Disaster Mitigation
in Asia

30 June 2006
Issue No. 36

The Program for Hydro-meteorological Disaster Mitigation in Secondary Cities in Asia (PROMISE), funded by USAID/OFDA, commenced from October 2005. Through consultations with a number of ADPC partners, five project countries have been selected – Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam – for implementing demonstration projects in each country in a highly vulnerable city with recent history of hydro-meteorological disasters. Other components of the program consist of capacity building, risk management advocacy, networking and dissemination initiatives in the selected countries. The objective of the program is to contribute towards reduction of vulnerability of urban communities through enhanced preparedness and mitigation of hydro-meteorological disasters in South and Southeast Asia. The implementation of city demonstration projects are expected to commence during April to June 2006.

PROGRAM ACTIVITIES for June and July 2006 :

• BANGLADESH - BDPC has selected Young Power in Social Action for its partner organization and has met with them several times to discuss the PROMISE project. BDPC has selected volunteer Change Agents as well as members of Ward Disaster Risk Management Committees and held four sensitization meetings to raise awareness of the vulnerability issues of the wards selected for the project. Wards covered by the sensitization meetings are 8, 9, 11, 16, 20, 26, 32 and 36.

• PAKISTAN - AKPBS,P has set a Disaster-based Risk Management Training for July 1 and 2, 2006. Participants will come from Hyderabad and adjoining districts like Thatta and Badin. AKPBS,P has also selected and begun coordinating partner organizations such as the Red Crescent Society and the Sindh Agriculture and Forestry Workers Coordination Organization (SAFWCO).

• PHILIPPINES - CDP has begun setting up the parameters of the design for a Disaster Information Management System in cooperation with the Dagupan GIS office. CDP is working with Dagupan's Technical Working Group (TWG) to set up the calibrated flood markers for an Early Warning System in the 8 pilot barangays. The system will use an indigenous flood marker system wherein members of the community mark flood height and duration and speed of the rise of the flood level. Community consensus will be the basis for setting preparedness activities to flood levels (alert level, preparation to evacuate, when to evacuate, critical level). With the advice of CDP, the TWG agreed to pursue on the institutionalization of Dagupan Disaster Safety Day every July 16 as part of Public Awareness of Disaster Preparedness. The project received media coverage in the local papers. Next month, the CDP will be involved in the preparations for Disaster Safety Day and the Early Warning Systems workshops.

• SRI LANKA - Sarvodaya has been meeting with the Disaster Management Committee of Kalutara district to brief them on hydro-meteorological risk mitigation and on PROMISE. The workshop for Kalutara was set for June 29 and 30 at the Municipal Council and Divisional Secretary of Kalutara Municipality. They also hosted an ADPC project review mission. Sarvodaya met with the National Building Research Organization (NBRO) and the Sri Lanka Institute for Local Governance to discuss the conduct of the workshop for Kalutara Municipality. In July, NBRO will work with Sarvodaya to do hazard mapping. On July 14, Sarvodaya will hold a workshop on PROMISE for all Kalutara stakeholders, including the departments for urban planning, irrigation, environment, and meteorology.

• VIET NAM - CECI conducted a Participatory Vulnerability Assessment and a baseline Household Vulnerability Survey in Cam Le District. They also hosted an ADPC technical mission for: (1) developing a case study of the impact of the tourism development in Son Tra District upon the vulnerability of local fishermen, and (2) assistance in developing an flooding vulnerability information system. On June 15, CECI held the Inception Workshop with the People's Committee of Da Nang and reported the results to the committee. The workshop was covered by both television and print media. A preliminary urban planning survey was also made. Next month, this survey will be consolidated with the PVA and the household survey.

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A. FROM THE REGION

(1) UN gives emergency food aid to drought-hit Nepal, June 21, 2006, Nepal

The United Nations World Food Programme has started distributing emergency food to more than 225,000 people in central and western Nepal hit by the worst drought in decades.   Read the Reuters article here: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/DEL296002.htm

(2) Tornado and torrential rains in Kalutara, June , 2006, Sri Lanka

Sarvodaya reports that a small tornado hit Kalutara on June 18, 2006. There was total damage to 3 houses and partial damage to 10 houses. The Sri Lanka government distributed LKR 20,000 per house with total damage, and LKR 10,000 per house with partial damage. Sarvodaya also reports that there was heavy rain (75mm rain fall) in the upper stream of Kaluganga river. The water level of the river reached 18 feet and 6 inches and it affected the downstream communities of Mathugama, Bulathsinghala, Agalawatta, and Wallallavita. (Also based on an article from The Lanka Sun, June 21, 2006.)

(3) GVP Volcanic Activity Report, June 2, 2006, Indonesia

A pilot reported observing an ash plume that was emitted from Raung, one of Java's most active volcanoes, on 2 June at 1625h. Scientific information can be found here: http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/usgs/index.cfm?content=archive&year=2002&week=may_29-4_02#raung

(3) USGS Preliminary Earthquake Report, May 26, 2006, Indonesia

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Earthquake Information Center preliminary report on the magnitude 6.3 earthquake in Java, Indonesia, on May 26 can be found here: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/eqinthenews/2006/usneb6/.

