BUILDING DISASTER RESILIENT BUILDING DISASTER RESILIENT COMMUNITIESCOMMUNITIES

“Knowledge Building and Actionable Knowledge Through Grassroots Research,

Communication and Participation”

Disaster Defined (UN/ISDR)Disaster Defined (UN/ISDR)• A serious disruptionserious disruption of the functioning of a

community or a society causing widespread widespread human, material, economic, or environmental human, material, economic, or environmental losseslosses that exceed the ability exceed the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own to cope using its own resources.resources.

• A disaster is a function of the risk process. It results from the combination of hazards, conditions of vulnerability, and insufficient capacity or measures to reduce the potential negative consequences of risk (UN/International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, 2004)

Disaster Defined (IFRC) Disaster Defined (IFRC) • A disaster is a suddensudden, calamitous event calamitous event that

seriously disrupts the functioning disrupts the functioning of a community or society and causes human, material, and economic or environmental losses that exceed the community’s or losses that exceed the community’s or society’s ability to cope using its own society’s ability to cope using its own resources.resources. Though often caused by nature, disasters can have human origins

• (VULNERABILITY+ HAZARD ) / (VULNERABILITY+ HAZARD ) / CAPACITYCAPACITY = DISASTER = DISASTER

Risk DefinedRisk Defined

• A probabilityprobability or threatthreat of damage, injury, liability, loss, or any other negative occurrence that is caused by caused by external or internal vulnerabilitiesvulnerabilities and that may be avoided through pre-emptive action. (businessdictionary.com)

Vulnerability DefinedVulnerability Defined• The diminished capacity diminished capacity of an individual or group

to anticipateanticipate, cope withcope with, resistresist and recoverrecover from the impact of a natural or man-made hazard.

• The concept is relative and dynamic. Often, vulnerability is most often associated with poverty,poverty, but it can also arise when people are isolated, insecure and defencelessdefenceless in the face of risk, shock or stress. (IFRC.Org)

• People differ in their exposure to risk as a result of their social groupsocial group, gender,gender, ethnic or other ethnic or other identityidentity, age and other factorsage and other factors.

Natural Hazard DefinedNatural Hazard Defined• Natural hazards are naturally occurring physical

phenomena caused either by rapid or slow onset events which can be:

• Geophysical:Geophysical:– Earthquakes,– Landslides, – Tsunamis, and– Vulcanic Activity

• Hydrological– Avalanches– Floods

Natural Hazard DefinedNatural Hazard Defined• Climatological– Extreme temperatures– Drought, and– Wildfires

• MeteorologicalMeteorological– Cyclones/Typhoons, and– Storms/wave surges)

• Biological Biological – Disease epidemics and – Insect/animal plagues).

Technological/Man-made HazardTechnological/Man-made Hazard

• Technological or man-made hazards are events that are caused by humans and occur in or close to human settlements– Complex emergencies/conflicts,– Famine,– Displaced populations– Industrial accidents, and – Transport accident– Environmental degradation, – Pollution, and – Other accidents.

Aggravating FactorsAggravating Factors• There are a range of challenges which result in

increased frequency, complexity and severity of disasters, such as:– Climate change/Global Warming– Unplanned-urbanization, – Under-development– Poverty – Threat of pandemics (epidemic of infectious

disease that has spread through human populations across a large region)

How to Determine People’s How to Determine People’s Vulnerability?Vulnerability?

• Two questions need to be asked:– to what threat or hazard are they

vulnerable?–what makes them vulnerable to that threat

or hazard?

How to Counter How to Counter Vulnerability?Vulnerability?

• Requires the reducing the impact of the hazard itself where possible through mitigation, prediction and warning, preparedness, building capacities to withstand and cope with hazards; and,

• Tackling the root causes of vulnerability, such as poverty, poor governance, discrimination, inequality and inadequate access to resources and livelihoods.

Capacity to Cope HazardsCapacity to Cope Hazards

• The resources available, ready and accessible to individuals, households and communities to cope with a threat or to resist the impact of a hazard.

• Such resources can be physical or material, but they can also be found in the way a community is organized or in the skills or attributes of individuals and/or organizations in the community. (IFRC)

MANAGING DISASTERS IN THE MANAGING DISASTERS IN THE COMMUNITY LEVELCOMMUNITY LEVEL

“Developing Resilient Communities to Disasters”

Disaster Risk Management Disaster Risk Management DefinedDefined

• The systematic process systematic process of usingusing administrative administrative decisionsdecisions, organizationorganization, operational skillsoperational skills, and capacitiescapacities and capabilitiescapabilities to implement policies, implement policies, strategies, and coping capacities of the society and strategies, and coping capacities of the society and communitiescommunities to lessen the impacts lessen the impacts of hazardshazards and related environmental and technological disasters.

