PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
BANGLADESH – BDPC conducted three ward-level
CBDRM courses during the reporting month at
Wards 8, 16 and 26. The emphasis of the
course is on community risk assessment and
the development of community action plans
for reducing their vulnerability. The Change
Agents and all the Ward Disaster Management
Committees formed under the PROMISE project
in ten wards of the city corporation took
active part in the search and rescue
operation in their respective Wards and
thereby proved their enhanced capacity to
cope with such devastating disaster. The
volunteers of Ward # 41 assisted in
rebuilding the damaged houses with bamboo
pillars and protected the ponds used for
fisheries. A two-member team from USAID,
Mr. Golam Kabir and Mr. Walter Shepherd,
visited North Potenga, Ward # 40 on 16 June,
2007. The main purpose of the visit was to
inspect the overall situation and response
and rescue activities accomplished by CA’s
after the landslides. During the discussion
Mr. Shepherd wanted to know whether the CAs
knew about the hazard before the event; Mr.
Faridul Islam, Project Manager, replied that
the CAs mentioned this risk during their
hazard mapping, and they also identified
their capacities and vulnerabilities. Mr.
Shepherd wanted to know what purpose the
vulnerability and capacity assessments would
serve in future. Mr. Islam informed that a
meeting to validate these reports would be
held in July with the participation of Ward
Commissioners and officials from Chittagong
City Corporation. Mr. Shepherd expressed
his desire to be present at the event. The
agenda for the meeting includes: (1) to
share the goal and objectives of the
vulnerability and capacity assessment, (2)
to share the implementation procedure of VCA,
(3) to share the key findings of
vulnerability and capacity assessment, (4)
to validate the findings for each ward, and
(5) to present, validate and finalize the
small scale mitigation project. Activities
for next month also include the finalization
of small-scale community disaster mitigation
projects, awareness raising activities at
schools, and disaster response drills at
schools.
PAKISTAN – AKPBS(P) and the Disaster
Management Committees have been convening
their meetings to take stock of the
situation. During the reporting period two
(2) committees have convened their meetings.
The agenda of these meetings was to review
the vulnerability context and make interim
arrangements. Through these meetings it was
urged to start the works on demo projects so
as the communities could reap the benefits
of the projects. Following important
decisions were made during these meetings:
(1) All the respective DMCs will revisit the
social maps, re-identify vulnerable
localities and populations within their
jurisdiction in couple of weeks, update the
relevant information and play their
respective roles; (2) It was also decided to
speed up the registration process of DMCs as
Community Citizen’s Boards so as the
committees could mobilize the much needed
public resources to prepare themselves and
the communities to face the imminent rain
disaster. The project team continued field
activities through meetings with communities
and other stakeholders: NGOs and GOs to
discuss the implementation strategies for
demo projects and planning for forthcoming
monsoon season. The project team contacted
and invited First Microfinance Bank to
provide financial services in the project
areas to create new livelihood options and
to facilitate the requests from the
communities for access to micro-credit. On
June 6, bank officials held a meeting in
Ghera Basti with the DMC and potential
beneficiaries and made rapid appraisals;
consequently, the bank decided to start
services soon in the projects areas. Among
the activities for next month will be the
Training on ‘Resource Mobilization’ that was
delayed to July 22 to 25 at Hyderabad. Mr
Gopal Das Malhi, Senior Coordinator,
Strengthening Participating Organizations (SPO)
and Dr Bakhshal Khan Lashari, Professor,
Mehran University, Jamshoro (Master Trainer
from ADPC on Disaster Management) are the
resource persons for the training. Topics
to be covered include: Resource Acquisition,
Sources of Funding, Self-Help Basis Resource
Generation, Government Funding, and Funding
through CCBs.
PHILIPPINES – CDP and Dagupan City’s
Technical Working Group (TWG) continued with
the activities related to the disaster
exercises. On June 1, the Control Team (Ms.
