-
BANGLADESH – PROMISE-Bangladesh
worked on the remaining two small-scale
disaster mitigation projects in August.
PROMISE-BD met with officials of
Chittagong City Corporation to share the
land use planning guidelines and SOPs
for an EOC. Mr.LeGrand L. Malany, Acting
Regional Advisor for Asia-Pacific of the
Office of U.S Foreign Disaster
Assistance (OFDA) in Bangkok, and Mr.
Md. Sayeed Shibly of USAID-Bangladesh,
visited the PROMISE-BD sites on August
18. The purpose of the visit was to
inspect the overall situation and
accomplishments of the PROMISE project.
They looked at three of the small-scale
disaster mitigation projects in wards
16, 37 and 41, and had small discussion
with the Change Agents/Volunteers and
community people.PROMISE-BD country
project activities are finished as of
August 15; the remaining tasks are the
writing and submission of the final
report.
-
INDONESIA – PROMISE-Indonesia held a
Town Watching workshop (a variation of
the participatory risk assessment that
has been used for urban areas). The town
watching was held on August 16, with the
objective to develop community risk maps
and action plans. Participants came from
the project kelurahan in Jakarta.
Representatives from the Jakarta
Provincial Government and USAID
Indonesia attended the event. The event
was organized by JPG and ITB.
-
PHILIPPINES –
The PROMISE–Philippines team postponed to next month the
refresher course for trainers on CBDRM,
as well as the CBDRM training for the 23
barangays of Dagupan that were not under
PROMISE-RP. The postponement was
decided because of continuous rain and a
probable emergency situation due to an
imminent release of water from San Roque
Dam.. Meanwhile, reading resources and
IEC materials had been gathered for the
training. Meanwhile, CDP assisted ADPC
in the preparations for the regional
course on Mainstreaming on Disaster Risk
Reduction and Governance to be held in
Quezon City from September 1 to 5.
PROMISE-Philippines was represented in
several networking activities this
month. On August 8, Ms. Mayfourth
Luneta attended the Oxfam Partners
Meeting and presented the CBDRR
activities and the hazard maps of
Dagupan City. On August 13, Ms. Luneta
lectured on the Dagupan CBDRM experience
for undergraduate and graduate students
of Prof. JC Gilliard at the University
of the Philippines; the students showed
interest in helping, possibly to work on
the Disaster Information Management
System for Dagupan. Ms. Luneta shared
the CBDRM experiences in Dagupan City at
a training course on Child Protection in
an Emergency in the Philippine Context
in Daet, Camarines Norte; the event was
from August 25 to 29. Lorna Victoria of
the Center for Disaster Preparedness and
the PROMISE-Philippines team published a
case study in Indigenous Knowledge
for Disaster Risk Reduction: Good
Practices and Lessons Learned from
experiences in the Asia-pacific Region,
2008 (the link is under Useful
Resources). Activities for
September include: co-sponsoring the
Regional Course on Mainstreaming
Disaster Risk Reduction and Governance;
Refresher Course on CBDRR for the TWG;
CBDRM Training for the remaining 23
barangays of Dagupan; Writeshop and
Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction
Conference; and Community Based DRR
National Conference.
A.
From the Region
(1) Monsoon rains and floods in Pakistan,
August 4
(based on a report by IRIN)
Over 36 people died and thousands have been
rendered homeless as raging torrents swept
away homes, destroyed crops over a wide area
and killed livestock after torrential rain
and flash floods hit various parts of the
country in the beginning of August. Ten of
those killed lost their lives when the
rescue boat they were in capsized. Affected
areas include the North West Frontier
Province, Balochistan and Punjab Province.
The number of those displaced in Punjab
alone was at 82,000.
(2) Afghan drought raises flashflood risk,
August 7
(based on a report by IRIN)
The Afghanistan National Disasters
Management Authority (ANDMA) has said severe
drought has led to the hardening of the land
and drying of vegetation in the
worst-affected provinces. Light summer rain
has reportedly caused flash floods in
several drought-stricken parts of the
country. ANDMA reported that at least five
people and hundreds of livestock have died
in flash floods in Ghazni, Logar, Wardak,
Kunar, Nangarhar and Saripol provinces since
30 July. Flash floods have also washed away
houses, agricultural land, bridges and
roads.
(3) Tropical storm Kammuri, floods in Viet
Nam, August 9
(based on reports by IRIN and AlertNet)
Tropical storm Kammuri lashed at northern
Viet Nam and left an estimated 145 people
dead or missing and more than 4,000
buildings damaged or destroyed after two
days of heavy rain and high winds, according
to the Central Committee for Floods and
Storm Control. The CCFSC reported that
2,000 people were evacuated, while several
communities in northern Vietnam remain
isolated after floods and landslides swept
away homes and blocked roads. Landslides
interrupted the train service between Hanoi
and Lao Cai, leaving holiday-makers and
foreign tourists stranded on their way to
the hill resort of Sapa and required
evacuation by air.
