Disaster Mitigation
in Asia

30 Jun 2009
Issue No. 69

The Program for Hydro-meteorological Disaster Mitigation in Secondary Cities in Asia (PROMISE), funded by USAID/OFDA, commenced from October 2005.  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.  Components of the program consist of capacity building in hydro-meteorological disaster risk reduction, risk management advocacy, networking and dissemination initiatives, and city demonstration projects in selected countries.  Through consultations with a number of ADPC partners, five project countries were selected in 2005 for implementing demonstration projects in a highly vulnerable city with recent history of hydro-meteorological disasters – Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.  The projects in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Vietnam were finished by June 2008.  The projects in the Philippines and Sri Lanka were given supplementary activities, while a project in Indonesia began in February 2008.  The main activities from June to July are: disaster management planning for selected schools, and networking for DRR.

PROGRAM ACTIVITIES for May to June 2009:

• INDONESIA –  PROMISE ID held a Lessons Learned and Replication Workshop on June 26.  The objectives of the workshop were: 1. to present the outcome of PROMISE Indonesia work during the last 16 months, as the project draws to a close by the end of July; 2. obtain feed back from the beneficiaries and implementers of the project activities; and 3. obtain the views of stakeholders on replication the mechanism and possible sites.
• PHILIPPINES – The DRR training for public school teachers planned for June was rescheduled to make it part of the activities commemorating Disaster Preparedness Month in July.  The rescheduling was at the request of the training partners, the Region 1 Division of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) and the Region 1 Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC 1).  The PROMISE RP team also met with RDCC 1 Director Eugene Cabrera and Ms. Imelda Acosta of the Region 1 Division of the Office of Civil Defence (OCD) to discuss organizing an event on July 28 on Sustainable DRR and Climate Change Adaptation for provinces in Region 1.  The PROMISE RP experience was presented in a few capacity-building programs this month.  The PROMISE team presented the PROMISE experience at two Kalibo Municipality Child-centered DRR training workshops, from June 8 to 9 and June 10 to 11. Participants came from different stakeholders including the Disaster Coordinating Councils, schools teachers and students, and barangay officials.  The first batch had around 100 participants while the second batch had around 130 participants.  Ms. Mayfourth Luneta presented the PROMISE RP experience at the Central Luzon Conference of Adventist Churches.  Ms. Lorna Victoria and Ms. Emma Molina presented the PROMISE experience with CBDRM at the World Bank video conference training on June 26.
• SRI LANKA – PROMISE SL team distributed rain gauges to five more schools under the school safety program, and provided training for selected school children and school officials on monitoring rain levels using the equipment.  The team also held three out of five planned training programs for the health sector during this month.  Finally, the construction of drains in vulnerable parts of Kalutara commenced at the end of the month.

A. From the Region

(1) ADB creates $5M fund for climate change adaptation

ADB's Board of Directors has approved a $5 million grant to help Central and West Asia address the impacts of climate change on the region.  The assistance will be through policy and capacity development to develop fully functional climate change institutions, inclusive economic growth, and supporting investments in climate change adaptation through low-carbon energy sources. Investments should be in energy efficiency, fuel switching, industrial processes, renewable energy, improved waste management systems, and land restoration.  For more information, go to: http://www.adb.org/Media/Articles/2009/12892-climate-change-help/. 

(2) Asia manages Influenza A (H1N1)

(based on reports from ASEAN+3, Xinhua, and WHO)

Asian countries are managing the spread of the disease with most recovering from the illness.  The new cases as of June 28 are the following:  Singapore confirmed 145 new cases of Influenza A/H1N1, leading the Asian region in new cases of the flu, bringing the total of cases to 599 in the city state.  Second to Singapore in terms of new cases is Hong Kong SAR with a reported 66, bringing its total to 695; 554 of the confirmed cases have been discharged from public hospitals upon recovery.  Macao, the other SAR of China, reported two more confirmed cases of influenza A/H1N1 on Sunday, bringing the total number to 18.  Another 51 new cases of A/H1N1 flu were confirmed on the Chinese mainland, bringing the country's total to 729 with zero fatalities.  Thailand, one of the hardest-hit nations in the region, had 41 new cases of the flu, bringing the country's total to 1,330 with three confirmed fatalities.  The Philippines, had a total of 861 cases, 634 of whom had fully recovered since May 21 and only one confirmed fatality.  Several Asian countries have reported cases.  To get updates, please go to: http://www.adpc.net/v2007/SwineInfluenza/Default.asp. 

(3) Bangladesh introduces SMS cyclone alert system

(based on reports by AlertNet and AFP)

Bangladesh is testing a text message service to warn people of natural disasters, including floods and cyclones, through a signed agreement with Grameenphone and state-owned Teletalk, two mobile operators in the country.  Disaster Management Bureau spokesman Syed Ashraf said the service would be piloted for six months in the southeastern districts of Cox's Bazar, where cyclones frequently hit, and Sirajganj in the north, prone to flooding. The SMS messages will warn people of floods or cyclones, and will tell people whether to go to shelters and what to do.   The messages would not be the usual SMS format, but would flash automatically on the screen of mobile phone sets, so people would not have to push a button on their handsets.  Despite being one of the poorest countries in the world, Bangladesh – with a population of 144 million people – has a booming telecommunications sector with an estimated 44 million people owning a cell phone. Bangladesh has been instituting cyclone disaster mitigation system of cyclone alerts and a network of cyclone shelters since 1970, when almost half-a-million people died in a cyclone.