Maris Palencia, Mr. Honorio de Dios, Ms.
Mayfourth Luneta, Ms. Emma Molina, Engr
Athena Arenas and Mr. Rhoderick Dawis) had
an assessment of the work of the control
team and other committees involved in the
Flood Response Simulation. Some of the
lessons and suggestions for the control team
include: Invite a disaster specialist from
the local government, national office and
civil society who can express substantial
inputs, suggest future activities and
identify areas for improvement; In selecting
the location of EOC, the space, staging
area, placement of signage for proper
identification are significant factors to
consider; It is important to indicate that
it is just a simulation exercise to avoid
confusion among community people; have a
dedicated member to oversee the script’s
implementation when running the exercise
simultaneously in different areas; have a
separate Assessment for Barangay Mangin to
assess their learning and the implementation
of their plans. Lessons and suggestions for
the CDCC include: A data/ bulletin board is
essential inside the EOC to monitor its
activities, have a database on the number of
affected families, damages incurred and
directory of focal persons; the
Communication Room inside the EOC should be
isolated from other rooms (meeting room,
media room); A Contingency Plan for specific
disasters must be prepared and made
available; A topographic/ hazard map of the
area is a primary necessity in the EOC; All
flood markers should be installed and
labelled, and water measurements should be
recorded regularly; and The people in the
community should know the plan, the warning
signals and alert levels. Based on the
assessment of the control team Barangay
Mangin had a separate assessment last June
6; the most relevant realization was that
the Barangay Council was able to see the
need of having more people involved in the
committees of the BDCC.
On June 6, the final orientation for the
Flood Response Communication Simulation, and
the simulation was conducted in Dagupan City
on June 7. Ms. Maris Palencia and Mr.
Honorio De dios directed the whole
simulation that was designed to test the
communication flow during emergencies of the
CDCC and the high risk communities in
flooding, and to enhance the disaster risk
reduction plan of the pilot communities and
the eight barangays. Since PROMISE already
gave some two-way radios for the eight pilot
barangays, the BDCCs will get some fund out
from their calamity fund to use it for
buying external antennas. Before the actual
simulation, a briefing on how to use the
radio, the codes, and other relevant issues
were given to the eight pilot barangays. The
following points were raised during the
debriefing: During the simulation it was
seen that it is harder to have good
reception if there were no external antenna;
Using only one frequency can clog up the
communication system; All flood markers
should be installed, and water measurements
should be recorded regularly; and The people
in the community should know the plan, the
warning signals and alert levels. On June
21, the report on the Flood Response
Simulation was presented to USAID country
representatives (Ms. Laura Coughlin, Mr.
Kevin Donahue and Ms. Boyet Abanilla).
Advocacy activities for the month included
participation in events held by Earthquake
Megacities Initiative (EMI) and by CDP. EMI
invited stakeholders to help assess the
second phase plan of EMI’s 3cd Program in
Metro Manila. Ms. Luneta represented CDP in
this workshop, and presented te PROMISE
Philippines experience with Dagupan City.
She was also able to get some ideas that can
be used in the project including: Have an
Equipment Tool Box in strategic areas in the
City to be used during emergencies;
Coordinate with big cities like Marikina,
Quezon City and Makati, and Formulate
earthquake risk reduction plans
(hazard-specific and multi-hazard plans).
Ms. Luneta shared the PROMISE Philippines
experience during CDP’s CBDRM and local
governance training. Twenty participants
attended, representing different
organizations like Mahal Inc., Caritas,
Ateneo de Manila University, World Vision
International Asia Pacific, Environmental
Science for Social Change, Marinduque
Council for Environmental Concerns, Oxford
Brookes University, and Food for the
Hungry. Next month’s activities include
Disaster Preparedness Day celebrations on
July 16, and the emergency management course
from July 16 to 20.
