Category: Berita Internasional

WELLINGTON, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) — New Zealanders have never been better prepared for disasters, according to an annual disaster preparedness survey released on Tuesday.

Levels of household preparedness for disasters have risen sharply since the Kaikoura earthquake last November, followed by a string of other emergencies such as the Port Hills fires in Christchurch and the Edgecumbe flooding in the Bay of Plenty, Minister of Civil Defence Nathan Guy said in a release.

Current levels of preparedness are on par with the previous highest on record, which was following the Canterbury earthquakes in 2010 and 2011, Guy said.

The results are the findings of the disaster preparedness survey for 2017, conducted by Colmar Brunton, a social research company, which has been released by the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management.

The survey shows that 83 percent of respondents know that they needed to evacuate when a long or strong earthquake happens near the coast.

Source: CNA/aa

(TNS) – Today, President Donald Trump approved a major disaster declaration for Midland, Bay, Gladwin and Isabella counties along with the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe within Isabella County after the area experienced severe flood damage from storms on June 22-23.

“The losses sustained by these communities have been severe due to the magnitude of the flash flooding,” Gov. Rick Snyder said. “This presidential declaration is an important step in our continuing efforts to provide assistance and help Michigan families and businesses recover from the effects of this disaster.”

The decision releases federal funds for state and local governments to use in disaster recovery efforts and to help reduce the risk of such an event in the future. In addition, the disaster declaration makes individual assistance available to the families still recovering from recent flooding.

U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar welcomed the president’s decision.

“State and local governments in mid-Michigan have done an outstanding job in the aftermath of June’s flooding, but the cost of cleanup and recovery was more than they could bear alone,” Moolenaar said. “Today’s decision to grant federal assistance from FEMA will go a long way toward helping communities and families rebuild.”

Individuals seeking assistance in the formal disaster area can register with FEMA by visiting www.DisasterAssistance.gov or calling 1-800-621-3362. Those who have a speech disability or hearing loss and use TTY, should call 1-800-462-7585 directly; for those who use 711 or Video Relay Service, call 1-800-621-3362.

With this declaration, communities statewide are now eligible to participate in the hazard mitigation assistance program that can help reduce or eliminate long-term risk to people and property from natural hazards. Mitigation measures reduce personal loss, save lives and lessen the cost of responding to and recovering from future disasters.

“I strongly encourage communities to seize the opportunity for hazard mitigation assistance to enhance the safety of Michigan’s residents,” said Capt. Chris A. Kelenske, commander of the Michigan State Police, Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division. “With federal aid, our communities can initiate projects to save lives and protect public property and health.”

In addition to the presidential declaration for public assistance and hazard mitigation assistance, the U.S. Small Business Administration has made low-interest disaster loans available to residents and businesses in Bay, Gladwin, Isabella and Midland counties. Additional information about the SBA disaster assistance program is available at www.sba.gov.

The presidential declaration does not include assistance for costs incurred by state and local governments due to damage to public facilities and infrastructures because those costs did not meet the federal threshold for assistance. However, Snyder has opened the state’s Disaster and Emergency Contingency Fund, which allows eligible local governments affected by the flooding to apply for assistance grants for up to $100,000 or 10 percent of the previous year’s operating budget, whichever is less.

CEBU, Philippines – The disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) has been institutionalized through its integration into the school curriculum.

The Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education in Central Visayas have incorporated disaster risk reduction and management in their curricula.

Section 14 of the Republic Act 10121 (or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010) requires DepEd, CHED,  and Tesda to integrate disaster risk education in school curricula.

The law said DepEd and CHED have an important part to play in the country’s approach to DRRM.

DepEd and CHED officials agreed, saying students and teachers must be equipped with knowledge on mitigating and managing hazards and risks brought by natural disasters like earthquakes.

Victor Yntig, DepEd-7 Administrative Division chief, said the topics about disasters from basic information to disaster management have already been incorporated into the curricula of elementary and senior high school students.

For elementary and junior high school, DRRM education is not a school subject itself but only a component of subjects like science and technology, and social science.

But DepEd made DRRM education as an independent subject for senior high school students.

Yntig said disaster preparedness and management education has been reinforced through programs and projects spearheaded by non-government agencies and the local government units.

