate aftermath of the 2004 tsunami, women in many villages mobilised their own savings to provide necessary support to affected communities, and even financed some risk-reduction initiatives for their villages. This transformed the quality of life of the disaster-prone communities through large scale social-mobilisation efforts. Examples can be seen in improved levels of confidence and community resilience among women’s groups in many disaster-prone communities, and the success stories of replication of Community Disaster Resilience Funds in thousands of villages due to women-led initiatives in several states.
Special efforts are also being made to create a culture of disaster preparedness, mitigation, risk reduction and emergency response among children and youths, including through changes to curricula. The Committee on Boards of Secondary Education, the All India Council on Technical Education, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, the University Grants Commission, the Indian Medical Council and others have reviewed the curricula of relevant educational programmes by setting up expert working groups, and carried out necessary revisions in the curricula of schools, higher education and professional education. Special efforts are also being made to involve youths in NCC, NSS and Nehru Yuvak Kendra (a voluntary youth organisation supported by the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, with state, district and sub-district presence) in improving disaster preparedness in their neighbourhoods.
An empowered community – one that is aware about the disaster-related vulnerability of their local area and capable enough to address the challenges of establishing temporary relief camps, providing safe drinking water, sanitation and health services, and managing a system of transparent assessment of damages and distribution of relief assistance – is clearly one of the most important parts of any effective disaster-management system. Public awareness campaigns and capacity-building initiatives are being launched with the help of elected representatives, NGOs, self-help groups and related small-scale organisations. Due to the myriad experiences that have evolved through the years, successful coping strategies of communities which have been living with floods historically will have to be documented and widely shared.
Fragile governance systems will always pose serious challenges in improved flood preparedness, mitigation and emergency response. In the context of disaster management, good governance (especially transparency, accountability, inclusion, non-discrimination, etc) cannot be left as a responsibility of the government alone. Rather, besides the community, corporate sector, civil society and multi-disciplinary professionals all have to contribute to identify possible emerging risks and vulnerabilities, developing worst-case scenarios and preparing to face them in advance by developing local capacities through training, mock drills, awareness campaigns, participatory risk assessment and vulnerability analysis exercises, and capturing the wisdom of elderly people in understanding coping strategies. Natural disasters are often caused by human interference with nature, and also by lack of effective coordination among multiple entities with overlapping mandates. Recent experiences thus underline a need to carry out frank diagnostics of the failure of governance systems in disaster-prone areas.
The impact of the various planning interventions mentioned above is already being seen, in reducing the loss of lives due to flooding in several parts of India. Even though the lives of about 200 million people are affected by floods during the worst such years in India, the number of lives lost due to flooding has been declining. The real challenge continues to be to reduce the economic damage caused by the floods, especially by reducing the number of houses, the hundreds of kilometres of roads and the community assets and rural infrastructure destroyed and damaged by flooding every year. Even though efforts have begun in mainstreaming disaster management in development planning at the national level, the institutionalisation of these efforts at the state, district and sub-district levels continue to remain serious challenges. The involvement of all stakeholder groups is required to meet these challenges in making disaster-prone communities take greater responsibility for disaster risk reduction in their local neighbourhoods.
-- N Vinod Chandra Menon is a former member of the Indian government’s National Disaster.
By N Vinod Chandra Menon
Indian officialdom is pioneering efforts to incorporate disaster management in development planning.
Art: Sworup Nhaisiju
Flood-preparedness measures are divided into structural and non-structural varieties. The former include embankments and related flood-protection walls, while the latter include measures such as zoning within floodplains, building shelters, raising the platforms of borewells and hand pumps above flood level, public-awareness campaigns and capacity-building for a range of preparedness. Forecasting and early-warning systems constitute another significant non-structural measure when dealing with flood-prone areas. In India, the Central Water Commission (CWC) has established a country-wide forecasting system, with alert information shared with all concerned state governments. During the monsoon season, data from 945 stations in the country’s 62 river sub-basins is collected, analysed and applied on a daily basis.
Let us start with a bit of historical context. During the British period, the agency mandated with disaster management in India was the Ministry of Agriculture, as the most frequent disasters in the Subcontinent were recurrent floods and famines. After Independence, the Ministry of Agriculture continued to play this role until as late as 1999, when an official review suggested formulating disaster-management plans at the national, state and district levels. One of the most significant recommendations included in the subsequent report of 2001 was to vest the Ministry of Home Affairs with responsibility for disaster management. Another important recommendation was to establish institutional mechanisms for disaster management, including an apex body at the national level and similar institutions at the state and district levels.
