Disaster Mitigation
in Asia

31 January 2006 
Issue No. 31

PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

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 processes of finalizing project proposals, and formulating strategies for project implementation are ongoing and city demonstration projects are expected to commence during February-March 2006.

A. FROM THE REGION

(1) ADPC Welcomes New Member of the Board of Trustees

The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) is pleased to inform you that the new Norwegian Ambassador to Thailand, H.E. Mrs Merete Fjeld Brattested (appointed on September 2005) has accepted the invitation to join the ADPC Board of Trustees. The invitation was followed by a briefing on ADPC's work on disaster management and preparedness in the region held on 23 January 2006. ADPC is governed by a Board of Trustees whose composition is international in character, reflecting the nature of the Foundation's work. The Board is responsible for policy setting and oversight of the operations of the Foundation according to its objectives and under the Foundations Charter and By-Laws.

To learn more about ADPC Board of Trustees' roles and responsibilities, please visit http://www.adpc.net

(2) Indonesia: Grant to help boost health and nutrition in Tsunami-affected Aceh, ADB, 20 January 2006

Manila, Philippines- A US$2 million grant from ADB's Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR), financed by the Government of Japan, will help improve the health status of the tsunami-affected population in Aceh, Indonesia. The project will complement activities under the health component of the ADB's Earthquake and Tsunami Emergency Support Project and ADB's Decentralized Health Services Project and will be carried out in Banda Aceh and the three districts of Aceh Besar, Aceh Barat, and Aceh Utara because of their high population density and large numbers of internally displaced people.

For further project information, please visit
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/EKOI-6LBA43?OpenDocument


(3) Hyogo Framework for Action:  A Follow-up 

A Disaster Prevention Symposium to mark the first year anniversary of the Hyogo Framework for Action took place in Kobe, Japan on 18 January 2006. The Hyogo Framework (HF) is a global blueprint for disaster reduction efforts for the next 10 years. HF offers guiding principles, priorities for action and practical means of achieving disaster resilience for vulnerable communities. The Hyogo Framework  calls on governments to invest in measures such as national and local risk assessments, early warning systems, public awareness and education, better urban planning and safer building construction codes. A 6-page brochure and a 5-minute video have been prepared by the UN/ISDR for this occasion to explain the main goals of the Hyogo Framework.

Details of HF event, brochure and video can be viewed at the UN/ISDR website. Please see http://www.unisdr.org

B. CALLS FOR SUBMISSION

(4) 6th Asian Seismological Commission (ASC) VI General Assembly and Symposium on Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation, 7-10 November 2006, Bangkok, Thailand

“Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation” is this year's 6th ASC conference theme. The events are being organized by the Asian Seismological Commission (ASC), IASPEI with the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD), National Earthquake Committee of Thailand (NECT), Engineering Institute of Thailand (EIT) and the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC). Apart from the conference, symposium sessions on different scientific themes will also take place. The ASC organizing committee is inviting scientists, seismologists, geophysicists, geologists, and earthquake engineers as well as experts from concerned institutions, agencies, and organizations to contribute and submit abstracts on (S1) Subduction Zone, Seismology and Tsunami ; (S2) Strong Motion Seismology ; (S3) Earthquake Forecast; (S4) Management/Reduction of Risk;  (S5) Observational Seismology and a Special Session on the 8 October, 2005 Kashmir (Pakistan) Earthquake.

The deadline for submission is on 30 April 2006. Please visit 6th ASC General Assembly website for details http://asc1996.netfirms.com/asc2006/symposium.htm or send an email to the ASC Secretariat at <asc2006_loc@tmd.go.th> or <asc2006_loc@yahoo.co.th>


(5) Consultation on draft Inter-American Development Bank policy

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)  is in the process of drafting a new Disaster Risk Management Policy. This policy is intended to improve the Banks ability to assist the borrowing member countries in the attainment of their development goals in sustainable economic growth, poverty reduction and promotion of social equity, by supporting their efforts to proactively manage disaster risk. The IDB is now circulating the second round of consultation and seeking your comments on the Bank's Disaster Risk Management Policy draft document. The Draft of the Policy, the consultation plan and other supporting documents can be located at

http://www.iadb.org/sds/ENV/site_2970_e.htm (in English)
http://www.iadb.org/sds/ENV/site_2970_s.htm (in Spanish).