SRI-LANKA – Sarvodaya conducted a workshop
on establishment of end to end early warning
system at Ratnapura in May. This month saw
the formation of Emergency Response Teams
from the youth of the communities, a joint
effort with the Disaster Management Centre
and the Community Health Unit of Sarvodaya.
Discussions to implement the teams further
were continued with the Kalutara District
Centre on Functioning of the Emergency
Operation Centre (EOC); with Mr. Weerakkodi,
Representative of the DMC-Kalutara at the
District Secretariat office; and with the
Administrative Officer of Grama Nilidari
officers on the concept of establishing a
Kalutara EOC and to discuss the proposed
small-scale disaster mitigation projects.
VIETNAM – CECI continued with development of
guidelines on safer construction
techniques. The content of the guidelines
were drafted, including information on
typhoons/floods and climate change,
historical profiles of damages to houses
caused by typhoons and floods, analysis of
reasons why many houses were damaged and
destroyed. The guidelines were developed in
collaboration with the Construction
department of Da Nang city and the
Construction Consulting Company of Architect
Union. The guidelines would be disseminated
in the community, and is a basis for the
poster on nine construction principles
resistant to typhoon and floods. The poster
has been sent for comments to the
communities and ADPC, and is now with the
city authority for approval. The poster
will be distributed to ward and district
people's committee district, beneficiaries
of the house programme, head of sections for
their dissemination of these principles in
community meetings. CECI reviewed the
Disaster Preparedness Plans (DPPs) and
proposed subprojects of the section
clusters. The first three - day CBDRM
training at ward level was conducted at Hoa
Thoa Tay ward from June 26 to 28; the
training was done with the Cam Le District
Red Cross. Thirty persons attended,
including members of the ward CSFC and
representative of the most vulnerable
sections.
In other activities, the Project Coordinator
attended the training course on Advocacy
skills funded by DIPECHO and facilitated by
ADPC, from on June 7 to 9 in Hanoi. >From
June 11 to 15, CECI assisted Ms. Gabrielle
Iglesias, PROMISE's networking and
information coordinator from ADPC, to
develop a case study on the above-mentioned
safer housing programme with the theme of
mainstreaming safer construction into
regulation and private practice. CECI
assisted to set interview appointments with
city and district urban planner, officials
of the city to learn about the planning,
zoning and building permit processes in Da
Nang, and to get their assessment of the
impact that Typhoon Xangsane had on
planning, zoning and building permit.
Arrangements were also made to visit rebuilt
houses and interview the beneficiaries of
the program. Activities for next month
include: Training on CBDRM for two other
wards; Finalization of guidelines on urban
planning and safer construction techniques;
Development of guidelines for using DPP
fund; Selection among the small-scale
disaster mitigation projects; and TOT for
Change Agents.
A. FROM THE REGION
(1) Earthquake in Yunnan, China: 3 June 2007
(based on reports from ReliefWeb and the
National Disaster Reduction Center of China)
An earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter
scale struck Pu'er and Ning’er cities in
Yunnan province, China at 05:34 local time.
Three people have been confirmed dead, at
least 300 injured, affected 186,000 people
in 35,000 households, and forced the
evacuation of 120,000 residents. The
earthquake occurred at 5:34 a.m., with the
epicenter at 23 degrees north and 101.1
degrees east, according to the China
Earthquake Administration. Ning’er city's
seismic bureau had recorded more than 300
aftershocks by 3:30 p.m. More than 70
mobile phone signals transmission stations
were severely damaged, making it difficult
to make cell phone calls. The county's
power grid was also severely damaged with
reduced capacity, while two mid-sized
reservoirs were cracked.
(2) Cyclone Gonu hits Oman and Iran, 5 June
2007
(based on reports from AFP, Shargh news and
ReliefWeb)
The cyclone Gonu, the strongest tropical
storm ever recorded in the Persian Gulf
region since 1945, started lashing the
islands and coastal cities in Hormozgan and
Sistan-Baluchistan Provinces in southeast of
Iran as of Wednesday afternoon, 6 June 2007.