The Indian Ocean tsunami, in December 2004, was a major turning point in understanding the need for comprehensive disaster-management approaches. A year later, the government enacted the Disaster Management Act, following which the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA, of which this writer is a former member) was established and took on the apex role. The NDMA’s executive committee is headed by the home secretary, and its membership includes the secretaries of 14 key ministries; this body performs the tasks related to the implementation of the policy, plans and guidelines. The Disaster Management Act of 2005 also mandated the establishment of State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs), headed by the chief ministers of the states of India, as well as District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMAs), headed by district collectors and co-chaired by the elected representative of the respective zilla parishads.
Serious challenges still remain in disseminating alert and early-warning information to flood-prone communities themselves. With the spread of new telecommunication technologies, multiple communication channels are today being used to try to get this critical information ‘the last mile’. The CWC currently operates a network of 878 hydro-meteorological observation sites and disseminates flood forecasts, alert and early-warning messages through a countrywide network of over 500 wireless stations to district authorities; this is now buttressing telephone, telex, fax, satellite and VoIP (Internet telephone) facilities for communicating early-warning messages to various authorities. This has helped to reduce the loss of lives and disruption to livelihoods to a large extent.
From the district headquarters to taluka and tehsil levels, phone, fax and wireless communication is often used. From the tehsil headquarters to villages and smaller settlements, wireless, phone and mobile phones are used. At the very lowest level, even loudspeakers are used to spread evacuation messages. These multiple channels of communication have been used by various agencies to transmit alert and early-warning messages over the past several years. In the recent past, however, innovative approaches have also been attempted by civil-society organisations in several disaster-prone areas to disseminate these messages to the community level, deploying combinations of communication media, including wireless communication supplemented by public-address systems.
The CWC has also deployed automatic water-level-monitoring sensors and tidal gauges with satellite-based transmitters. These can transmit information on rising water levels to designated control rooms, which in turn communicate with district authorities who are tasked with alerting flood-prone communities. During monsoon season, these messages are sent two or three times a day – and during peak flood situations, even hourly. Agencies such as the Indian Meteorological Department, Ministry of Water Resources and Ministry of Earth Sciences also use remote sensing information to identify areas that are likely to be inundated, backed by scenario analysis and simulation models. The CWC uses 175 stations for flood forecasting, of which 147 are for river stage forecast and 28 stations are for flow forecast. These stations are spread over nine major river basins in the country. The 147 ‘river stage’ forecast stations use sensors to monitor the water levels in the rivers that flood regularly, and transmit messages to designated control rooms for onward transmission to government officials. The 28 ‘flow forecast’ stations are located at critical locations for monitoring the inflow into the rivers, especially from reservoirs that release water when their water level rises.
Heads together
Given the nature of Southasian rivers, floods in India are frequently the result of waters coming from across the borders in Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet/China and Bangladesh. An Indo-Bangladesh Joint River Commission, headed by the water ministers of both countries, has been functioning since 1972, tasked with monitoring all concerns related to common rivers. Since 1989, Kathmandu and New Delhi have been maintaining 42 monitoring stations in Nepal and 18 in India to monitor flooding situations in rivers common to the two countries. In addition, 35 stations are maintained by the Bhutanese government, which shares all such information with New Delhi.
In 2002, New Delhi and Beijing also signed an agreement for information-sharing related to water levels on the Tsangpo Siang/Brahmaputra at three sites; during the monsoon, Indian officials receive this information twice a day. In 2005, another agreement was signed with China to establish a monitoring station in Tibet on the Sutlej river (Langquin Zangbu), and again to share information with New Delhi twice a day. As envisaged in the Indus Water Treaty in 1960, India and Pakistan have created permanent posts – Commissioners for Indus Waters – in each government, and together they form the Permanent Indus Commission. India shares daily data from 280 hydrological sites in six basins of the Indus system every month with counterparts in Pakistan. For the rivers of the Indus system, India also shares priority telegrams, telephone messages and radio broadcasts with Pakistan based on monitoring. These messages are sent to the Indus Commissioner’s Office in Pakistan and, depending on the nature of the message, appropriate channels are chosen for the communication.
While these constitute relatively good starts, crossborder information needs to be made available on a real-time basis if appropriate flood-preparedness measures are to be initiated by local communities after early warnings. Trans-boundary concerns on disaster-related information-sharing have been discussed at several bilateral and regional meetings. But inter-governmental platforms (such as SAARC and ASEAN) as well as relevant institutions (such as the new SAARC Disaster Management Centre and ICIMOD, the mountain-focused agency) have yet to place adequate priority on these concerns and improve coordination for effective data-sharing. Most of these issues have been treated as concerns to be addressed bilaterally, but the solutions tend to be ones that require a regional focus. The potential of bilateral agreements has yet to reach its full strength, typically due to other contentious undercurrents between the governments.
