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Disaster Risk management

N.M.S.I.ARAMBEPOLAPROGRAM MANAGER

ASIAN URBAN DISASTER MITIGATION PROGRAM(AUDMP)

Objectives of the discussion

• Distinguish between disaster management and risk management

• Explain selected models of disaster management• Describe the strategies for risk mitigation• List activities needed for post-disaster

management

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ASIA IS WORLD’S MOST DISASTER AFFECTED REGION IN THE WORLD

In Asia

every year

46,000 people killed180 million people affected

USD 35 billion of damage

caused by disasters

Based on World Disasters Report 1997Based on World Disasters Report 1997

34%

88%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Cyclones Floods Volcanoes Overall

C & S AmericaPacificAsia

Migration of population to cities

Densely populated Communities

More people living on marginal lands

Negative Consequences of Negative Consequences of DevelopmentDevelopment

Greater unplanned settlements due to land scarcity

High risk due to natural and manmade hazards

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Vulnerability scenario in the future

• Migration of rural population to urban will demand more economic activities for creating more employment

• Create in scarcity of inhabitable land,value appreciation of available land,value depreciation of land in hazard prone areas

• High demand for infrastructure development

• Create in an un-affordability of quality construction

• Will lead to likelihood of high damages and losses

Results due to high exposure of

Infrastructure

• Increased vulnerability to Primary hazards such as earthquakes, floods, cyclones etc.

• Potential high impact due to secondary hazards like urban fire, technological and other accidents etc

• High environmental problems and inconvenience to urban populations

• More control measures to save facilities,innovative design options are needed

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Climate for investment in infrastructure and other types of development is not encouraging in most of our countries

• In most cities problems connected to governance has become normal.In most cases power sharing is seen with central government.Most areas in city are controlled by central government.

• Infrastructure facilities are shared by many LGs and CG• Mitigation initiatives are not acceptable to all.• Urbanization accompanied by significant increase in the scale of poverty

of urban population has put pressure on city administration.They can not get revenue from poor but services have to be provided

• Urban poverty disproportionately affects weaker layers and fuels tensions (such as ethnic and racial tensions),gender sensitivity,less attention to disable groups etc

• Growth of disparities between affluent and disposed will create different units such as divided cities within a city

Disaster risk management

• Disaster management can be defined as the effective organization, direction and utilization of available counter-disaster resources

• The modern view is that there must be pre-disaster mitigation measures to avoid or reduce impact of disasters. Pre-disaster measures to prevent or mitigate disasters are called Risk Management

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What is Management?• Management consists of decision-making activities

undertaken by one or more individuals to direct and coordinate the activities of other people in order to achieve results, which could not be accomplished by any one person acting alone.

• Management is required when two or more persons combine their efforts and resources to accomplish a goal, which neither can accomplish alone.

What is disaster risk management?

• Disaster risk management includes administrative decisions and operational activities that involve

• Prevention• Mitigation• Preparedness• Response• Recovery and• Rehabilitation.Disaster risk management involves all levels of government. Non-

governmental and community-based organizations play a vital role in the process.

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Traditional model-DM cycle

• The traditional approach to disaster management has been to regard it as a number of phased sequences of action or a continuum.

• These can be represented as a cycle.

Disaster

Disaster Preparedness

Disaster Mitigation

Disaster Prevention

Reconstruction

Emergency Response

Warning

Rehabilitation

Dis

aste

r R

isk

Man

agem

ent

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Expand-contract model

•In this model, disaster management is seen as a continuous process. •There is a series of activities that run parallel to each other rather than as a sequence

P re ve n tio n an d m itiga tio n st rand

P re pa re dne s ss tran d Re lie f a nd

Re s pon s es trand

R e c o ve ry andR e ha bilit a ti on s tra nd

Fig u re 2Ex pa nd – Con trac t Mod e l

Tim e

CR IS IS

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The Disaster Crunch ModelIt is a framework for understanding and explaining the causes of disaster and adopts a cause-effect perspective. It is a pressure model. Vulnerability (pressure) is seen as rooted in socio-economic and political processes.

These have to be addressed (released) for disaster risk reduction.

The model reveals a progression of vulnerability. It begins with underlying causes in society that prevents satisfying demands of the people.

The Disaster Crunch Model

• Population expansion leads to inadequate housing and land needs. Prices of urban land appreciate. Low -income people may not be able to afford it.

• Rural – urban migration adds more pressure. There is thus expansion of urban areas outwards. The result is ad-hoc urban sprawling

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The Disaster Crunch Model• The low-income people may occupy land with low demand that

may be disaster-prone. They may not have the income to adhere to safe practices and building codes. They may not have proper sanitary conditions, water supply and other utilities. The local governments may come under pressure to provide them but would be unable to do so.

• But these are dynamic communities that grow and change adding more and more pressure on limited resources. They may show low literacy rates, lack of awareness of disaster potential or preparedness, lack of proper health care which decrease strength to withstand disaster impact, malnutrition, lack of training for livelihoods, disaster prone housing etc.

The Disaster Crunch Model

• These are unsafe conditions which increase the vulnerability of these communities. They would have no capacity to face a hazard event.