He said experts from these agencies provide orientation and training on disaster mitigation and preparedness, as well as distribute DRRM manuals to students and school faculty members.

He said these initiatives started after the provinces of Bohol and Cebu were hit by the 7.2 magnitude earthquake and super typhoon Yolanda in 2013.

Aside from trainings and seminars, Yntig said, schools are directed to conduct hazard drills quarterly.

He said students should have knowledge on what to do during certain disasters like earthquakes.

On the other hand, college and university students are further capacitated through civic education and defense preparedness program.

Dr. Freddie Bernal, CHED-7 regional director, said disaster mitigation, preparedness and management is among the topics being taught to students through the National Service Training Program (NSTP).

He said all institutions are required to organize their respective disaster responders.

RA 10121 mandates local DRRM bodies to “encourage community, specifically the youth, participation in disaster risk reduction and management activities, such as organizing quick response groups, particularly in identified disaster-prone areas, as well as the inclusion of disaster risk reduction and management programs as part of youth programs and projects.”

Recently, CHED-7 partnered with the University of San Carlos in facilitating the training and workshop on the disaster response participated by NSTP directors and coordinators held in Barangay Talamban, Cebu City.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) earlier reported that Cebu would not be spared from experiencing strong earthquakes with the presence of “potentially active faults” in the province.

PHIVOLCS executive has asserted that every locality in the country will experience its own “big one,” referring to quakes with intensity eight, thus the need to intensify preparedness to mitigate risks. (FREEMAN)

Local hospitals have been preparing for the worst by creating a network of health care professionals coming together for one goal, to save lives.

“We have a number of emergency generators at Harborview. We also have fuel to last a really good reasonable length of time,” said Anne Newcombe, Harborview’s clinical director of emergency services.

Newcombe says power is key during an emergency. Keeping the lights on and machines running at Harborview Medical Center is the difference between life and death. The level one trauma center will be the hub of all medical aid in the event of a mass casualty. Despite the loss of internet during a catastrophic earthquake, Harborview says they have other mechanisms for finding out that information.

“We are prepared to look after patients for a number of days, weeks with also assistance from our local partners, other hospitals, public health, and Northwest Healthcare Response Network,” said Newcombe.

That network was put to the test during the crash on the Aurora Bridge. Careful planning sent patients to area trauma centers and hospitals to get the necessary level of care

That mass casualty event like any other disaster is coordinated in the radio room of Harborview. It’s a room used every day where emergency medicine physicians work with the Seattle Fire Department to provide medical guidance. It’s in partnership with the city and the fire department to provide care out in the field to patients. In addition they also provide guidance and care to airlift Northwest.

“In a major event whether it’s a large earthquake or a mass casualty this room becomes very active,” said Newcombe.

During an emergency, the radio room becomes the Disaster Medical Control Center (DMCC), where they will coordinate and work with medical professionals in the field, medics, and fire departments. Newcombe says typically paramedics will work with the physicians but during a major event they will take that burden off field personnel and coordinate patient distribution based upon level of injury.

But once those patients get to the hospital, the question is will there be enough medical personnel to treat them? Newcombe says in the event of a disaster the doctors, nurses, and support staff who are already at work are expected to stay as long as necessary.

“So one of the key pieces of this is really home preparedness,” explains Newcombe. “We expect our staff to stay to look after each other and look after patients and you can only do that if you know that your family, your dog at home are being well looked after. Otherwise she won’t be focused on caring and looking after patients here. So, home preparedness is essential…So, when you’re at work and an event occurs people will be staying so we provide and have planned for accommodation, so we have accommodation plans, we have plans for food, we have plans for charging their cell phones providing them with perhaps their communication lines. We do that so that our staff can actually stay here and care for the community, because that’s what we’re here for.”

However, she says the hospital staff will not have to face the surge of injuries alone. There are volunteer physicians and nurses prepared to jump into action in the event of a major incident to work in partnership with hospital staff who may be working for several days straight.

One of the most important elements in maintaining critical care is that none of the emergency rooms get overwhelmed. The goal is share the load.

The Northwest Health Care Response Network has redundant systems in place so that no one falls through the cracks. All hospital in the area will open their doors, including specialty care facilities like Seattle Children’s.

