Disaster Mitigation
in Asia

31 May 2008
Issue No. 59

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 main activities from January to March 2008 are: implementing the small-scale mitigation projects for each city, preparing for city-level workshops on disaster mitigation, promoting school safety, planning for the conduct of national courses, and development of case study material.

PROGRAM ACTIVITIES for March and April 2008:

• BANGLADESH – BDPC continued the implementation of four of the community mitigation projects in various wards this month. The projects are: improvement of drainage system; construction of toilet facilities for slum dwellers; adding WatSan facilities to an evacuation shelter; and canal dredging. PROMISE- BD has completed the school disaster management plan for the pilot school (Hali shahor Munshi para High School) under the school safety program. Roles and responsibilities were identified in several consultation meetings with the school authority and school disaster management committees. The plan will be finalized next month. PROMISE-BD is helping Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) to develop standard operating procedure (SOP) for its emergency control room. The activity was initiated this May. Secondary documents were reviewed and a framework has developed in line with the standing order on disaster management issued by disaster management bureau of Bangladesh. PROMISE-BD team has also started to develop the guidelines for land use planning and construction regulation. BDPC personnel met with the Chittagong Development Authority (CDA), reviewed the existing regulations and collected the hazard map of the city. The guidelines will be shared with the CCC and CDA. Activities for next month include an advocacy workshop, completion of the small-scale disaster mitigation projects, and the development of SOP and guidelines for land use planning.

• INDONESIA – PROMISE-Indonesia worked on the mapping of hydro-meteorological hazards, and vulnerability and capacity assessment of the project kelurahan. Primary data about the project kelurahan and secondary data about Jakarta Province were collected this month, the results of which will be used in the TOT scheduled for June 8 to 11. Primary data was on the vulnerability and capacity of Kelurahan Kebon Baru and Kelurahan Bukit Duri, under Kecamatan Tebet. Secondary data covered existing spatial data (spatial plan, land use, infrastructure and lifelines, poverty distribution, demographic map, building density) and capacity data for the Ciliwung catchment areas (map of flood gate station, level of preparedness, locations of pumping stations). Data to be gathered are the same dataset for other catchment areas such as for Kalibaru Timur river and Kalibaru Pasar Minggu river. The data will be used to generate a digitized flood hazard map for Tebet sub-district to be used for risk mapping.
  Data collection to map flood preparedness and mitigation initiatives and program done by various institution and organizations has been done to obtain detail information “who’s doing what and where” for flood in DKI Jakarta area. The data and the risk assessments will be presented during the TOT previously mentioned on CBDRR Initiative for Development Agencies, Local Government, Local Actors, Community Leaders and Teachers in the designated Kelurahan, at the PKK Training Center, South Jakarta. This May, the preparation consisted of the refinement of the curriculum, materials development, and coordination with the stakeholders for preparation. A focused group discussion was held on May 7 to discuss preparations, and to determine a balanced representation of the 40 participants from the provincial government and community-based organizations. The West Java Provincial Government expressed interest in the project activities and will send an observer using their own funds.
  Activities for next month include: final analysis of hazard study mapping for Jakarta Province; vulnerability assessment and risk mapping for Tebet sub-district area; final mapping for flood preparedness and mitigation initiatives and program done by various institutions and organizations; and the implementation of Training for Trainers on CBDRR initiatives.
   

• PAKISTAN – PROMISE-Pakistan continued the implementation of the small-scale disaster mitigation projects. The projects following projects were completed in May: earth filling of the streets of Ghera Hindu Basti and installation of communal latrines for the Ghera Sundhar community; the Flood Mitigation Demonstration Projects in Thakur Colony. The following projects are expected to be completed by June: Street Raising and Improving Drainage Lines in Aliabad; the installation and rehabilitation of drainage line in UC # 2 Latifabad. PROMISE-Pakistan conducted a workshop on Governance and Disaster Risk Reduction in Hyderabad from May 26 to 29. The workshop was attended by 25 participants from District Administration, Aga Khan planning and building services, NGOs, public representatives and government officers. The objective of the four-day workshop was to introduce the concept of disaster management planning and governance in the district of Hyderabad.