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B. CALLS FOR SUBMISSION

(5) Call for Papers: Natural Hazards Review

An upcoming special issue of "Children, Youth and Environments" will advance scholarly and applied knowledge regarding the experiences of children in disasters. "Children, Youth and Environments" is an interdisciplinary and peer-reviewed journal with a multidisciplinary audience of researchers, policy makers, and professionals in 143 countries around the world. The special issue will help scholars and practitioners gain insight into the unique vulnerabilities and special capacities of children by exploring what disasters do to children and youth, what is done on their behalf, and what they do for themselves.
Special issue authors will examine children's experiences in disasters, while elucidating linkages between disasters and the larger social, economic, political, and cultural contexts in which these events occur. Here disasters are broadly defined as extreme natural, technological, or intentional human-caused events. Manuscripts that are international in scope and address the consequences of disasters for children in the developed as well as the developing world are encouraged. Innovative theoretical, empirical, or methodological manuscripts from various disciplinary perspectives will be considered for inclusion in the special issue.
Potential contributors should submit a one-page abstract to Lori Peek (lori.peek@colostate.edu) by September 15, 2006. After evaluation of the relevance of the abstracts to the special issue, a number of authors will be invited to submit full manuscripts to the journal for peer review. For more information, contact Lori Peek, Department of Sociology, Colorado State University, B-237 Clark Building, Fort Collins, CO 80523; (970) 491-6777; lori.peek@colostate.edu; http://www.colorado.edu/journals/cye/.
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(6) Call for Abstracts: 3rd Annual GIS Conference in Kuwait: February 9-21, 2007

The third Annual GIS Conference is calling for abstracts for the premier GIS event in the state of Kuwait. Conference topics include: emergency response, natural resources management, GIS and environmental modeling, environment and natural hazards, planning and community, urbanization effects on the working landscape, water resources, remote sensing and data acquisition.
Papers for oral presentations will be accepted based on single-page abstract submitted in Word to: papers@gulfgis.com. Authors should provide name, their position and their affiliation in the abstract. For more information visit: http://www.gulfgis.com.

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C.   CONFERENCES AND COURSES

(7) GMOSSS Summer School, Salzburg, Austria: October 01-08, 2006

Organizer: Centre for GeoInformatics (Z_GIS) at Salzburg University
The GMOSS (Global Monitoring for Security and Stability, International Summer School 2006 is dedicated to the theme of "Human Security: People - Homes - Infrastructure".
For more details and information about the Summer School, please refer to http://www.sbg.ac.at/zgis/gmoss/ss2006/. Participants must fill in an application form which is available on this website.

(8) Regional course on Earthquake & Tsunami Vulnerability Reduction focusing on the use of spatial geodata, Bangkok, Thailand: 24 October to 6 November, 2006

Organizers: Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, Asian Institute of Technology and the International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation, with funding support from The Netherlands Government and the United Nations Development Programme. For detailed course information and course application form, please visit http://www.itc.nl/education/refresher_courses/2006/thailand.asp.
For any queries regarding the course, kindly contact Dr. Mark van der Meijde< vandermeijde@itc.nl >, ITC Course Coordinator or Mr. N.M.S.I. Arambepola < arambepola@adpc.net > ADPC-UDRM Director.
There are 20 available fellowships for participants from Asia but preference in selection will be given to ITC alumni, to include all related expenses such as travel, accommodation, insurance, excursion and course fees. UNDP will provide a few fellowships for those institutions who will be willing to institutionalize the course at national level. Interested applicants and ITC alumni must complete and submit the application form directly to Ms. Christie Agema < agema@itc.nl > or by fax to +31 (0) 53 487 4336. Deadline is before 15 August 2006. All applicants will be informed on the selection outcome before 1 September 2006.

(9) 3rd Annual GIS Conference in Kuwait: February 9-21, 2007

Organizers: ProMedia International and Kuwait GIS
The conference will provide opportunities to share knowledge with an audience of diverse industry professionals looking for high-quality information that will help maximize geospatial information. For more information visit: http://www.gulfgis.com.

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D.   USEFUL RESOURCES

(10) ADB Preliminary Yogyakarta and Central Java Earthquake Damage and Loss Assessment: June 15, 2006

This report presents a preliminary assessment of the damage and losses caused by the earthquake. The assessment used the international standard methodology for measuring disasters. The report can be found here: http://www.adb.org/Documents/Reports/Damage-Loss/default.asp.

(11) EQNET: Java, Indonesia, May 27, 2006

This Earthquake Information Network (EQNET) has a list resources with information on the earthquake, found at: http://128.205.131.100:591/archives/java_052706.htm.

(12) ISDR Disaster Reduction Library

The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) has a library with more than 10,000 items, including books, reports, articles, monographs, and serials on the various aspects of disaster risk reduction. Newsletters, CDs, videos, and DVDs are also available. Some online resources are available. The library website is: http://www.unisdr.org/eng/library/lib-index.htm.

(13) ISDR Guidelines for Reducing Flood Losses

This publication aims at providing decision-makers with a range of options to consider for reducing losses associated with flooding. The link to the executive summary and PDF of the document is found here: http://www.unisdr.org/eng/library/isdr-publication/flood-guidelines/isdr-publication-floods.htm.

(14) ISDR and CRED 2005 disaster statistics

The ISDR and the Belgian Université Catholique de Louvain's Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) have online access to their official figures of the number of disasters in 2005, found here: http://www.em-dat.net/figures_2005.htm.

(15) International Disaster Charter online satellite images resource

The charter aims at providing a unified system of space data acquisition and delivery to those affected by natural or man-made disasters through Authorized Users. The website of the charter has links to satellite images made through the charter, including the May 27, 2006 Java earthquake, the February 17, 2006 Philippine landslide, and the October 18, 2005 Kashmir earthquake. The links to images can be found at: http://www.disasterscharter.org/new_e.html.