“Seattle Children’s becomes a hospital like any other hospital so we would be having people come to us by ambulance, which would most likely be children, but we would also have people just walking off the street or being delivered by their family members, and we would just take whoever came in the door,” said Margot Kravette, Manager of Emergency Preparedness at Seattle Children’s. “It’s our obligation to do that, and we provide excellent care to children and adults. We have to think about that though. We have to know that we have the right supplies to be able to take care of adults. And just as community hospitals don’t have pediatric, they have to be prepared to take children as well.”

While it’s reassuring to know that hospitals are prepared, the most important component to survival is being prepared at home. In the event of a major earthquake, emergency medical services will be slow, and it could be up to you to save a life.

“We want to make sure that the public are aware that having a really good robust first aid kit,” Newcombe said, “knowing how to put a tourniquet on for a bleeding limb. They know some of these principles so that they can also care for themselves or some of these other injuries that may occur.”

Jakarta (ANTARA News) – Minister of Social Affairs Khofifah Indar Parawansa revealed that the ministry is contemplating on establishing a Disaster Preparedness Village in the Dieng plateau area of Central Java Province.

“The preparedness village can help in the early detection of some areas that are prone to disasters,” Parawansa stated here on Monday.

The disaster preparedness village is being planned after a phreatic eruption of the Sileri Crater in the Dieng tourism area on last Sunday.

Parawansa said the ministry has evaluated the importance of establishing a disaster preparedness village in the area.

Parawansa added that according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, at least 323 districts in Indonesia are prone to natural disasters.

With regard to the Sileri Crater eruption, Parawansa noted that Disaster Preparedness Volunteers are being deployed in the area to assist in the evacuation process.

“We have readied some volunteers to assist with the evacuation service,” the minister said.

The volunteers are in charge of establishing a public kitchen and offering psychosocial treatment to people affected by the disaster.

A phreatic explosion occurred in the Sileri Crater of the Dieng Plateau Tourism Area at Banjarnegara District on last Sunday.

The eruption is noted to reach as high as 50 meters and occurred at 12 a.m. local time.

The eruption resulted in volcanic material being spewed as far as the Waterboom recreation parking lot. (*)

Now that it’s officially the “rainy season,” perhaps it’s time to review some lessons from the past and what they tell us about disaster preparedness. I recently attended the UN Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction conference in Cancun with a delegation led by Undersecretary Rick Jalad, director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. The message was pretty clear: The world (and the Philippines in particular) has made great strides in disaster preparedness, and the investment has paid

loss have yet to be contained because of the lack of relevant programs. Lives are saved, but people remain victims of and impoverished by disaster.

In September 2009, Tropical Storm “Ondoy” (international name: Ketsana) hit Metro Manila and neighboring provinces. Over a month’s worth of rainfall fell in just 12 hours, leaving more than 700 people dead and some 450,000 displaced. Damage was recorded at $1.09 billion. The absence of a warning system caught people flatfooted and unaware of the floods that ensued.

In November 2013, Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) barreled into central eastern Philippines, making landfall in the provinces of Samar and Leyte. It was the strongest storm worldwide to ever make landfall in the recorded history of storm-tracking, with winds reaching 315 kilometers per hour and a storm surge of 4.6-7.0 meters (14-21 feet). Yolanda left 6,340 casualties and 1,058 missing and almost $3.0 billion in damage. Forecasts were made and typhoon warnings issued early. But because the people either ignored the warnings or didn’t take them seriously, the loss of life and damage were unprecedented because of the general lack of preparedness.

We founded the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF) in 2009, after Ondoy, to basically focus on disaster response and recovery. Its original name was Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation, but after Yolanda, we began to shift our strategy to disaster prevention and preparedness. In mid-2014, we decided to focus on resilience and changed our name to reflect this new thrust, while still keeping engaged in disaster response and recovery. We felt, like many others, that “an ounce of prevention was worth a pound of cure.”

One of our strategic decisions was to establish an Emergency Operations Center (EOC), which was envisioned to provide storm-tracking information as well as a map of hazard risks such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and floods. By overlaying this data against maps indicating population and key facilities like airports, ports, roads, utilities, and other important infrastructure, we plan to mobilize disaster preparedness efforts well before typhoons hit.