Early Wednesday evening strong winds snapped
tree branches, thunder storm lashed, and
torrential rain poured over Iran's farthest
southeastern coastal cities including
Chabahar, Jask, Konarak and Bandar Abbas.
The winds, with varying speeds from 60 to
200 kilometers per hour, destroyed things on
the way, breaking tall trees, cutting off
electricity poles and causing fires in some
city locations. Also the level of sea water
kept rising as the storm got momentum.
Oman evacuated 7,000 people from coastal
areas, police said. Residents of the island
of Masirah in the Arabian Sea as well as of
Oman's eastern coastline have sought refuge
on higher ground.
In Iran, the strong winds and floods are
causing damages to cities and villages in
Hormozgan, Sistan-Baluchistan and Kerman
Provinces. Houses, roads and electricity
networks are destroyed by the winds and
floods. However, details of casualties and
damages are not available yet as the
assessment has not begun because the areas
are still affected by the cyclone. The
local authorities and the Iranian Red
Crescent Society gave early warning to the
residents living in the areas to be hit by
the cyclone and arranged for a total of
40,000 people to move to safe higher areas
before the arrival of the storm. Special
emergency task forces at the central and
provincial levels were set up to coordinate
the response to the cyclone. The country's
Natural Disasters Commission arranged for
the transportation of bottled drinking water
and medicines to the regions to be affected
by the storm and took various measures to
deal with the disaster. The Ministry of
Health put the entire hospitals, health and
medical centers in Sistan-Baluchistan and
Hormozgan Provinces on red alert in order to
provide medical services to the cyclone
victims if needed. Damages reported in
affected areas included 200 villages
destroyedbetween 8 to 25 reported deaths, ,
the destruction of 80% of farms and gardens,
130 camels and 500 sheep lost, the
destruction of wells and 70% of the affected
people with lack of access to clean water,
and 250000 people vulnerable to illness
especially to malaria and diarrhea.
(3) Indonesia Disaster Management Workshop,
6-8 June 2007
The Indonesia Disaster Management Workshop
is designed to support “operationalizing” of
the Indonesia’s newly adopted National
Action Plan for Disaster Reduction 2006-2009
through examination of specific hazards,
planning mechanisms and standard operating
procedures, highlighting the TNI’s role in
preparedness and response. Furthermore, it
delved into contingency planning efforts,
particularly SOP development, when it
involves regional and international
cooperation and use of TNI assets. The
workshop gathered more than 200 Indonesian
national and provincial disaster management
officials, representatives of other
Indonesian government ministries, the
Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) and national
Civil-Society Organizations. Selected
international/regional organizations and
non-governmental organizations with programs
in Indonesia were invited to participate and
to share practical insights on challenges
and best practices in the field of disaster
management. It was hosted by Bakornas PB in
conjunction with the Center of Excellence in
Disaster Management and Humanitarian
Assistance (COE), Hawaii and the United
Nations Technical Working Group (UNTWG),
Indonesia.
(4) Angry Aceh Residents Turn Off Tsunami
System, 8 June 2007
(based on reports from Newswire)
Angry residents in Indonesia's Aceh province
disabled a tsunami warning system after a
false alarm spread panic. Officials say
residents smashed an electricity box after a
tsunami warning tower near the capital Banda
Aceh rang for about 30 minutes. Their action
means the warning system in Banda Aceh and
Aceh Besar is switched off until the damage
can be repaired. Aceh was devastated by the
2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
(5) Dozens more
die in India heat wave, 11 June 2007
(based on reports from AlertNet and CNN)
More than two dozen people have died over
the last 24 hours in a heat wave that baked
north and central India, with the death toll
over 100 since the heat wave began,
including 62 in Uttar Pradesh state, 36 in
the western desert state of Rajasthan and 19
in Punjab. The scalding temperatures have
also hit large parts of Pakistan, with at
least 50 dead. Most of the dead were
homeless people, the elderly and those who
work outdoors, hit by sunstroke and
dehydration.
