Egerton University

Human Displacement and Management

1

Definitions of Disaster Management Terms

• A Hazard: A hazard is a dangerous phenomenon, substance, human activity or condition that may cause the loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihoods and services, social and economic disruption, or environmental damage.

• A Natural Hazard: Natural processes or phenomenon that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihoods and services, social and economic disruption, or environmental damage.

2

• A Geological Hazard: Geological process or phenomenon that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihoods and services, social and economic disruption, or environmental damage.

3

• A Technological Hazard: A hazard originating from technological or industrial conditions, including accidents, dangerous procedures, infrastructure failures or specific human activities, that may cause loss of life, injury, illness or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihoods and services, social and economic disruption, or environmental damage.

4

• A Disaster: A disaster is a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or society causing widespread human, material, economic or environmental loses which exceed the ability of the affected community/society to cope using its own resources.

• A Disaster Risk: The potential disaster losses, in lives, health status, livelihoods, assets and services, which could occur to a particular community or a society over some specified future time period.

5

• Disaster Risk Management: The systematic process of using administrative directives, organizations, and operational skills and capacities to implement strategies, policies and improved coping capacities in order to lessen the adverse impacts of hazards and the possibility of disaster.

6

• Disaster Risk Reduction: the concept and practice of reducing disaster risks through systematic efforts to analyze and manage the causal factors of disasters, including through reduced exposure to hazards, lessened vulnerability of people and property, wise management of land and the environment, and improved preparedness for adverse events.

7

• Risk Assessment: A methodology to determine the nature and extent of risk by analyzing potential hazards and evaluating existing conditions of vulnerability that together could potentially harm exposed people, property, services, livelihoods and the environment on which they depend.

8

• Disaster Risk Management encompasses a full continuum from preparedness, relief and rehabilitation, mitigation and prevention.

This is achieved through: • increasing and sustaining resilience of vulnerable

communities to hazards through diversification of their livelihoods and coping mechanisms.

• a shift from the short term relief responses to development.

9

• This will go a long way in preserving life and minimizing suffering by providing sufficient and timely early warning information on potential hazards that may result to disasters.

• It will also alleviate suffering by providing timely and appropriate response mechanisms for disaster victims.

10

Principles of Effective Disaster Management

• The principles of effective disaster management include the following:

• An effective Disaster Early Warning, Information and Prediction System;

• Mainstreaming disaster management in development programming;

• Strong link between Early Warning and Disaster Response through harmonized and standardized rapid response interventions to disasters;

11

• A government-led institutional framework that allows effective coordination of the relevant stakeholders and enhances trust-building and collaboration among partners;

• Provides for and differentiates between procedures and mechanisms of response to slow - and rapid onset disasters

• Established and functional semi-autonomous agency responsible for disaster management with oversight from the Ministry of State for Special Programmes;

12

• Provides for flexible financial and response procedures to facilitate appropriate, effective and timely planning and management of disaster control initiatives; and

• Reinforces the disaster management strategies of vulnerable and affected communities.

13

Elements of Disaster Management Cycle

Disaster Prevention• Prevention through measures aimed at impeding

the occurrence of a disaster, and at minimizing its harmful effects on the community, property and the environment. For example, communities have their own conflict prevention activities embedded within their coping mechanisms, as well as the social exchange systems which provide their disaster management safety nets.

14

Disaster Mitigation• Mitigation refers to a substantial reduction of the

impacts of a disaster in case it goes beyond preventive measures.

• For example poverty reduction initiatives and diversification of livelihoods improve the capacity of households and communities to withstand negative impacts of disasters.

• This demonstrates the strong link between development and disaster management.

15

Disaster Preparedness• Disaster preparedness is a package of

precautionary measures, taken in advance of an imminent threat to help people and institutions respond to and cope with the effects of a disaster e.g., the Early warning system.