As important as the hardware and software behind the EOC, we built a network of over 80 companies ready to mobilize before disasters. We organized these firms into eight clusters or committees on themes like Power and Energy, Water and Sanitation, Telecommunications, Resilient Infrastructure, Emergency Supplies, Finance and Insurance, Logistics, and Healthcare. We also jointly drew up a common manual of operations and organized periodic drills.

We built a prototype EOC in the central business district of Makati and began operating it in June 2016. We have completed designs for our main EOC to be located in Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga, and started construction last month.

It has been well documented that investments in preparedness can result in significant savings in relief and rehabilitation expenses. Since 2013, storms and typhoons have hit the Philippines (as they do 20–25 times a year). However, intensified focus on preparedness and prevention by both the government and the private sector have resulted in fewer casualties. Communities are now able to bounce back more quickly after a calamity. In our view, the results are clear: Disaster preparedness saves lives.

We now need to move to our next challenge: to use disaster risk reduction methods to cut economic losses and damage to homes, buildings and infrastructure.

Disaster Management (or Emergency management) is the creation of plans through which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Disaster management does not avert or eliminate the threats; instead, it focuses on creating plans to decrease the effect of disasters. Failure to create a plan could lead to human mortality, loss of revenue, and damage to assets. Events covered by disaster management include acts of terrorism, industrial sabotage, fire, natural disasters (such as earthquakes, hurricanes, etc.), public disorder, industrial accidents, and communication failures.

Before proceeding let me mention some of major natural disasters faced by state of J&K in recent years.

1) Snow Blizzard at WaltenguNad (Kulgam district) February, 2005:

On 18th Feb 2005 a snow blizzard occurred in villages Waltengu Nad, Pachgam and Nigeenpora affecting 128 families consisting of 618 souls. During the incident 175 lives (54 men, 48 women and 73 children) were lost. In many cases full families were wiped out. 183 sheep/goats, 308 cows, 54 buffaloes and 5 horses perished.

2) Kashmir Earthquake, October, 2005:

On 8th October, 2005 a devastating earthquake of magnitude 7.6 resulted in 953 deaths and 418 injuries in J&K (also more than 80,000 deaths in PaK. This was one of the deadliest earthquakes in the sub-continent. 23,782 houses were fully damaged in the quake in J&K. 40.3% of the deaths comprised children below 10 years of age, thereby depicting their vulnerability and signifying the importance of school safety.

3) Leh Cloudburst and Flash floods, August 2010:

On the intervening night of August 5 – 6, 2010, Leh witnessed a devastative cloudburst followed by flashfloods. The unprecedented event resulted in the death of over 250 people and damage worth crores of rupees. The areas in and around Leh, especially Choglamsar, where people had constructed houses along the dry water course had no idea that the stream could get flooded and wash away everything whatever came in its way.

4) Cloud burst at Bagger (District Doda), June 2011:

A cloud burst occurred at Bagger in District Doda on 8th June 2011, where 17 structures got washed away and three people died. The dead bodies got washed away and have not been traced till date.

5) 2014 Kashmir Floods

In September 2014, the Kashmir region suffered disastrous floods across many of its districts caused by torrential rainfall .By 24 September 2014, nearly 277 people in India. According to the Home Ministry of India, several thousand villages across the state had been hit and 390 villages had been completely submerged. In actual figures 2600 villages were reported to be affected in Jammu and Kashmir, out of which 390 villages in Kashmir were completely submerged. 1225 villages were partially affected and 1000 villages were affected in Jammu Division. 

(Source ; Website of Department of Environment Ecology and Remote Sensing J&K)

Emergency Planning Ideals

If possible, emergency planning should aim to prevent emergencies from occurring, and failing that, should develop a good action plan to mitigate the results and effects of any emergencies. As time goes on, and more data becomes available, usually through the study of emergencies as they occur, a plan should evolve. The development of emergency plans is a cyclical process, common to many risk management disciplines, such as Business Continuity and Security Risk Management, as set out below:

•        Recognition or identification of risks

•        Ranking or evaluation of risks

•        Responding to significant risks

•        Tolerate

•        Treat

•        Transfer

•        Terminate

•        Resourcing controls

•        Reaction Planning

•        Reporting & monitoring risk performance

•        Reviewing the Risk Management framework

Phases and Personal activities

Prevention

It focuses on preventing the human hazard, primarily from potential natural disasters or terrorist attacks. Preventive measures are taken on both the domestic and international levels, designed to provide permanent protection from disasters. Not all disasters, particularly natural disasters, can be prevented, but the risk of loss of life and injury can be mitigated with good evacuation plans, environmental planning and design standards. Preventing or reducing the impacts of disasters on our communities is a key focus for emergency management efforts today. Prevention and mitigation also help reduce the financial costs of disaster response and recovery.