(6)
Bangladesh and Myanmar Flooding, Chittagong
Landslides, 11 June 2007
(based on reports from ReliefWeb, BDPC and
Reuters)
On 11 June 2007, three days of rains and
water from upstream also swelled the
Brahmaputra, Jamuna, Teesta and Dharala
rivers, creating flash floods and inundating
large areas of Bangladesh. Low-lying areas
of Netrokona, Sunamgonj, Habigonj, Bogra,
Kurigram, Chandpur and Feni districts are
submerged and several thousand people have
been isolated. Houses in the affected areas
are damaged and daily activities have been
disrupted. Flood-prone Bangladesh is bracing
for an unusual and unpredictable monsoon
this year, with environment experts and
officials blaming global warming, melting
Himalayan glaciers, silted rivers and
unplanned roads. "Global warming, silting
of the rivers and unplanned road
construction have changed the routine of the
flooding in Bangladesh," said Sajedul Karim,
a senior director at the Flood Forecasting
and Warning Center in Dhaka. In Myanmar’s
neighboring Rakhine State, the downpour
caused widespread flooding. There are
reports of landslides on the road between
Maungdaw and Buthidaung and UN security
staff are currently assessing the damage.
A series of devastating landslides was
caused by torrential rains in the port city
of Chittagong; it left about 84 people dead
and hundreds of others wounded in the early
hours of Monday. The Meteorological Office
recorded 227mm of rainfall on Monday and
said that it was the heaviest rainfall in
the past quarter of a century. Around 2
million people were badly affected by
landslides and dangerous water logging The
volunteers and change agents of all the ten
Disaster Management Committees formed under
the PROMISE Bangladesh project in ten wards
of Chittagong City Corporation were engaged
in rescue and evacuation activities round
the clock in the disaster stricken city of
Chittagong. In fact the PROMISE change
agents of ward no.11 were the first people
who contacted the army HQs. and approached
them to open the sluice gate to ease the
serious water logging in the ward. Mr.
Faridul Islam, the PROMISE Project Manager
in Chittagong, told that the PROMISE change
agents helped in various ways including
carrying the belongings of the affected
people, rushing the wounded to the
hospitals, and in removing the dead bodies.
Reuters by telephone that at least 102
bodies have been recovered from dozens of
homes buried under tonnes of mud following
Monday's landslides, and nearly 10,000
people were evacuated to some 200 shelters
in Chittagong.
(7) Floods devastate hundreds of thousands
of Chinese, 12 June 2007
(based on reports from Reuters)
Torrential downpours, mudslides and floods
hit the provinces of Hunan, Guangdong,
Guangxi, Guizhou, Jiangxi and Fujian since
the weekend, prompting evacuation of 788,000
people and the direct economic damage of
about 4.7 billion yuan (US$ 615 million),
with 69,000 homes and 1,360 km2
of crops destroyed, the Civil Affairs
Ministry said. For the first time this
year, the Three Gorges Dam on the mighty
Yangtze River, the world's biggest
hydropower project, discharged water after
excessive rainfall upstream on Tuesday to
lower the level in the reservoir from 144.9
meters to 144 meters, Xinhua said. In the
worst hit area of northeastern Guangdong,
paramilitary troops and other rescuers used
speedboats to deliver instant noodles, rice
and medicine to 24 villages in Huangjin.
Rescuers were disinfecting areas where water
had retreated to avert epidemic.
Authorities in Meizhou municipality, which
includes Huangjin, were rushing to repair
dykes along the Hanjiang ahead of heavy
rains forecast for the rest of the week,
Xinhua news agency said.