In the current phase of the consultation process, the Bank will accept comments until the 21st of March, 2006. Please contact Mr. Niels Holm-Nielsen < nielshn@iadb.org > for further details.


(6) The 7th International Symposium on GIS and Computer Cartography for Coastal Zone Management, 12-16 July 2006, Wollongong and Sydney New South Wales, Australia

Organizers of this symposium invite scientists and practitioners interested in research and application of GIS to all aspects of coastal science, management and policy to submit abstract and paper in following topics: Spatial infrastructure for the coast; Spatial research ; Management issues; CoastGIS community. Abstract submission has been extended until 28 February 2006.

Key sub-themes and issues can be viewed at
http://www.uow.edu.au/science/eesc/conferences/coastgis06.html

 

C.   CONFERENCES AND COURSES

(7) The Fourth (4th) Disaster Management Practitioners (DMP) for Southeast Asia Workshop
March 8-10, 2006, Bangkok, Thailand

“Learning from community-based practices: Strengthening policy and partnerships”, the theme for this year’s workshop, emphasizes the need for continued learning about community based approaches to disaster risk reduction and underlines the importance of formulating policy and strengthening partnerships for wider integration of CBDRM into the social and economic development processes. The 4th DMP SEA Workshop is being held in the aftermath of the great Asian tsunami and the other large scale disasters in the region and worldwide; e.g. the earthquakes in Nias Island, Indonesia and Pakistan and hurricane Katrina in the US. The relevance of community-based approaches to disaster risk reduction has been underlined both by the disastrous events and the response needs, as well as in the policy and institutional reform efforts. Likewise is the increasing need for establishing and strengthening multi-sectoral partnerships and networking to promote integration of community based approaches into broader socio-economic development processes. The workshop is being organized under the PDR-SEA project of ADPC.

The workshop is now accepting registrations. For more information, please contact Kaikim Chiang at kaikim@adpc.net

(8) The International Symposium on Management System for Disaster Prevention (ISMD 2006)
9-11 March 2006, Kochi, Japan

The Symposium strives to review disaster prevention systems for better effectiveness and efficiency. Discussions will focus on how to do research and investigation on causes of disaster, how to design and operate software and hardware infrastructures, and how to build systems. Disaster prevention as a system is also going to be discussed from a management point of view.

For further information, visit http://www.kochi-tech.ac.jp/coe21/ismd/index.html

(9) 2nd Asia Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Seismic Hazard and Damage Mitigation in the Asian Region, Manila, Philippines, 10-11March 2006

This conference which is coordinated by the Asia Council for Earthquake  Engineering (ACEE), will be hosted by the Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines , Inc (ASEP). ACEE 2006 will provide an  excellent forum to bring together researchers, professionals, engineers, scientists and academicians to promote and exchange new ideas and experiences in the broad field of seismology, earthquake engineering, seismic risk and disaster mitigation.

The conference will be held at the Manila Pavilion Hotel, Ermita , Manila, Philippines on 10-11 March 2006. For more information, please see <http://www.aseponline.org> or send an email to the ASEP Secretariat at <aseponline61@yahoo.com>; <asep_acee2006@yahoo.com>.

(10) Third International Conference on Early Warning (EWIII) - From Concept to Action , 27-29 March 2006, Bonn, Germany

This year's EWC III will be hosted by Germany under the auspices of the United Nations. The conference hopes to attract the interest of Governments, Parliaments, International Organizations, practioners, experts in early warning and disaster risk, and the scientific community.  EWC III follows the World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR) which was held in Kobe, Japan on January 2005, and  will focus on the promotion of selected practical early warning projects. EWC III subtitle "From Concept to Action" reflects implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action agreed in Kobe.

To register, please visit  http://www.ewc3.org/

(11) 6th Regional Training Course on Tsunami and Earthquake Vulnerability Reduction for Cities (EVRC-6), 27-31 March 2006, Bangladesh

ADPC is pleased to announce the conduct of the 6th Regional Training Course on Tsunami and Earthquake Vulnerability Reduction for Cities (EVRC-6) scheduled to take place in Bangladesh on 27-31 March 2006. The course is being organized under the Urban Disaster Risk Management Team (UDRM) of the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center  (ADPC) in collaboration with CARE-Bangladesh . EVRC-6 is designed to provide greater understanding of the causes and effects of earthquakes and tsunamis and how to mitigate such  impacts in order to reduce damage and loss of lives from these destructive events.