Mitigation

Preventive or mitigation measures take different forms for different types of disasters. In earthquake prone areas, these preventive measures might include structural changes such as the installation of an earthquake valve to instantly shut off the natural gas supply, seismic retrofits of property, and the securing of items inside a building. The latter may include the mounting of furniture, refrigerators, water heaters and breakables to the walls, and the addition of cabinet latches. In flood prone areas, houses can be built on poles/stilts. In areas prone to prolonged electricity black-outs installation of a generator ensures continuation of electrical service. The construction of storm cellars and fallout shelters are further examples of personal mitigative actions.

Preparedness

Preparedness focuses on preparing equipment and procedures for use when a disaster occurs. This equipment and these procedures can be used to reduce vulnerability to disaster, to mitigate the impacts of a disaster or to respond more efficiently in an emergency.

Local Emergency Planning Committees

Particular requirements of Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs) include

•        Identification of facilities and transportation routes of extremely hazardous substances

•        Description of emergency response procedures, on and off site

•        Designation of a community coordinator and facility emergency coordinator(s) to implement the plan

•        Outline of emergency notification procedures

•        Description of how to determine the probable affected area and population by releases

•        Description of local emergency equipment and facilities and the persons responsible for them

•        Outline of evacuation plans

•        A training program for emergency responders (including schedules)

•        Methods and schedules for exercising emergency response plans

Response

The response phase of an emergency may commence with Search and Rescue but in all cases the focus will quickly turn to fulfilling the basic humanitarian needs of the affected population. This assistance may be provided by national or international agencies and organizations. Effective coordination of disaster assistance is often crucial, particularly when many organizations respond and local emergency management agency (LEMA) capacity has been exceeded by the demand or diminished by the disaster itself

Donations are often sought during this period, especially for large disasters that overwhelm local capacity. Due to efficiencies of scale, money is often the most cost-effective donation if fraud is avoided. Money is also the most flexible, and if goods are sourced locally then transportation is minimized and the local economy is boosted. Some donors prefer to send gifts in kind, however these items can end up creating issues, rather than helping. Medical considerations will vary greatly based on the type of disaster and secondary effects. Survivors may sustain a multitude of injuries to include lacerations, burns, near drowning, or crush syndrome.

Recovery

The recovery phase starts after the immediate threat to human life has subsided. The immediate goal of the recovery phase is to bring the affected area back to normalcy as quickly as possible. During reconstruction it is recommended to consider the location or construction material of the property.

The most extreme home confinement scenarios include war, famine and severe epidemics and may last a year or more. Then recovery will take place inside the home. Planners for these events usually buy bulk foods and appropriate storage and preparation equipment, and eat the food as part of normal life. A simple balanced diet can be constructed from vitamin pills, whole-meal wheat, beans, dried milk, corn, and cooking oil.One should add vegetables, fruits, spices and meats, both prepared and fresh-gardened, when possible.

International organizations Involved in Disaster Management

a) The International Emergency Management Society

b) International   Association of Emergency Managers

c) International Recovery Platform

d) The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement

e) Baptist Global Response

f) United Nations

g) World Bank

National Organizations Involved in Disaster Management in India

The National Disaster Management Authority is the primary government agency responsible for planning and capacity-building for disaster relief. Its emphasis is primarily on strategic risk management and mitigation, as well as developing policies and planning. The National Institute of Disaster Management is a policy think-tank and training institution for developing guidelines and training programs for mitigating disasters and managing crisis response.

The National Disaster Response Force is the government agency primarily responsible for emergency management during natural and man-made disasters, with specialized skills in search, rescue and rehabilitation. The Ministry of Science and Technology also contains an agency that brings the expertise of earth scientists and meteorologists to emergency management. The Indian Armed Forces also plays an important role in the rescue/recovery operations after disasters.

–         The writer is a final year Civil  Engineering Student

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