There is also a pressing need to document successful flood-management practices, and to share this information with flood-prone communities. Eventually, there will also need to be a widespread risk assessment and vulnerability analysis of flood-prone areas, including the preparation of highly detailed base maps. In the case of most river basins, the CWC and the Ministry of Water Resources have carried out studies, but more needs to be done in terms of scenario analysis and modelling. Still, one of the most important mitigation measures remains the simple preventive maintenance of embankments and flood-protection walls. To date, embankment maintenance, desilting, canal repair and constant monitoring of field channels have been neglected by most state governments, often due to resource constraints and the low priority assigned to these tasks under a ‘business as usual’ approach.
Due to improvements in early warning and flood forecasting, district authorities in India can today initiate proactive evacuation action. In areas that face recurrent flooding, zones that can serve as temporary relief camps are identified in advance, and arrangements are being made for safe drinking water, sanitation and health facilities. Local youths are also being trained to carry out search-and-rescue operations, and to evacuate individuals caught in flooding. Training programmes and mock drills have been conducted in flood-prone areas to teach people to make rafts from locally available materials, and to prepare improvised life-saving equipment. Flood-prone communities are also being provided training in preparing emergency relief kits, and storing valuables and important documents in safe locations in their houses.
After the immediate crisis of the flooding has passed, transparency in the distribution of relief assistance to flood-affected people is widely known to improve confidence levels in affected communities. The publication of relief entitlements – on, for instance, gram panchayat notice boards – can help in ensuring that there are no leakages, and also guarantee that eligible individuals are not deprived from the assistance they are owed.
Local youth volunteers must be made aware of the possibility of the spread of water-borne diseases after the onset of floods, as hand pumps and borewells frequently become contaminated by muddy water during and after floods. Similarly, the disposal of animal carcasses and the cremation of the deceased also require special care in such situations. The caregivers in each community must be trained to provide psycho-social support and mental health care, as some of those who have lost their relatives, lands, houses or assets will undoubtedly be traumatised, and might need help to overcome their grief and trauma.
Planning ahead
In the aftermath of the Kosi floods of 2008, the Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka floods of 2009 and the Uttarakhand floods of 2010, the state governments cumulatively estimated the damage caused at some INR 800 billion. If the capacities for disaster preparedness, mitigation and emergency response had been strong enough, most of these losses could have been prevented. For the sake of comparison, note that for the period 2005-10 around INR 213.3 billion had been earmarked for India-wide disaster management. The gap between this and the actual losses clearly highlights the strong justification for investing in strengthening disaster preparedness, mitigation and emergency response. So far, most governments have only reacted to disasters after the fact, typically by providing relief assistance to affected communities. More recently, however, the emphasis has shifted to strengthening pre-disaster preparedness, capacity-building of local communities and introducing disaster-related risk-reduction interventions.
In the tenth Five-Year Plan (2002-07), the National Planning Commission for the first time introduced a separate chapter on disaster management, which focused on looking at disasters from a development perspective. ‘Development programmes that go into promoting development at the local level have been left to the general exercise of planning,’ it read.
Measures need also to be taken to integrate disaster mitigation efforts at the local level with the general exercise of planning, and a more supportive environment created for initiatives towards managing of disasters at all levels: national, state, district and local. The future blue-print for disaster management in India rests on the premise that in today’s society while hazards, both natural or otherwise, are inevitable, the disasters that follow need not be so and the society can be prepared to cope with them effectively whenever they occur … the compounded costs of disasters relating to loss of life, loss of assets, economic activities, and cost of reconstruction of not only assets but of lives can scarcely be borne by any community or nation.
During the early stages of drawing up strategies for inclusive growth for the 11th Five-Year Plan (2008-13), the Planning Commission set up a working group chaired by a Member of the NDMA to work out ways to incorporate disaster management in development planning. Based on subsequent recommendations, the 11th Five-Year Plan extended the spirit of the transition initiated in its predecessor, aiming to give ‘impetus to projects and programmes that develop and nurture the culture of safety and the integration of disaster prevention and mitigation into the development process.’ It also noted that ‘the guidance and direction to achieve this paradigm shift’ would be expected to come specifically from the NDMA.
The Planning Commission further explained that ‘mainstreaming’ disaster management into development planning means looking at every part of that process ‘not only from the perspective of reducing the disaster vulnerability of that activity, but also from the perspective of minimising that activity’s potential contribution to the hazard.’ Examples of such an approach include zoning and urban planning, upgrading and enforcing building codes, adopting disaster-resilient building designs, expanding insurance and early warning systems, and creating additional technical competence among a range of engineers, etc.