(8) Singapore hit by dengue epidemic, 19
June 2007
(based on reports from AlertNet and the
Singapore National Environment Agency)
The number of people infected with dengue in
a single week in Singapore has hit epidemic
levels. A total of 401 cases of the
mosquito-borne disease were reported last
week in the Southeast Asian city-state,
according to the National Environment Agency
(NEA). It is the highest weekly level
reported this year, passing the 378 cases in
a week the Health Ministry has set as the
level to declare an epidemic. A total of
2,868 dengue cases have been reported in
Singapore since the beginning of this year,
compared to 4,580 cases in the same period
in 2005 when the island suffered its worst
outbreak. For more information,
check out:
http://app.nea.gov.sg/cms/htdocs/article.asp?pid=2911
(9) Storms, flashfloods kill dozens in
Pakistan, 23 June 2007
(based on reports from AlertNet and CNN)
The monsoon weather system over Indian
Gujraat entered North Arabian Sea on 23rd
June 2007. Cyclone Yemyin made landfall in
Balochistan province on Tuesday 26th June
2007, bringing rain, flooding and winds of
up to 80mph (130 kph). As of 29th June 2007,
wide spread rain in Balochistan while
isolated light rain have been reported in
Sindh. According to Pakistan's Relief
Commissioner, the official death toll is 100
but unofficial reports indicate around 200
people killed. Sindh and Balochistan
Provinces were the two areas where Cyclone
Yemyin caused most damage during 23-26
June. Some 1.5 million people have been
affected, while 250,000 have become homeless
in Balochistan. The government has declared
an emergency situation in all hospitals,
according to Maj. Zia ul Hassan, the police
chief of Sindh Province. He said his police
were helping get the injured to hospitals
and recover bodies from collapsed homes.
Some 29 fishermen who were in high seas
before the Cyclone are still missing. At
least 42 people died and more than 150 were
injured when heavy rains caused buildings in
Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, to
collapse, according to provincial health and
police officials. The city's communication
systems went down Saturday and there were
widespread power outages because of the
storms. The storms uprooted trees and
toppled billboards on Karachi streets,
causing massive traffic jams and some
injuries, officials said. In the rainstorm,
224 houses collapsed completely and 1,127
suffered partial damages. The situation was
exacerbated by prolonged interruption in
electric supply in many areas of Karachi.
Some 3,750 people were provided medical
treatment in 19 medical camps.
(10) Sri
Lanka Conducts Disaster Simulation Exercise
in Harburdura, Galle District, Sri Lanka,
27 June 2007
Sri Lankan officials conducted an Incident
Command Systems (ICS) simulation exercise in
Harburdura division of the Galle district,
which showed the applications ICS within a
Division level unit of the Disaster
Management workforce and key local
cooperators, tested and identified the
weakness of the existing response plans
(i.e. district disaster response plan,
industrial emergency response plan, etc) and
provided ICS awareness promotion to apply in
any emergency situation. The exercise, which
simulated a disaster arising from widespread
flooding, showcased successful ICS
mechanisms that participants from sectors
spanning health, emergency services,
infrastructure, utilities, hotels, and NGOs
will be able to apply in future emergency
situations. The Ministry of Disaster
Management and Human Rights, Harburdura
Divisional Secretariat, and the Board of
Investment of the Koggala Free Trade Zone
conducted the exercise to evaluate progress
on implementing ICS within division and
district level disaster management units.
The exercise was under the US Indian Ocean
Tsunami Warning System (US IOTWS) Project,
ADPC and the US Forest Service.
B. CALLS FOR SUBMISSION
(11) Call for Proposals: ProVentium
Consortium Research and Action Grants for
Disaster Risk Reduction
The ProVention Consortium is pleased to
announce the launch of the 2007-2008
Research & Action Grants for Disaster Risk
Reduction. Students and young professionals
from developing countries are invited to
propose creative projects and innovative
ideas for support. The Research and Action
Grants for Disaster Risk Reduction programme
is designed to engage enthusiastic young
students and professionals in developing
countries in creating innovative links
between research and action in disaster risk
reduction. Applicants are invited to seek
ways to cut across professional disciplines
and to exchange knowledge and engage
stakeholders from scientific and academic,
civilian, public and private sectors.