• When a hazard event happens these communities would bear the brunt of impact and their losses would be greater. Their capacity to recover is minimal

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Fig ure 3Th e Crun c h Mod el

DIS ASTE R

Und e rly ing Cause s

Dyn am ic Pr ess ures

Uns afe C ondi tion s

Hazar d eve ntVu lner ab ili ty

P rog ress ion o f Vuln era bi lity o f a c o mmu nity

Fig u re 4Th e Re lea s e Mod e l

Add re ssUnd e rly ing Ca use s

Red uc tion s inDyn am ic Pre ss ures

S afer Condi tion s

Com m uni tyPre pare dn e s s RIS K

REDUCTIONHazar d

Mitiga tio n

Hazar dPreve ntion

Th e Prog re ss o f S afety as a re verse o f the

Prog ress ion of Vuln e rability

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Risk Management

The process, by which assessed risks are mitigated, minimized or controlled through engineering, management of land use practices or other operational means. This involves the optimal allocation of available resources in support of group goals.

The technocratic view for managing the risk

• Problem-Physical vulnerability• Symptoms as perceived-High death toll and

damages of infrastructure attributed to severity of hazard,extensive and recurrent rehabilitation needs

• The causes-Uncontrolled characteristics of hazard events,Physiography of the prone area,Lack of inadequacy of protective infrastructure,Failure of forecasting and warnings

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The technocratic view for managing the Risk

• Improve the protection capacity of infrastructure• Improve technology,design the structures to resist • Eradicate bad habits,ignorance through awareness

creation and capacity building of professionals• Improve forecasting,warning, response

mechanisms,preparedness measures • Formulate action plans,enact appropriate

legislation,land use control,building standards,risk mapping

View of the development planners for managing the Risk

• Problem-Physical vulnerability is a symptom of its economic vulnerability

• Symptoms as perceived-High death toll and damages to infrastructure attributed to severity of hazard,extensive and recurrent rehabilitation needs

• Causes-Land use policies that have encourage rapid population growth,Land distribution and resource allocation policies,,insufficient employment opportunities,deterioration of social insurance within the society

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View of the development planners for managing the Risk

• Change the emphasis on structural mitigation programs aimed at physical protection and the over reliance on technology solutions.

• Initiate action to reduce the exposure of population to hazard events through advance planning of land use

• Building up more resources of the most vulnerable sections of community.

• Create credit facilities,opportunities to borrow money,create capital investments opportunities

• Promote more initiatives for risk transfer

Human alteration of the natural land featuresHuman alteration of the natural land features• It may be contributing to hazards that are more intense and

frequent by disrupting the balance of nature.

• This slide, shows a diagram of runoff in an area with natural land features that help to reduce the destructive effects of flooding

Source: Mitigation Planning Workshop by Hazard Mitigation Planning Initiative

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Human Impact on the EnvironmentHuman Impact on the Environment

Many benefits of a natural landscape are lost or modified as development takes place.

Source: Mitigation Planning Workshop by Hazard Mitigation Planning Initiative

All disasters are emergenciesNot all emergencies are necessary to be converted to disasters

A paradigm shift has been observed in disaster risk management in the recent past.

It has started with provision of humanitarian aid.Now it has grown in to a discipline where

many inputs are required by different professionals.It encompasses techniques for hazard assessment,Risk

reduction,prevention and early warning,social and economic interventions,support from health workers

engineers,information scientists and landusers planners etc.and policy markers and political authorities.

All of them have to contribute to total risk management process.

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Risk Management Process• Risk management has three components.

– Risk identification– Risk reduction– Risk transfer

• Risk identification has to be done through mapping and using other available technological options.

• It is usual to allocate risk management to a special body at national level. Usually it is a National Disaster Management Organization (NDMO) at national level.Others support should be obtained within a National Action Plan for DM

• At local level it may be the responsibility of a Disaster Mitigation Committee, which administers risk management. This varies in different countries depending on administrative patterns and needs.

Risk reduction

• Effective risk reduction involves mitigation measures in hazard prone areas.

• It may also involve overcoming the socioeconomic, institutional and political barriers to the adoption of effective risk reduction strategies and measures in developing countries.

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Risk Transfer

Effective risk transfer involves different tools such as insurance,tax policies,special measures focused on land management.

Organizational structure,policies,legislation etc. is required for effective implementation of risk transfer strategies for a country or local government area.

By managing risk, we may prevent disasters

HOW?• Reduce Vulnerabilities

• Understand behavior of hazards

• Reduce Vulnerabilities

• Reduce the possibility for exposure

• Increase / Improve Readiness (Capacity, Capability, Efficiency, Effectiveness)

• Mitigate the impact of hazards

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Disaster Risk Management

Objective is to achieve sustainability in development process.

A conceptual framework for understanding risk (hazard, vulnerability & readiness)

Series of interconnected initiatives at all levels at all times

Complex process involving diverse stakeholders

Implemented by multidisciplinary team working with the community with many vulnerabilities to hazards through a mutually agreed planning process

Call for an attitudinal change in managing risk.

Where support is needed and what support is needed•Assist in the transfer of state-of-the-art technology•Assist in the capacity-building of stakeholders to improve their ability to identify and treat disaster problems at local government level •Conduct and facilitate research to introduce innovative and novel ideas to suit different landscapes and to facilitate demonstrations of their effectiveness•Advocate appropriate legal, financial and policy frameworks for urban disaster mitigation•Organize regional forums to facilitate discussions, draw lessons and to provide an analytical view point on areas for improvement as an independent body•Clearing house for DRM related information, to collect, collate and package the best experiences for dissemination•Technical guidance to establish organized approaches for risk management

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Thank you