B. Calls for Submission

(4) Call for Authors and Review Editors: Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation
This report by the IPCC will require the contributions of experts who can integrate findings from experts in climate change science; vulnerability, impacts, and adaptation to extreme events; and disaster risk management. Authors and editors should have extensive expertise in disasters and climate change and generally will be recognized in their field of expertise.  The deadline for nominations is July 10, 2009.  More information, including on how to nominate someone to serve as an author or editor, is available on the IPCC Web site: http://www.globalchange.gov/ipcc. 

(5) Second call for nominations for the Habitat Scroll of Honour

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UNHABITAT) is still accepting nominations to the Habitat Scroll of Honour. The award acknowledges initiatives that made outstanding contributions in all areas of shelter provision and improving the quality of urban life. Please send your nominations and submissions to whd@unhabitat.org before 15 August 2009. Submission guidelines are available here: http://www.unhabitat.org/whd2009information.

C. Conferences and Courses

(6) Regional Training Course on Incident Command System for Disaster Management – Phuket, Thailand: 10-16 August 2009

Organizers: Asian Disaster Preparedness Center.  This course is designed to enable practitioners to operate efficiently during an incident or event within the Incident Command System (ICS). This course focuses on the management of single resources. The objectives of the ICS course is to provide participants with the in-depth knowledge on Incident Command System, describe the ICS organization appropriate to the complexity of the incident or event and use ICS to manage an incident or event efficiently. The proposed training will offer course work, hands on training with series of table top simulation exercises, lessons learned, good practices and field visit.  For more information, download the brochure from: http://www.adpc.net/v2007/Uploads-Manager/eUpload/Brochure_ICS_25%20Mar%202009_Final.pdf. 

(7) Third Central Asia GIS Conference – Bishkek, Kyrgistan: 27-28 August 2009

Organizers: Kyrgyz State University for Construction, Transportation & Architecture.  This conference will bring together practitioners from Central Asian countries.  The topics to be discussed include GIS for Environmental Management, Emergency Management, and Health.  UN-SPIDER will be organizing a pre-conference meeting on August 26 and will be providing funding support for experts from the disaster management community to attend this meeting as well as the conference. Further information can be obtained by e-mail: gisca09@aca-giscience.org or from the conference website: http://www.aca-giscience.org/gisca09. 

(8) 18^th Regional Training Course on Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction (CBDRR) – Bangkok, Thailand: 31 Aug – 11 Sept 2009

Organizer: Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC).  The CBDRR course provides an opportunity for practitioners to learn essential skills and knowledge in community-based disaster risk management to address implementation challenges in a systematic manner. CBDRR participants acquire tools and obtain knowledge on how to design and implement programs for reducing disaster risks and vulnerability and building community capacity to promote a "culture of safety." For inquiries, contact Mr. Falak Nawaz, tedadpc@adpc.net.

D. Useful Resources

(9) Get your H1N1 updates from ADPC

ADPC has developed an online resource on H1N1 influenza. It features the current WHO alert level, a tally of the number of people afflicted vs. those who died from H1N1, guidelines on preventing the transmission of the flu, and H1N1 updates from Asian countries.  Get the latest updates here: http://www.adpc.net/v2007/SwineInfluenza/Default.asp. 

(10) Understanding and Responding to Climate Change in Developing Asia, ADB 2009

http://mms.adb.org/e-Notification/url.asp?ID=18714&DOCID=17629 

(11) Political and Economic Update (India), ADB 2009

http://mms.adb.org/e-Notification/url.asp?ID=18714&DOCID=17601 

(12) Informal Employment in Indonesia, ADB 2009

http://mms.adb.org/e-Notification/url.asp?ID=18714&DOCID=17346 

(13) This month in Asia’s disaster history

On the 15^th of June 1896, an earthquake with magnitude 8.5 occurred 150 km off the coast near the Japanese port city of Sanriku.  The earthquake, triggered the formation a second tsunami wave that was massive; it devastated the city killing over 22,000 people and destroyed about 9,000 homes.  The earthquake itself was weakly felt on land, partly because its epicenter was deep in a trench, and partly because the shock propagation was probably moderated by the earth’s surface.  The tsunami waves, however, reached an intimidating height of 38.2 meters. It crashed upon a crowd that had gathered in a city to celebrate a religious festival and the return of soldiers from the Sino-Japanese War.  The tsunami was also observed across the Pacific. In Hawaii, wharves were demolished and several houses were swept away.  In California, a 9.5 feet wave was observed, according to the San Francisco Chronicle of June 16, 1896.  This Sanriku tsunami served as an impetus for tsunami research in Japan.  Learn more about the tsunami here:

• http://shippai.jst.go.jp/en/Detail?fn=2&id=CA1000616
• http://au.encarta.msn.com/sidebar_781541591/sanriku
  _tsunami_of_1896_from_national_geographic.html
• http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/sanriku.html