• PHILIPPINES – PROMISE-Philippines was hit by two tragedies. First, Mr. Reginaldo Ubando, TWG member of Dagupan’s City Disaster Coordinating Council and Head of the Solid Waste Management Division, passed away due to a heart attack on May 3. Mr. Ubando was an active and committed city official and supporter of PROMISE-Philippines.
  Second, Typhoon Cosme (international name Halong) hit Dagupan hard with its winds on May 17, and resulting in total damage (3,349 houses) or partial damage to houses (15,034 houses), affecting 24,973 families. Damage to public infrastructure (school buildings, day care centers, health centers, barangay and city offices, lighting) is estimated at PhP 28.9 million (USD 0.69 million). The deaths were three children who were living next to Pantal River and were swept into the waters, and one adult male who died from exposure. Although there was no rain in Dagupan, there is some flooding due to dam water release and high tide. Estimated losses for the fishing industry are at PHP 537 million (USD 13 million).
  PROMISE-Philippines is acknowledged for having help the city prepare against disaster. The city and barangay disaster coordinating councils were all activated well ahead of the typhoon’s approach. The flood early warning system was monitored non-stop, and there were no deaths in spite of the high-risk locations of the project barangays. Barangay Mangin, with the highest risk, evacuated its residents, and distributed its own relief goods to add to the relief goods (medicine and food) from the City, ensuring that all its residents were reached. The city’s relief work and the Dagupan Red Cross began immediately after the typhoon passed, as well as recovery efforts to purify water, clear roads and restore water and electrical services.
  Activities accomplished this month include preparations for the National Course on DRM and Governance, scheduled for June 3 to 6, and for the 2008 PROMISE Working Group Meeting in Da Nang, both of which will continue until next month. Ms. Mayfourth Luneta also participated in a sharing session of community hazard mapping tools for high-risk communities in Baguio last May 11 by sharing PROMISE-Philippines’ experience in community risk mapping.

• SRI-LANKA – PROMISE-Sri Lanka continued the implementation of the small-scale disaster mitigation projects, and three were completed in May including the construction of two draining systems and the water resource management for flood mitigation at Bindunu Ela site. PROMISE-SL also arranged a visit for beneficiaries of the Bindunu Ela Flood Mitigation project to the Eco-Village in Kalutara Lagoswatte (under Sarvodaya) to expose them to further practical knowledge on home gardening and organic farming. Sixty-five compost bins were distributed among the households at Bindunu Ela site. First Aid training was conducted for three days for schools under the School Safety Program; technical inputs were provided by Medical Teams International. Finally, a community-level awareness drive was conducted for trained volunteers of PROMISE-SL on “Preparedness for an Emergency Operation”. Activities for next month include the completion of the small-scale disaster mitigation projects, and running the second workshop on “Construction Rules in Disaster Prone Areas” on June 10 for the Technical Officers attach to Kalutara UC and DS Divisions; NBRO is a co-organizer of the workshop.

 A. From the Region

(1) ADPC moves to a new location

Starting June 2, the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center will be operating from following address: 979/66-70, 24^th Floor, SM Tower, Paholyothin Road, Samsen Nai, Phayathai, Bangkok  10400, THAILAND.  Our new telephone numbers are: Tel:  +66 (2) 2980688-92; and Fax: +66 (2) 2980012-13.  The Early Warning Center will continue to operate from the ground floor at our old address: Outreach Building, AIT Campus, Klong Luang, Pathumthani  12120, Thailand. 