• This includes all forms of activitiesforms of activities, including structural and non-structural measures to avoid to avoid (prevention) or to limit to limit (mitigation, preparedness, and response) the adverse effects of hazards adverse effects of hazards (adapted from UN/ISDR, 2004).

DRM Main Areas of Activity1. Disaster Risk Reduction

Prevention Mitigation Preparedness

2.2. Disaster ResponseDisaster Response Search and Rescue Relief

3.3. Disaster RecoveryDisaster Recovery Rehabilitation Reconstruction

Disaster Risk Reduction Defined

• A conceptual framework of elements considered for minimizingminimizing vulnerabilities vulnerabilities and disaster risks disaster risks in a society to avoid (prevention) avoid (prevention) or to limit (mitigation to limit (mitigation and preparedness) and preparedness) the adverse impacts of hazards adverse impacts of hazards and to facilitate sustainable developmentfacilitate sustainable development. . (UN/ISDR, 2004)(UN/ISDR, 2004)

Disaster Risk Reduction Defined

• Components of DRRComponents of DRR, being a cross-cutting and , being a cross-cutting and development issue includes: development issue includes: – PoliticalPolitical– TechnicalTechnical– Participatory/EmpowermentParticipatory/Empowerment– Resource MobilizationResource Mobilization

• Major Players of DRR Major Players of DRR includes:includes:– National and Local Government Policy and Decision National and Local Government Policy and Decision

Makers and Implementers of PoliciesMakers and Implementers of Policies– Civil SocietyCivil Society– Academic InstitutionsAcademic Institutions– Private SectorPrivate Sector– Media Media (UN/ISDR, 2004).

Principles on Disaster Risk Reduction

• Adverse impacts of hazards can be managedcan be managed, reduced, and sometimes even prevented even prevented by taking appropriate actions appropriate actions to decrease people’s exposure to hazards and their susceptibility to hazard impacts.

• UnderstandingUnderstanding and increasing people’s capacity to capacity to anticipate, cope with, resist, and recover anticipate, cope with, resist, and recover from hazard impacts is an essential component of reducing vulnerability.

• DRR aims to enable societies to be more resilient to resilient to natural hazardsnatural hazards and to ensure that development development does not inadvertently increase vulnerability to does not inadvertently increase vulnerability to those hazardsthose hazards.

Principles on Disaster Risk Reduction

• Recovery activities should do more than merely return do more than merely return disaster-affected people and institutions back to the disaster-affected people and institutions back to the situation that existed before a disastersituation that existed before a disaster. Recovery phase should offers opportunities to strengthen the capacity strengthen the capacity of community and the local government to cope with the cope with the impact of disastersimpact of disasters and to reduce their vulnerability to reduce their vulnerability to future hazards and shocksfuture hazards and shocks, i.e., restoring destroyed mangroves as protection against storm surge, increasing fishing opportunities, or developing the disaster management skills of local government authorities.

• DRR should be incorporated into regular development regular development planning and programmingplanning and programming to reduce or avoid the negative impacts of future hazard events.

• DRR should implemented using DRM approachesDRM approaches

Disaster Response DefinedDisaster Response Defined• The provision of assistance or intervention during or immediately

after a disaster to meet the needs of those affected. It is generally immediate and short-term (UN/ISDR Web site).

• The primary objectiveobjective of this humanitarian assistance is to save save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignitylives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity. It includes immediate post disaster rescue and relief activities, such as the provision of food, water and sanitation, shelter, health services, provision of food, water and sanitation, shelter, health services, and other assistance and other assistance to the affected population.

• It also includes the protection of vulnerable peoplethe protection of vulnerable people—for example, those involuntarily displaced involuntarily displaced from their homes by a hazard event or whose access to relief assistance may be affected by factors such as a disabilitydisability (The Sphere Project, 2004).

Principles on Disaster Response

• Disaster-affected populations initially will require critical require critical life-saving supportlife-saving support. At the same time, their communities, communities, institutions, and livelihoods will have been physically institutions, and livelihoods will have been physically destroyed or weakeneddestroyed or weakened by the impact of the crisis. Many households and communities will begin a process of self- begin a process of self-recovery as soon as possiblerecovery as soon as possible after a disaster, out of out of practical necessitypractical necessity. .

• The vulnerabilities that turned a hazard into a disaster in the first place often get recreated in the process. For example, homes may be reconstructed using the same reconstructed using the same building techniques that caused them to collapsebuilding techniques that caused them to collapse. Poor households may resort to selling off their scarce selling off their scarce productive assets in the immediate aftermath of a productive assets in the immediate aftermath of a disaster in order to meet their basic needsdisaster in order to meet their basic needs and become even more vulnerable to future shocks.