• This is an organized structure for prediction and dissemination of timely and effective information to allow individuals who may be at risk to take action to avoid or reduce their risk and prepare for effective response.

16

• The aim of early warning systems is to link the information provision to the response. The process allows a lead-time to access funding, expertise and equipment for the necessary intervention.

• Strategic food reserves, health and essential supplies such as non- food items remain an important component of disaster preparedness.

17

• Another example of disaster preparedness activity is the comprehensive and continuous assessment of vulnerabilities and risks in order to understand threats of a hazard and to improve the targeting of Disaster Management programs.

18

Disaster Response• Response involves interventions taken during

or immediately after a disaster. Such actions are directed towards saving lives and livelihoods and dealing with the immediate damage caused by disaster.

19

• Process to recovery• Following response and relief, the full disaster

cycle has many phases leading to recovery.• Rehabilitation is the restoration of the socio-

economic institutions and structures of the affected society/community in readiness for reconstruction i.e. rebuilding of their life support systems and further development.

20

• It may be preceded by repatriation, followed by rehabilitation and reconstruction which are intertwined with development; providing a bridge between a satisfaction of immediate needs and the implementation of comprehensive vulnerability reduction programs.

• At the same time the recovery phase entails programs designed to help communities to return to normalcy. 21

• The insurance industry will play a crucial role in mitigating the impact of disasters on the communities in both rural and urban areas.

• Insurance firms should be encouraged to develop affordable products that can be made available to the society in order to underwrite some of the disaster–related losses.

22

Guiding Principles of Implementation

• Guiding principles to be observed in the implementation of disaster management initiatives:

• 1. Coordination, collaboration and communication: Adequate coordinating and communication, at all levels, amongst stakeholders, are critical components of disaster management.

23

• 2. Multidisciplinary and multi-sectoral approach: Disasters cut across disciplines and sectors; and, so, it is important that governments promote adoption of a multidisciplinary and multi-sectoral approach.

24

• 3. Increasing partnerships and role of communities in Disaster prevention and Management:

• Communities and households bear the brunt of disasters and therefore should be on the frontline of response through their traditional coping mechanisms.

• Governments should promote strategies for disaster management based on community consultation, experience and participation.

25

• Communities should be encouraged to establish mechanisms, building on their traditional coping strategies to enable them to share knowledge and technologies and to pool together local resources for disaster mitigation, preparedness, prevention, response and recovery.

• This will strengthen Decentralization of Disaster Management and enhance the Bottom Up Approach; 26

• 4. Factoring of climate into disaster risk reduction: • Many of the natural disasters are related to extreme

climate events that are key causal factors for some emergencies that lead to disasters. The optimum factoring of climate/weather information (such as Early Warning) in disaster management is a vital.

• In particular, Climate Change must be mainstreamed not only into Disaster Management, but also in overall Development Planning and Management.

27

• 5. Research and dissemination of information: • Research and information dissemination are

critical components of effective disaster management.

• Therefore, all stakeholders in disaster management have the responsibility of collecting, collating, documenting and disseminating their activities and experiences on disasters to other stakeholders.

28

• 6. Regional and International perspectives: • Some hazards such as drought, epidemics,

conflicts and proliferation of small arms are not confined within national borders.

• Governments should promote linkages with regional and international institutions, in order to facilitate collaboration, e.g., in Early Warning Systems; and in fostering joint initiatives for Disaster Risk reduction and response.

29

• 7. Strengthening of Capacities for Disaster Management:

• In view of the dynamic nature of disasters, governments and other stakeholders should continue to strengthen capacities through training and skills development at all levels.

30

• 8. Environmental health planning must be viewed as part of overall health planning. Health planning in turn, should not be conducted in isolation from comprehensive social and economic planning.

• Disasters damage environmental health facilities and services. Flooding, power failures, broken pipes and blocked roads can all disrupt water, waste and flood handling services leading to deteroriation of environmental health.

31

• An integrated approach to disaster management has been quite successful in many countries.