In consultation with the Planning Commission, the NDMA and concerned ministries have worked out ways to scrutinise the incorporation of disaster management concerns in development plans throughout the central and state governments. For instance, if hospitals or school buildings have to be constructed in areas of high seismic risk, their design must incorporate earthquake-resistant construction techniques. Similarly, if roads are to be built in areas that are prone to flooding or storm surges, the specifications require that these are built in such a way that they cannot be washed away during the monsoon season or when the rains arrive. These now have to be complied with while submitting any plan proposal before the Planning Commission. In so doing, the Indian government has become one of the first in Southasia (and one of the leading examples around the world) to operationalise the mainstreaming of disaster management in development plans. The 12th Five-Year Plan is likewise expected to build on this success by institutionalising the processes within the development-planning framework in the central and state governments.
New roles
As local communities are always the first to respond to a disaster situation, the Indian government is encouraging the involvement of all stakeholders in strengthening community-based disaster management through comprehensive training programmes, public-awareness campaigns, mock drills and so on. This is one of the pillars of the National Policy for Disaster Management, as officially approved in October 2009. While formulating individual State Disaster Management Policies, many state governments have also started to apply these principles for emphasising communities in disaster preparedness, disaster-related risk reduction, mitigation and emergency response, rehabilitation and recovery.
Over the past few years, disaster situations in India have also witnessed changing roles of women, from passive victims to agents of social change. During the immediate aftermath of the 2004 tsunami, women in many villages mobilised their own savings to provide necessary support to affected communities, and even financed some risk-reduction initiatives for their villages. This transformed the quality of life of the disaster-prone communities through large scale social-mobilisation efforts. Examples can be seen in improved levels of confidence and community resilience among women’s groups in many disaster-prone communities, and the success stories of replication of Community Disaster Resilience Funds in thousands of villages due to women-led initiatives in several states.
Special efforts are also being made to create a culture of disaster preparedness, mitigation, risk reduction and emergency response among children and youths, including through changes to curricula. The Committee on Boards of Secondary Education, the All India Council on Technical Education, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, the University Grants Commission, the Indian Medical Council and others have reviewed the curricula of relevant educational programmes by setting up expert working groups, and carried out necessary revisions in the curricula of schools, higher education and professional education. Special efforts are also being made to involve youths in NCC, NSS and Nehru Yuvak Kendra (a voluntary youth organisation supported by the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, with state, district and sub-district presence) in improving disaster preparedness in their neighbourhoods.
An empowered community – one that is aware about the disaster-related vulnerability of their local area and capable enough to address the challenges of establishing temporary relief camps, providing safe drinking water, sanitation and health services, and managing a system of transparent assessment of damages and distribution of relief assistance – is clearly one of the most important parts of any effective disaster-management system. Public awareness campaigns and capacity-building initiatives are being launched with the help of elected representatives, NGOs, self-help groups and related small-scale organisations. Due to the myriad experiences that have evolved through the years, successful coping strategies of communities which have been living with floods historically will have to be documented and widely shared.
Fragile governance systems will always pose serious challenges in improved flood preparedness, mitigation and emergency response. In the context of disaster management, good governance (especially transparency, accountability, inclusion, non-discrimination, etc) cannot be left as a responsibility of the government alone. Rather, besides the community, corporate sector, civil society and multi-disciplinary professionals all have to contribute to identify possible emerging risks and vulnerabilities, developing worst-case scenarios and preparing to face them in advance by developing local capacities through training, mock drills, awareness campaigns, participatory risk assessment and vulnerability analysis exercises, and capturing the wisdom of elderly people in understanding coping strategies. Natural disasters are often caused by human interference with nature, and also by lack of effective coordination among multiple entities with overlapping mandates. Recent experiences thus underline a need to carry out frank diagnostics of the failure of governance systems in disaster-prone areas.
The impact of the various planning interventions mentioned above is already being seen, in reducing the loss of lives due to flooding in several parts of India. Even though the lives of about 200 million people are affected by floods during the worst such years in India, the number of lives lost due to flooding has been declining. The real challenge continues to be to reduce the economic damage caused by the floods, especially by reducing the number of houses, the hundreds of kilometres of roads and the community assets and rural infrastructure destroyed and damaged by flooding every year. Even though efforts have begun in mainstreaming disaster management in development planning at the national level, the institutionalisation of these efforts at the state, district and sub-district levels continue to remain serious challenges. The involvement of all stakeholder groups is required to meet these challenges in making disaster-prone communities take greater responsibility for disaster risk reduction in their local neighbourhoods.
-- N Vinod Chandra Menon is a former member of the Indian government’s National Disaster.
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