(2) Cyclone Nargis hits Myanmar, May 3

(based on reports from Reuters, ASEAN, IFRC, IRIN)

Tropical Cyclone Nargis slammed into Myanmar with winds of up to 190 kph on 3 May, has been a slow and difficult process, with communications severed, and roads blocked, as a result of the storm.  Heavily affected areas include the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) delta and the capital Yangon.   The storm made landfall in the delta region, which is also the rice-growing region of the country.  The areas hit are Yangon, Ayeyarwady, Bago, Mon and Kayin divisions, home to nearly half the 53 million inhabitants.  The cyclone killed more than 80,000 people and left more than 50,000 missing.  Many of the deaths were attributed to a storm surge that hit the delta, exacerbated by the loss of coastal mangroves in the region, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

About 1.5 million people are affected, and while the World Food Programme had targeted 750,000 people for food assistance, only 225,000 were reported as reached as of May 20.  Drinking water was contaminated, and hundreds of thousands of people - left homeless after the storm flattened their fragile bamboo and thatch homes - are in urgent need of shelter and clean drinking water, after the flooding contaminated local drinking water supplies, based on reports from the IFRC.  For some time, the residents of Yangon were queuing for candles, drinking water, and fuel, and rising prices of commodities due to concerns of imminent shortages.

Global criticism hit the ruling military government with the obstacles set out for international aid agencies and relief during the first weeks after the cyclone struck.  The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the regional union of ten countries in the region, engaged the leadership in dialogue in a special meeting in Singapore on May 19.  ASEAN wase able to open Myanmar’s doors to international aid agencies and medical workers from ASEAN countries to help with the relief effort.  To read the Special ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting Chairman's Statement, please go to: http://www.aseansec.org/21556.htm.  To read the ASEAN emergency rapid assessment of Cyclone Nargis’ impact on Myanmar, please go to: http://www.aseansec.org/21558.pdf.

Hampered relief distribution, especially of food, clean water and medical supplies, have raised WHO’s concern that disease outbreaks could ensue.  Myanmar authorities have commenced fogging in temporary shelters to control vector-borne diseases such as malaria.  Disease surveillance efforts were intensified for diarrhoea, cholera, measles, dengue haemorrhagic fever and malaria.  To read on how satellite data and imagery were useful for the ongoing relief, reconstruction and mitigation, please go to: http://www.asmmag.com//news/926. 

 (3) China struck by 8.0 earthquake, May 12

(based on reports by Xinhua, Reuters, and the New York Times)

The following are the latest facts and figures reported by Xinhua on June 1 about the massive 8.0-magnitude earthquake that rocked southwest China's Sichuan Province on May 12:

• Death toll is at 69,016 nationwide as of June 1 noon; 368,545 people were injured and 18,830 people were missing.

• Rescuers saved and evacuated 951,975 people to safe places, but no new survivor was found buried under the rubble, as of May 31 midnight.

• Hospitals took in 91,762 injured people; 61,597 of whom recovered and left as of Sunday noon.

• Domestic and foreign donations had reached 41.5 billion yuan (USD 5.93 billion); 11.52 billion yuan had been forwarded to the earthquake-affected areas.

• 701,500 tents, 4,411,200 quilts and 11,345,300 garments had been delivered to quake regions.

• The Chinese government has allocated 22.61 billion yuan (USD 3.28 billion) as of June 1 noon for quake relief efforts. The fund included 18.3 billion yuan from the central budget and 4.31 billion yuan from local budgets.

• Xinhua, the state-run news agency, has an English online portal for earthquake-related news and other related articles: http://www.chinaview.cn/08quake/index.htm

Hospitals in Sichuan province were overwhelmed by the nearly 300,000 hurt, prompting the government sent extra trains and convoys of ambulances to carry the injured out.  Rain, aftershocks and landslides have exacerbated the dangers faced by the survivors and more than 100,000 troops assisting in the relief effort.  More than 420,000 houses collapsed in the Qingchuan County in southwest China after two fresh aftershocks hit the area on May 27 – a 5.4-magnitude aftershock in Qingchuan in Sichuan Province, and another 5.7-magnitude tremor in neighboring Ningqiang in Shaanxi Province, according to the China National Seismological Network.  A total of 63 people were injured in Qingchuan alone, six of them critically.  The new aftershocks have also engendered 146 new geological hazards including cracks and debris slides in the mountainous area, the headquarters said.  The following days registered more than 200 aftershocks within a 24-hour period, most below 4.0 magnitude: 243 on May 28, 219 on May 29, and 215 on May 31.