Proposals are encouraged in, but not limited
to, the following thematic focus areas:
Developing mechanisms to strengthen
community resistance and resilience,
Improving education materials and curricula,
and Engaging the private sector in disaster
risk reduction (especially
micro-enterprises). Deadline for proposal
submission is July 15th, 2007. To read
details on eligibility, requirements, and to
download the request for proposal, please go
to:
www.proventionconsortium.org/research_and_action_grants.
(12) Call for Submissions: Journal of
Disaster Research
The Journal of Disaster Research is calling
for technical papers and other contributions
on disaster prevention and planning
measures, risk management, disaster
psychology, disaster-related medical
treatment, sociological aspects of disaster,
economic influences, and disaster
philosophy. The journal's target audience
includes researchers, engineers, disaster
prevention managers, administrators,
diplomats, and disaster-related NGO
personnel who fight disaster. For more
information and to view the journal's
contents, visit
www.fujipress.jp/JDR/.
(13) Call for Presenters: Church World
Service Emergency Response Program Forum on
Domestic Disaster Ministry
The Church World Service Emergency Response
Program is seeking speakers, panelists, and
workshop leaders to present research and
case studies, introduce new concepts and
approaches, and generate discussion related
to domestic disaster mitigation/
preparedness, response, and recovery under
the umbrella theme "Economics & Justice in
Disasters" for its third forum on Domestic
Disaster Ministry. The forum will bring
together experienced volunteers and
professionals in disaster ministries from
the interfaith community from March 29-April
1, 2008, at Scarritt Bennett, a United
Methodist conference facility near the
campus of Vanderbilt University in
Nashville, Tennessee. Sample topics
include: Sustainable Livelihoods &
Affordable Housing In Reducing Disaster
Vulnerability; Professional Care vs. Local
Capacity Building Following Disasters;
Predatory Lending, Price-Gouging &
Unscrupulous Contractors; and Using Disaster
Recovery to Build Economic Vitality of
Communities. The deadline for receiving
program proposals is Friday, September 28,
2007. Please submit proposals to: Bob
Arnold, Church World Service Emergency
Response Program, 7th Floor, 475
Riverside Drive, New York, NY, USA 10115;
barnold@churchworldservice.org
(14) Call for Papers: Performance under
Stress: Managing Emergencies and Disasters
Journal editors are seeking manuscripts for
a symposium on "Performance under Stress:
Managing Emergencies and Disasters," to be
published in the Public Performance and
Management Review. This symposium will
focus on performance in dealing with
disasters, including catastrophic disasters.
Catastrophic disasters are characterized by
unexpected or unusual size, disruptions to
the communication and decision making
capabilities of the emergency response
system, and an initial breakdown in
coordination and communication. Editors are
soliciting articles that analyze a range of
issues related to performance management in
managing disasters, such as the meaning of
responsiveness in managing disaster
networks, efficiency and timeliness, the
factors that affect public organizations'
level of responsiveness, and best practices
of improving disaster management
performance. The deadline for manuscript
submission is September 30, 2007; all
submissions will be refereed. Please send
manuscripts or proposals for manuscripts to:
Dr. Naim Kapucu, Department of Public
Administration, HPA II 238M, University of
Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA 32816;
nkapucu@mail.ucf.edu.
(15) 2007 Mary Fran Myers Award Winner is
Prema Gopalan
The Mary Fran Myers Award recognizes that
vulnerability to disasters and mass
emergencies is influenced by social,
cultural, and economic structures that
marginalize women and girls. Prema Gopalan
has supported poor rural women in building
bridges with local government to facilitate
democratic processes that are inclusive of
women. Prema served as Executive Director
of Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP) for over 15
years. The impact of Prema's work is
clearly demonstrated by the experience of
SSP after the Marathwada earthquake of 1993,
determining that women's savings and credit
groups could be reactivated as community
organizations that could inspire and engage
large numbers of women to lead their
community's repair and reconstruction. Read
her complete biography at
www.colorado.edu/hazards/awards/myers-award.html.