32

Disaster management cycle

• 1. Disaster management- a development approach- appropriate actions at all points in the cycle lead to greater preparedness, better warnings, reduced vulnerability or the prevention of disasters during the the next iteration cycle.

• A development-oriented approach reduces hazards, prevents disasters and prepares for emergencies.

33

• Inappropriate humanitarian action and development processes can lead to increased vulnerability to disasters and loss of preparedness for emergence situations.

34

• 2. Sustainable livelihoods and disaster management. –one of the major goals of disaster management, and one of its strongest links with development, is the promotion of sustainable livelihoods and their protection and recovery during disasters and emergencies.

• Where this is achieved people have a greater capacity to deal with disasters and their recovery is more rapid and more durable.

35

• 3. Limitation in complex emergencies• Large scale movements of people often create

emergency situations. • Disaster management cycle applies to such

cases but with limitations. Limited number of care-providers, limited resources to promptly and appropriately prevent or mitigate secondary disasters e.g., disease outbreaks, famine and the dispersal of families.

36

Steps in disaster management

• 1. Vulnerability assessment-makes it possible to anticipate problems that specific groups will face in the event of a disaster and during the period of recovery.

• Involves determining the spatial proximity of population subgroups to potential hazards according to personal and socioeconomic characteristics that may influence the immediate and long term impact of hazards on them. 37

• 2. Prevention and mitigation- complete prevention of disasters is possible if we can eliminate people’s susceptibility to hazards by moving populations away from hazard zones, providing complete protection from hazards , or preventing the physical hazard altogether.

38

• 3. Emergency preparedness- a program of long term development activities whose goals are to strengthen the overall capacity and capability of a country to manage efficiently all types of emergency and bring about a transition from relief through recovery and back to sustained development.

39

• This aims to achieve satisfactory levels of readiness to respond to any emergency situation through programs that strengthen the technical and managerial capacity of government, organizations, institutions and communities.

40

• 4. Planning, policy and capacity building• Planning is required at all levels from community

level to national and international levels to ensure that programs for disaster prevention and mitigation are carried out according to clear objectives, with adequate resources and management arrangements, and to ensure that strategies, resources, management structures, roles and resources for emergency response and recovery are determined and understood by key actors.

41

• Effective emergency planning can only take place once roles and responsibilities have been agreed.

42

• 5. Emergency response• Depends on the nature of emergency or

disaster and the effectiveness of mitigation measures, but is also very much conditioned by the degree of preparedness achieved.

• Effective response is also depended on experienced leaders, trained personnel, adequate transport and logistics support, appropriate communications, and rules and guidelines for working in emergencies.

43

• 6. Rehabilitation, reconstruction and recovery.• As the emergency is brought under control, the

affected population is capable of undertaking a growing number of activities aimed at restoring their lives and the infrastructure that supports them.

• Is a slow process that is nurtured carefully over time. No distinct starting point that relief changes to recovery and sustainable long term development.

44

Vulnerability to disasters and emergencies.

• Vulnerability is the degree to which a population or individual or organization is unable to anticipate, cope with, resist and recover from the impacts of disasters.

• Some disasters may involve extreme events that affect a vulnerable population directly, such that their livelihoods and lifelines that support their basic needs are disrupted for a long period of time.

45

• Vulnerability is a function of susceptibility (factors that allow a hazard to cause a disaster) and resilience ( the ability to withstand the damage caused by emergencies and disasters and then recover).

• The concept of vulnerability helps to identify those members of a population who are most likely to suffer directly and indirectly from a hazard.

46

• Also helps to identify those who are more likely to suffer longer periods of disruptions of livelihoods and lifelines.

• Poverty (and its common consequences, malnutrition, homelessness or poor housing and destitution) is a major contributor to vulnerability. Women and children are most vulnerable.

47

• Residence or employment in or near a known hazard zone-.