For course information, please email Mr. Muhibuddin Usamah, UDRM Project Coordinator < muhibuddin@adpc.net >

(12) 100th Anniversary Earthquake Conference,18-22 April 2006, San Francisco, California

The theme for this year's conference is "Managing Risk in  Earthquake Country". The conference is being organized in commemoration of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.  The 100th  Anniversary Earthquake Conference will alo include EERI's 8th U.S. National  Conference on Earthquake Engineering (8NCEE) and 58th Annual  Meeting, SSA's Centennial Annual Meeting and the OES Disaster Resistant California Conference.

Conference details can be viewed at  <http://www.1906eqconf.org>.

(13) Public Health in Complex Emergency , 8-20 May 2006, Bangkok, Thailand

The Public Health in Complex Emergencies training program (PHCE) is a two-week residential course that focuses on critical public health issues faced by NGOs and Ministry of Health personnel working in complex emergencies. IRC and World Education, Inc. have assisted regional partners at American University of Beirut, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center in Bangkok and Makerere University Institute of Public Health in Kampala to implement this important training program.  The goal of the course is to enhance the capacity of humanitarian assistance workers and their organizations to respond to the health needs of refugees and internally displaced persons affected by these emergencies.

Please visit website http://www.adpc.net/phe/phce_wshop.html . Interested participants may also send an email to Ms. Janette Lauza-Ugsang at <janette@adpc.net>

(14) African Aid Relief and Disaster Management 2006, 9-11 May 2006, Gallagher Estate, Midrand, Johannesburg

The conference aims to continue to educate and update  suppliers on UN, Aid Agency & NGO procurement procedures, policies and specifications.  Typically this conference includes VIP networking lunches for UN procurement officers, delegates, speakers and exhibitors, cocktail parties and private meeting areas with a computerised buyer/seller matching system. 

For registration please go to http://www.fairconsultants.com/aid06opener.htm

(15) 5th University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Conference on Public Health and Disasters 21-24 May 2006, Long Beach, California

This conference is designed for public health professionals as well as individuals and organizations from both the public and private sectors involved in emergency public health preparedness and response. The diverse topics will be relevant to public health and medical practitioners, emergency medical services professionals, researchers, and managers involved in the wide range of emergency public health issues resulting from natural and human-induced disasters.

For further conference information, please see http://www.cphd.ucla.edu/conferenceframe.htm

(16) Third Tsunami Symposium, The Tsunami Society,  23-25 May 2006, Honolulu, Hawaii

The Third Tsunami Symposium will be held at the University of Hawaii East-West Conference Center on 23-25 May 2006. The Symposium will have sessions on Numerical Modeling, Tsunami Preparedness, Tsunami Instrumentation, Experimental Modeling, Landslide Generated Tsunamis, Hawaii and Doak Cox, December 26 Asian Tsunami, Risk Analyis and General Session. 

For additional information contact the Tsunami Society President and Symposium Chairman, Dr. Barbara Keating at Keating@soest.hawaii.edu or  Program Chairman, Dr. Charles Mader at MCCOHI@aol.com.

Visit website for symposium details http://www.sthjournal.org/tsabst/2006.pdf

(17) 16th World Conference on Disaster Management,  18-21 June 2006, Toronto, Canada

The theme of the 2006 conference is "The Changing Face of Disaster Management -
A Global Perspective." The conference is being organized by the Canadian Centre for Emergency Preparedness (CCEP) in partnership with the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) and  Disaster Recovery Institute (DRI). The purpose of this conference is to listen and learn, plan and prepare, and educate and exchange views on the lessons to be learned from all disciplines of disaster and emergency management.

Please see website for further conference details http://www.wcdm.org/.