C. CONFERENCES AND COURSES
(16) 16th Regional Training
Course on Community Based Disaster Risk
Management (CBDRM) – Bangkok, Thailand: July
16-27, 2007
Organizer: Asian Disaster Preparedness
Center (ADPC). The CBDRM 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. CBDRM 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." More information on
this course and on the updated ADPC Calendar
for Training and Workshops are available at
www.adpc.net.
(17) AOGS 4th Annual Meeting – Bangkok,
Thailand: 30 July – 3 August 2007
Organizer: Asia Oceanic Geosciences Society
(AOGS). The will have multiple sessions on
atmospheric, hydrologic, and terrestrial
hazards such as typhoons, urban flooding,
tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanoes. For
more information, please visit
www.asiaoceania-conference.org.
(18) China-U.S. Conference on
Disaster Management: Natural and
Technological Disasters – Beijing, PROC: 1-4
August 2007
This conference is a venue for the exchange
of best practices, technologies, and
research between professionals and
specialists in the field of disaster
management. For more information, please
visit:
www.globalinteractions.org.
D. USEFUL RESOURCES
(19) ECHOes
Partnerships for Disaster Reduction South
East Asia Phase IV (PDR-SEA IV) is happy to
release the first issue of its e-magazine
ECHOes. PDR-SEA IV is implemented by
ADPC, in collaboration with the European
Commission Humanitarian Aid Department
(ECHO) and United Nations Economic and
Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).
(20) Impact of Climate Change on Himalayan
Glaciers and Glacial Lakes: Case Studies on
GLOF and Associated Hazards in Nepal and
Bhutan by Bajracharya, Mool and Shrestha
On the occasion of World Environment Day 5
June 2007, book on “Impact of Climate Change
on Himalayan Glaciers and Glacial Lakes:
Case Studies on GLOF and Associated Hazards
in Nepal and Bhutan” has been released. The
full document is available at:
http://books.icimod.org/index.php/search/publication/169
(21) Indian National Disaster Management
Guidelines for Management of Earthquake
The National Disaster Management Authority
(INDIA) issued 'National Disaster Management
Guidelines for Management of Earthquakes'.
This was released by the Home Minister in
presence of the Minister for Science,
Technology and Earth Sciences. To get a
copy of the PDF version, please send request
email to:
iglesias@adpc.net
(22) 9th issue of the CRED CRUNCH
newsletter, 2006 Disaster Statistics
This issue provides EM-DAT data on the
occurrence and impact of extreme temperature
hazards related disasters over the last 20
years.
To download the newsletter, go to:
http://www.em-dat.net/documents/Cred%20Crunch%209.pdf
To download the 2006 Annual Disaster
Statistical Review,
please go to:
http://www.em-dat.net/documents/Annual%20Disaster%20Statistical%20Review%202006.pdf
(23) Kids and Youth Games, Projects, and
Information about Disaster Prevention
This site from the UN/ISDR Latin America and
Caribbean contains resources for kids about
disasters, including a downloadable game
called "Riskland" where kids must navigate
through hazards and answer questions about
prevention strategies. Play the games at:
http://www.eird.org/eng/ninos/kids.htm.
(24) Topics Geo Natural Catastrophes 2006:
Analyses, Assessments, Positions
The study provides background analyses for
various disaster events that are of
practical application. Topics covered for
the year 2006 include the relatively calm
Atlantic hurricane season, the Northwest
Pacific typhoon season, the July 17 tsunami
in Java, and the Yogyakarta earthquake. To
access the study,
go to:
http://www.munichre.com/publications/302-05217_en.pdf.