Principles on Disaster Response

• International experience also has demonstrated the close close links between relief and recoverylinks between relief and recovery. The choices made choices made regarding the kinds of relief assistance to be provided, regarding the kinds of relief assistance to be provided, and how it is provided, can facilitate or hinder the and how it is provided, can facilitate or hinder the recovery of affected communitiesrecovery of affected communities (Christoplos, 2006a).

• For instance, following the 2005 Pakistan earthquake, instead of distributing expensive winterized tents with a limited lifespan, the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) provided affected communities with corrugated galvanized iron sheets and toolsiron sheets and tools. The tools and materials tools and materials were used by communities to build themselves were used by communities to build themselves temporary shelters using wood and other materials temporary shelters using wood and other materials salvaged from the rubble. They could be used later in salvaged from the rubble. They could be used later in permanent home reconstructionpermanent home reconstruction.

Disaster Response• The choices made regarding the provision of relief

also can have positive or negative impacts on reducing disaster risks—for example, undertaking a rapid environmental impact assessment rapid environmental impact assessment to identify whether toxic substances have been released into the environment following an earthquake (e.g., the chemical leaks from factories damaged by the May 2008 earthquake in China1) and then mounting a then mounting a campaign to reduce the threat to nearby campaign to reduce the threat to nearby communitiescommunities.

• For these reasons, relief needs to be carried out with relief needs to be carried out with a view to supporting and reinforcing the early a view to supporting and reinforcing the early recovery and risk reduction of disaster-affected recovery and risk reduction of disaster-affected populationspopulations

Disaster Recovery DefinedDisaster Recovery Defined

• Disaster recovery (rehabilitation and reconstruction) refers to the decisions and the decisions and actions taken after a disaster with a view to actions taken after a disaster with a view to restoring or improving the pre-disaster living restoring or improving the pre-disaster living conditions of the stricken communityconditions of the stricken community, while encouraging and facilitating necessary adjustments to reduce disaster risk. Recovery affords an opportunity to develop and apply opportunity to develop and apply disaster risk reduction measures disaster risk reduction measures (UN/ISDR, 2004).

Principles on Disaster RecoveryPrinciples on Disaster Recovery

• When a natural disaster strikes in a poor communitypoor community, not not only does it cause serious loss of life and property, it often only does it cause serious loss of life and property, it often takes away or threatens the livelihoods and futures of takes away or threatens the livelihoods and futures of those who survivedthose who survived. This is especially the case where productive household members have been lost or productive household members have been lost or permanently disabledpermanently disabled. For many households, not only will their short-term economic and social vulnerability be increased, but their ability to cope with future shocks may ability to cope with future shocks may also be erodedalso be eroded. These pressures can contribute to to increased poverty and marginalization in a societyincreased poverty and marginalization in a society. They can aggravate tensions or conflicts aggravate tensions or conflicts that may have already existed within or between communities prior to the disaster.

Principles on Disaster RecoveryPrinciples on Disaster Recovery

• In the case of slow-onset or regularly slow-onset or regularly recurring hazard events or shocks, many poor recurring hazard events or shocks, many poor communities live in a constant state of communities live in a constant state of recovery, where temporary relief has recovery, where temporary relief has become a permanent coping strategybecome a permanent coping strategy. For example, in Malawi drought occurs with such frequency that people have little time to recover before another drought hits. This has resulted in deepening poverty, chronic food resulted in deepening poverty, chronic food insecurity, and aid dependency.insecurity, and aid dependency.

Principles on Disaster RecoveryPrinciples on Disaster Recovery• To ensure effectiveness and sustainability, recovery recovery

initiatives must be linked to the national and local initiatives must be linked to the national and local development context and processesdevelopment context and processes, as well as an an understanding of the economic, social, and political understanding of the economic, social, and political conditions that existed prior to the disaster.conditions that existed prior to the disaster. Some of these are likely to have been contributing factors to the contributing factors to the risk and vulnerability that turned the hazard event into a risk and vulnerability that turned the hazard event into a disasterdisaster; others—for instance, underlying structural issues—may have an impact on the strategies adopted for recovery. Lack of understanding of these processes can lead to poorly targeted and inappropriate assistance.

• This is equally the case for infrastructure rehabilitation and reconstruction. There are many examples of schools and schools and health centers rebuilt after natural disasters that could health centers rebuilt after natural disasters that could not afford ongoing maintenance costs or the staff to run not afford ongoing maintenance costs or the staff to run themthem.