(18) United Nations/ESA/Zambia Regional Workshop on the Applications of Global Navigation Satellite System Technologies in Sub-Saharan Africa, 26-30 June 2006, Lusaka, Zambia

This Regional Workshop which will take place in Lusaka, Zambia will focus on the applications of global navigation satellite system technologies that benefit the social and economic growth of the Sub-Saharan African countries, aims at action planning for implementing specific applications for the region. The Office for the Outer Space Affairs of the United Nations and the Government of the Republic of Zambia are responsible for organizing the workshop. Sponsorship of the Workshop is still open to interested entities.

Please see website for detailed workshop information http://www.oosa.unvienna.org/SAP/gnss/index.html or contact Ms. Ayoni Oyeneyin, UN Office for Outer Space Affairs at < ayoni.oyeneyin@unvienna.org> for nomination and funding, Ms. Sharafat Gadimova, UNOOSA for the workshop agenda and programme and Ms. Beatrice Mwape, the Central Board of Health (workshop focal point) at < bmwape@cboh.org.zm>  or < bmwape2002@yahoo.com>

(19) Risk Analysis 2006: 5th International Conference on Computer Simulation in Risk Analysis and Hazard Mitigation, 19-21 June 2006, Malta

Risk Analysis 2006 is the fifth in this popular conference series on "Computer Simulation in Risk Analysis and Hazard Mitigation". The conference is being organized by Wessex Institute of Technology, UK and sponsored by WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment. Covering a series of important topics, which are of current research interest and have practical applications, the conference is concerned with all aspects of risk analysis and hazard mitigation, ranging from specific assessment of risk to mitigation associated with both natural and anthropogenic hazards.

For more information, please visit http://www.wessex.ac.uk/conferences/2006/risk06/

(20) Regional Training Course on Community Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM), 17-28 July 2006, Bangkok, Thailand

Community Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) provides an opportunity for participants to acquire skills and obtain knowledge on “how to” design and implement programs to reduce disaster risks and vulnerability and build community capacity to promote a ‘culture of safety.’ Through exercises and simulations they will practice risk assessment and risk management planning. The participants will also have a chance to learn about globally acknowledged programs and projects on community based disaster risk management from leaders of these initiatives. In particular the cases will include examples from the South Asia , South East Asia and Pacific regions. The course is being organized by the Training Resource Group (TRG) of ADPC.

For more information on the course, please contact the Training Resource Group Leader at: < tedadpc@adpc.net >

(21) International Disaster Reduction Conference (IDRC), 27 August –1 September 2006, Davos, Switzerland

The conference will address different kinds of risks (e.g. risks due to natural hazards, technical risks, biological and chemical risks, but also pandemics, terrorism, climate change, endemic risks, etc.). A truly integrated and participative approach is planned to ensure that the valuable lessons learned about risk reduction from a wide spectrum of fields are applied correctly for the benefit of communities, countries, and regions. The IDRC Davos 2006 will be a valuable forum and strategic platform for the world’s risk management community. The program will include topical plenary sessions and panel debates, scientific and policy-oriented thematic sessions, special regional sessions for Africa, Asia, North and Latin America and Europe and side events organized by different international and national organizations, exhibits, and special recognition of international pioneers in risk reduction.

For further conference information, please visit http://www.davos2006.ch/IDRC_extfirstann.pdf

(22) First European Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Seismology (1ECEES), 3-8 September 2006 Geneva, Switzerland

The First European Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Seismology (1ECEES) 2006 is a joint event of the 13th European Conference on Earthquake Engineering (EAEE) and 30th General Assembly of the European Seismological Commission  (ESC). This conference will provide excellent opportunities for exchanges between seismologists and earthquake engineers. A comprehensive grant program, financed by the Swiss Government, will support the participation of students and young researchers from economically weak countries.

For more information about the conference, please see http://www.ecees.org/

(23)  34th  Regional Course on Disaster Management (DMC-34),  6-24 November 2005, Bangkok, Thailand

The purpose of this course is to provide comprehensive disaster management knowledge and skills to enhance the capabilities 
of executive managers who have key disaster management responsibilities. It is designed to enable professionals working in 
disaster management, development and donor agencies to effectively integrate disaster management into their development programs and 
policies. Participants will be encouraged to develop key skills and adopt proactive attitudes through participation in interative 
lectures and reflection on a range of key issuses rasied during discussions and practical  activities. The course is being organized by 
the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) under the Resource Training Group.