More than 5,000 health workers were sent out to disinfect the hundreds of wrecked villages, and doctors and nurses are stationed are on constant alert in refugee camps, responding to injuries and monitoring for plague and other communicable or vector-borne diseases.  Five million Chinese displaced by the earthquake are in temporary shelters, and are expected to remain there for months as devastated Sichuan province shifts from emergency response to housing refugees for the long term.  An estimated 90% of houses in the immediate disaster area are unsalvageable.

Engineers are also monitoring more than 30 new lakes formed by landslides into river valleys, worried they could burst causing flashfloods into towns and tent cities.  Xinhua reported that the Chinese government evacuated more than 150,000 people living below Tangjiashan lake that was formed when landslides caused by the May 12 earthquake blocked the Jianjiang river near the epicenter.  Downstream from the lake, residents were evacuated overnight as engineers dug a diversion channel to prevent flooding.  Up to 1.3 million people from 33 townships of Mianyang city could be relocated if the lake barrier collapses.  Over the last century, about 5,500 people have been killed by flash floods when barrier lakes burst through dams made by landslides, according to a 2004 paper by geologists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.  Xinhua also reported that in 1786, the breach of a landslide dam 10 days after a major earthquake killed about 100,000 people in Sichuan.

The New York Times reported that the Chengdu Population and Family Planning Committee in Sichuan Province issued an exemption from the one-child policy for parents whose only child was killed or grievously injured in the earthquake.  The policy was introduced in 1979 to control population growth that allows local governments to levy steep fines on couples who have more than one child; the children of those who defy the rules are sometimes denied government benefits, including access to a free education.  The committee announced that if a legally-born child was killed in the earthquake, an illegal child under 18 years could be registered as a legal replacement. If the dead child was illegal, the family would no longer be responsible for outstanding fines, although parents would not be reimbursed for penalties already paid. 

(4) ADB disaster management initiatives

ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda announced $500 million in immediate budgetary support to tackle rising food costs in Asia-Pacific region and pledged to double lending to $2 billion for agriculture in 2009.  To read the announcement, please go to: http://www.adb.org/Media/Articles/2008/12483-asian-food-crisis/default.asp.  The bank is also establishing a new fund to slow the onset of climate change and to help the Asia-Pacific region adapt to the expected devastating impact of global warming.  To read up on the fund, please go to: http://www.adb.org/Media/Articles/2008/12474-asian-climates-changes/default.asp.

B. Calls for Submission

(5) Call for Abstracts: 2008 IAEM Student Poster Competition

The International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) Student Council requests abstracts from undergraduate and graduate students for the 2008 IAEM Student Poster Competition.  The competition, part of the Association's 56th Annual Conference, is an opportunity to highlight student research in emergency management and related fields.  Abstracts will be accepted until October 1, 2008. For details and directions on how to participate and other questions, visit: http://www.iaem.com/

C. Conferences and Courses

(6) International CRED Summer Course 2008: Assessing Public Health in Emergency Situations – Brussels, Belgium: 7- 18 July 2008

Organizer: Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters.  This two-week intensive course is designed to familiarize professionals with epidemiological techniques that will help determine the impacts of disasters and conflicts. The course will introduce participants to the methods and tools used in the context of humanitarian emergencies. The course will also include different uses of quantitative tools for the assessment of health needs in populations affected by catastrophic events. For more information, please go to: http://www.cred.be/Aphes/. 

