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http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091003/WEEKENDER/710029761/1306
Vital measures to saves lives before disaster
strikes
Loveday Morris
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Last Updated: October 02. 2009 11:52PM UAE / October 2. 2009 7:52PM GMT
Filipino children receiving the remains of a food handout at a makeshift evacuation centre
after severe flooding on the outskirts of Manila. Mike Clarke / AFP
Earthquakes, tsunamis and a typhoon provided four virtually simultaneous disasters in the
Asia-Pacific region last week, stretching aid agencies to the limit as emergency response
teams were dispatched to the devastated countries in urgent need of help.
Natural disasters are a fact of life and while charities and aid agencies do what they can,
experts warn that governments and international bodies must do more to prepare for them
and help alleviate the suffering they cause.
Experts are calling for the urgent implementation of better planning measures to cushion
the blow of natural catastrophes, urging governments to boost investment in preventative
measures, such as urban planning, education and building regulations to reduce death
tolls and relieve pressure on aid teams.
“Preventative measures really have to be a priority,” says Brigitte Leoni, a spokeswoman
for the UN’s International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.
“At the moment people usually respond to these events and prefer to pay for the relief and
recovery rather than avoiding the disaster, but if you don’t invest before you are going to
spend a lot more after, and the worst thing obviously is that people are going to die.”
Within a week, the Asia Pacific region saw tropical storm Ketsana leave more than 400
dead in the Philippines, before moving on to cause devastation in Vietnam, an earthquake
and tsunami caused destruction on the Samoan islands and an earthquake measuring 7.9
on the Richter scale killed at least 500 in Indonesia.
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We are just about coping,” said Paul Conneally, a spokesman for the International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
“But a situation like this emphasises the importance of investment in prevention and
preparation, education, early warning systems and the importance of close co-operation
between government, agencies and all partners so humanitarian organisation’s aren’t
overwhelmed.”
With experts warning that weather-related disasters are expected to increase, these
preventative measures are more important than ever.
The US$3.15 billion (Dh11.5bn) China spent on flood control between 1960 and 2000 may
have averted financial losses of about $12bn, according to the ISDR. In Bangladesh, early-
warning systems and shelters mean that while the 2007 Cyclone Sidr killed 3,400 people,
a similar cyclone in 1991 killed 138,000.
The poor drainage systems in the Philippines, clogged with waste due to a lack of proper
rubbish disposal, intensified the impact of the storm that hit the country dropping a month’s
worth of rain on Manila in just six hours.
Loren Legarda, a Philippine Senator, has said her government needs to introduce more
preventative measures to reduce the impact of climate-related disasters in the wake of the
floods, and called for a mass cleaning of canals and waterways to reduce vulnerability.
“No doubt there were infrastructural weaknesses before but there is also a lot of
infrastructure now which has been washed away, it’s putting them back below the zero
point so the international community really needs to work with these governments to help
them and support them,” said Mr Conneally, stressing that this assistance must not just
focus on recovery, but preventative action to make sure the impact of another hazard will
be less severe.
The recent Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, a meeting in Geneva attended by
152 governments and 137 organisations, recommended that 10 per cent of humanitarian
relief funds be directed to risk reduction and at least one per cent of all national
development funding be reserved for risk prevention measures.
Mr Conneally pointed to the importance of educating and training the communities
themselves to respond to disasters. “These communities are not victims waiting passively
to be affected by disasters,” he said. “As far as we are concerned are the best placed to
respond, they are the first on the ground. We really need to work with communities to give
them the tools and capacity to empower them to be able to take a much greater role in
disaster preparedness and response.”
The impact of weather-related disasters in poor countries is estimated to be as much 30
per cent more severe than in industrialised nations. The disproportionate impact on poorer
countries, and urban communities, can be due to poor urban planning, construction and a
lack of educational measures, said Ms Leoni.
“There is a poverty issue, a lot of poor people can be constrained to live in unsafe places
because those are the places people don’t want to be and urban planning can be very
poor,” she said. “In many countries there are slums or human settlements in dangerous
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places, many poor people can’t afford to buy land in the best part of the city so they buy
land close to slopes and put themselves at risk to mudslides or other things and can be the
first ones in the front line. Choosing where to build houses and how you build them are two
strong factors that can reduce risk.” Preventative measures don’t have to be expensive.
Cuba is often given an example for cheap yet effective strategies to lessen the impact of
hurricanes. Emergency procedures are part of the national curriculum and, when an
evacuation is ordered, citizens are asked to go and check their neighbours are aware.
As far as investment in infrastructure is concerned, according to Ms Leoni, schools and
hospitals are the priority and should be as resilient as possible, because if people cannot
receive treatment it becomes a “double disaster”.
“It’s very important that at least you have those key structures very safe,” she said.
lmorris@thenational.ae