For additional course information, please 
see http://www.adpc.net/training/brochure/DMC-34brochure.pdf

(24) Flow Regimes from International Experimental and Network Data (FRIEND) 2006 Conference, 27 November-1 December 2006, Havana, Cuba

The objective of the conference is to present the results of the UNESCO FRIEND (Flow Regimes from International Experimental and Network 
Data) research programme that has stimulated international cooperation to meet local and regional needs.  Topics for conference 
include Hydrological data, Biophysical processess, Prediction and forecasting of hydrological extremes, Hurricane impacts, 
Large-scale hydroclimatological variability, Climate change impacts and Capacity Building.

For detailed information, please see <http://www.friend-amigo.org/conferencia2006/>

 

D.  USEFUL RESOURCES

(25) Curbing Corruption in Tsunami Relief Operations

This publication contains proceedings of the Jakarta Expert Meeting organized by the ADB/OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia and the Pacific and Transparency International hosted by the Government of Indonesia on 7-8 April 2005. The meeting brought together the six worst-hit-countries--India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. This publication assembles the meeting's issue papers and conclusions, providing a useful resource for the wide range of individuals and organizations working to ensure equitable tsunami assistance.

To download, please see
http://www.adb.org/Documents/Books/Curbing-Corruption-Tsunami-Relief/curbing-corruption-tsunami-relief.pdf

(26) The World Disasters Report 2005 : Focus on information in disasters
The "World Disasters Report 2005" which focuses on information in disasters published by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is now available. The report calls on agencies to focus less on gathering information for their own needs and more on exchanging information with the people they seek to support. The IFRC 2005 report features Data or dialogue?; The role of information in disasters; Hurricane early warning in the Caribbean; Locusts in West Africa: early warning, late response; Information black hole in Aceh; Sharing information for tsunami recovery in South Asia; Humanitarian media coverage in the digital age; Radio in Afghanistan: challenging perceptions, changing behaviour; Disaster data: key databases, trends and statistics; Plus: photos, tables, maps, graphics, Red Cross Red Crescent contacts and index.

To view chapter summaries, please see http://www.ifrc.org/publicat/wdr2005/index.asp

(27) ECHOES December 2005- January 2006 Issue, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center

The theme for this issue is "Media and Disasters". Echoes is a monthly online e-magazine of the Community of Disaster Practitioners in Southeast Asia. It is an informal community site seeking to provide a platform for networking, camaraderie-building, and information sharing among disaster professionals in the region.

You can now view ECHOES e-zine at  http://www.adpc.net/pdrsea/echoes/index.php

(28) Disaster Management Handbook for Bangladesh

Bangladesh Disaster Preparedness Centre (BDPC) has developed a managerial structure which can be implemented at pre, during and post disaster relief operation to face rush control and to avoid stampede (sketch presented as attachment). The simple yet effective system operation can easily be implemented to avoid tragic death and injuries. The book is published both in English and Bangla. The book will help people and orginzations to prepare them for what to do when disaster strikes.

For more information , please email Zakia Shamim Chowdhury, Documentation Officer, Bangladesh Disaster Preparedness Centre at <zakia@bdpc.org.bd> 

(29) Aceh Media Center

This website provides information and explanation on school condition in Aceh (number of displaced schools, number of missing teachers, displaced students, etc. It is a survey result done by UNICEF and Mapala UI (Adventure Club of University of Indonesia)

Please see website for information http://www.acehmediacenter.or.id/data/?data=mapalaui&page=schoolinfo

(30) e-Aceh-Nias.Org: Unitary Website for Aceh  and North Sumatra Reconstruction Information Sharing

The summary and one year full report of the Aceh and Nias Recovery Effort and Way Forward can now be downloaded from this website initiated by the Government of Indonesia and the Donor Community .

Please visit website to download http://e-aceh-nias.org/

(31) Disaster Watch: One Year After Tsunami :
 Tsunami Update  - 6

The 6th Edition of Disaster Watch contains compilation of articles related to the Tsunami efforts, activities and initiatives taken one year after the December 26 2004 disaster event. The articles highlight the roles of women in the aftermath of the disaster.

To download articles, please see http://www.disasterwatch.net/tsunami_i1.htm