(7) 2^nd International Disaster Reduction Conference – Davos, Switzerland: 25-29 August 2008

Organizer: IDRC.  This conference will address a broad range of risks including those related to pandemics, terrorism, climate change, and natural hazards.  Risks of a technical, biological, and chemical nature will be featured at this gathering of leading experts, practitioners, academics, and policy makers from a broad range of interdisciplinary fields.  For more information, please go to: http://www.phree-way.org/resources/community-events/international-disaster-reduction-conference.  

(8) 9^th Regional Training Course on Flood Disaster Risk Management – Bangkok, Thailand: 6-17 October 2008

Organizer: Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC).  The course is an integrated approach to developing flood risk reduction strategies that involve engineering, settlement, development, public administration, and community-based land use planning with environmental consideration. This multidisciplinary treatment of flood problems and flood risk management gives a holistic view of the situation and preparedness needs. Case examples of various national and local responses will be presented.  For more information, please go to:

http://www.adpc.net/v2007/TRG/TRAINING%20COURSES/REGIONAL%20COURSES/2008/FDRM-9/FDRM-9.asp.

D. Useful Resources

(9) Resources on Recent Myanmar and China Events Available on the Natural Hazards Center Web Site

To help inform those interested in the events back-to-back disasters (Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar and a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in China’s Sichuan Province), the Natural Hazards Center has compiled links to resources and research on its Web site.  The information includes everything from real-time maps and reports on the situations to general research about cyclones, hurricanes earthquakes and landslides.  Check it all out at http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/asia_disasters.html.  

(10) Integrated Risk Management to Protect Drinking Water and Sanitation Services Facing Natural Disasters, WHO, 2008

This document was prepared as a guide for professionals, agencies, and authorities in the health, drinking water and sanitation sectors, to enrich perspectives and to provide updated information on alternatives for strategic interventions to combat risks inherent in drinking water and sanitation services.  To download, please go to: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/lib.nsf/db900sid/SHIG-7E2BYJ/$file/irc-mar2008.pdf?openelement 

(11) Earthquake and Tsunami Preparedness Program in Bangladesh: Information Bulletin, May 2008

Link to the monthly news bulletin of the Earthquake and Tsunami Preparedness Program in Bangladesh under the Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme: http://www.adpc.net/v2007/Programs/UDRM/PROGRAMS%20&%20PROJECTS/CDMP/ADPC%20Information%20Bulletin%20May%202008.pdf

(12) Country Focus 9: Viet Nam

This is the final installment in a section focused on online resources on the countries under the GUGSA project or PROMISE program, both funded by USAID.  The countries that were featured are (in order): Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam.  Here is a list of online resources on Viet Nam:

• Safer Cities 19: Promoting Safer Housing Construction through CBDRM: Community-designed Safe Housing in Post-Xangsane Da Nang City.November, 2007: http://www.adpc.net/v2007/Programs/UDRM/PROMISE/INFORMATION%20RESOURCES/Safer%20Cities/Downloads/SaferCities19.pdf

• ADPC.  “Workshop on Safer Shelter in Vietnam,” proceedings.  Hanoi, Vietnam: 4 to 5 September 2002: http://www.adpc.net/AUDMP/library/proceedings/vn1.pdf

• Hoang Vinh Hung, Rajib Shaw and Masami Kobayashi.  “Flood risk management for the RUA of Hanoi: Importance of community perception of catastrophic flood risk in disaster risk planning,” Disaster Prevention and Management, 16(2), 2007: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewPDF.jsp?Filename=html/Output/Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Pdf/0730160207.pdf

• UNESCO.  “Typhoon-Resistant School Buildings for Viet Nam,” mission report, Bangkok, July 1987: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001206/120616eo.pdf

• ISDR Profile of Viet Nam: http://www.unisdr.org/eng/country-inform/vietnam-general.htm

• AlertNet’s profile of the Viet Nam: http://www.alertnet.org/db/cp/vietnam.htm

• ADB Portal on Viet Nam: http://www.adb.org/Vietnam/default.asp