• These include communities living on flood plains, on unprotected coasts or low-lying islands prone to severe storms, on slopes of volcanoes or near industries that use or discharge radioactive substances or dangerous chemicals.

48

• Low resilience: those with high prevalence of environmental health-related disease are at higher risk to disasters than others; the malnourished; those with disabilities; the frail and elderly; the children and pregnant women; those in the lowest socioeconomic group- all are more difficult to recover from a disaster.

49

The impact of disasters at national level

• Repeated major disasters have a significant effect on development, through their economic and social costs, and may create a vicious cycle as underdevelopment increases the vulnerability of people and society to disasters.

50

Human actions that increase vulnerability to disasters

• 1. Improper resource management e.g., improper land use (deforestation)-increase of droughts, increased soil erosion, flooding, silting of reservoirs; inadequate drainage and building on hillsides.

• 2. Urbanization- rapid increase of urbanization poses challenges to environmental health because it creates and increases human vulnerability to disasters. ( inaccessible informal settlements in highly dangerous locations).

51

• 3. Rural/ urban connection- people moving away from rural areas where disasters are common from which they have not been able to recover hence are less resilient to disasters.

• 4. Global environmental change- climate change that will result into new hazards e.g., increase of wildfires and mudslides due to increase of drought and flooding.

52

Code of conduct• The code of conduct in Disaster Management seeks to

guard the standards of behaviour among the different stakeholders. It is not about operational details such as how one should calculate food rations or set up an IDP camp; rather, it seeks to maintain the high standards of independence and effectiveness and impartiality.

• The following code of conduct is provided for stakeholders:1. Disaster response interventions based on facts and

verifiable information: • Data from the early warning systems and the continuous

monitoring of disaster occurrence and trends will be the basis of disaster response.

53

• 2. The humanitarian imperative: • the right to receive relief assistance during

disasters is a fundamental humanitarian principle which should be enjoyed by all regardless of race, colour or creed.

• The need for an unimpeded access to affected populations is of fundamental importance in exercising responsibility.

54

• 3. Aid is given regardless of ethnicity, political or religious affiliation or geographical considerations.

• At all times, stakeholders will seek to base the provision of disaster assistance on a thorough assessment of the needs of the affected populations or their available local capacities to meet those needs.

55

• We shall respect culture and customs• Stakeholders will endeavour to respect the

culture, structures and customs of the communities and households we are working with.

56

• Disaster assistance must strive to reduce future vulnerabilities to disaster as well as meeting basic needs

• All disaster assistance will affect the prospects for long term development, either in positive or negative fashion.

• Recognizing this, all stakeholders should strive to implement disaster assistance programs which actively reduce the beneficiaries’ vulnerability to future disasters and help create sustainable lifestyles.

57

• Stakeholders will reinforce the capacity of local communities to manage the full Disaster Cycle

• All people and communities even in disaster still possess capacities as well as vulnerabilities.

• Where possible, stakeholders should strengthen these capacities by employing local staff and procuring local resources.

• All activities in Disaster Management should reinforce rather than undermine existing capacities.

58

• Involvement of beneficiaries in Disaster Management Programs

• Governments and stakeholders should fully involve communities in the design, management, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of Disaster programmes.

59

• Mainstreaming Women and Children Issues • In all disaster management programmes,

Governments, partners, and stakeholders and communities will take positive cognisance of the excessive impacts which women and children undergo in any disaster and hence, shall make provisions to enhance protection, safety and other needs of women and children in any disaster situation.

60

• Mainstreaming the Concerns of the Challenged and Elderly

• In most disaster situations, confusion surrounds many activities, especially in relation to relief and evacuation.

• This problem particularly affects the physically, mentally and visually challenged, the elderly and the sick hence the need of special provisions to cater for these segments of the society in emergencies.

61

• Environmental Concerns • Stakeholders will pay particular attention to

environmental concerns in the design and management of disaster programs, constantly reviewing the status and trends of the environment to ensure sustainable compliance.

62