(4) South Asia monsoon rains kill 61,
displace thousands
(based on reports from AlertNet)
On August 9 to 10, heavy monsoon rains
wrecked homes, destroyed farmland and killed
61 people over two days in southern India.
The rains triggered flooding in major cities
and towns and destroyed 150,000 hectares of
mostly paddy crops in southern Andhra
Pradesh state alone, officials said. Heavy
rains breached mud embankments and damaged
roads and homes, forcing authorities to
evacuate some 40,000 people to 119 temporary
shelters across the state.
On August 19, floods triggered by heavy
monsoon rains left some 50,000 people
homeless in Assam in India's remote
northeast, and at least 40,000 people were
displaced and sheltered in relief camps in
the Terai region in Nepal’s southeast after
a river broke a dam and flooded six
villages.
Food riots erupted on August 27 in eastern
India, where floods have forced more than
two million people from their homes and
destroyed about 250,000 houses. One person
was killed in Madhepura district in a fight
over limited supplies of food and medicines
at overcrowded relief centers. The Kosi
river in Bihar smashed through mud
embankments and changed course last week,
unleashing huge walls of water that
inundated hundreds of villages and towns.
The floods have killed nearly 50 people in
Bihar.
(5) Typhoon Nuri hits the Philippines,
August 20
(based on a report by IRIN)
Typhoon Nuri slammed into the Philippines
and dumped heavy rain across large parts of
northern Luzon Island, causing landslides
and flooding, and killing at least six
people. The typhoon had maximum sustained
winds of 140km per hour at the center and
gusts of up to 170km per hour, uprooting
trees and blowing away billboards. Six
people were reported, and about 5,000 people
were displaced by flooding in the Ilocos and
La Union regions. Some roads became
impassable due to landslides or flooding,
though damage was not as extensive as
initially feared due to a high level of
preparedness and contingency measures in
place even before it made landfall. Manila
experienced heavy rains, forcing the
authorities to call off school classes on 20
August.
(6) Earthquakes in Asia
(based on reports from AlertNet and IRIN)
A second earthquake in two days hit
Yingjiang county on August 21 in southwest
China cut off electricity and brought down
houses that killed at least three people,
injured more than 100 and prompted the
evacuation of over 120,000. The tremor
measured 5.9 on the Richter scale. Earlier
this month, a strong earthquake rocked
Sichuan and Gansu provinces of China,
killing one person and injuring 23.
A strong earthquake rattled the Uzbek
capital Tashkent on August 22, rocking
buildings and sending people running
outdoors in fear, but there were no
immediate reports of casualties or
destruction. The quake registered 6.0 on a
12-level scale measuring earthquake
intensity; no Richter scale figures were
available.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh's Chittagong and
Rangamati hill districts felt a minor
earthquake on August 23. Measuring 3.0 on
the Richter scale, it has sparked fears of a
more devastating quake and prompted concerns
about preparedness. The tremor's epicentre
was around 40km from Bangladesh's second
city, Chittagong, but it resulted in no
casualties. It comes less than a month
after a 5.6 degree quake rocked Dhaka and
other parts of the country July 26. The
recent tremors are prompting concern that
Bangladesh - one of the most densely
populated countries, and the world's seventh
most populous (over 150 million people) -
may be in for a more devastating quake some
time soon. Due to its geographic location
Bangladesh is considered high risk for
earthquakes.
(7) Flash floods kill 11 in northern
Vietnam, August 29
(based on a report from AlertNet)
Eleven people, three of them children, were
killed in flash floods and landslides that
struck the mountainous province of Ha Giang
in northern Viet Nam this week, the
government said on Friday. The flash floods
and landslides were generated by seasonal
heavy rains that began on August 26. Ha
Giang had already been affected by floods
and landslides when tropical storm Kammuri
passed through northern Viet Nam.
B. Calls for Submission
(8) Call for Abstracts: Second India
Disaster Management Congress
The National Institute of Disaster
Management (NIDM) is seeking abstracts for
inclusion in its Second India Disaster
Management Congress to be held February 4-6,
2009, in New Delhi. The congress will have
up to 75 thematic sessions on 14 thematic
clusters; each thematic session will have 10
to 20 paper presentations covering aspects
of research and field experience on the
subject. The abstracts should not exceed
300 words; the deadline is 31 September
2008. For more information, please go to:
http://nidm.gov.in/idmc2.
C. Conferences and Courses
(9) 1st Regional Training Course
on End-to-End Multi-Hazard Early Warning
Systems –Bangkok, Thailand: 15 – 26
September 2008
Organizer: Asian Disaster Preparedness
Center (ADPC). The course offers to build
the capacity of professionals to design,
manage, evaluate and undertake improvements
in people-centered end-to-end early warning
systems for hydro-meteorological &
geological hazards and extreme events
associated with climate change and
variability. It builds upon ADPC’s two
decades of experience in disaster
management, facilitating regional
cooperation and building capacities of
disaster management institutions at all
government levels, disaster management
practitioners and communities. It extends to
institutionalizing weather and climate
information applications for disaster
mitigation and recently, in the
implementation of Indian Ocean and South
East Asia end-to-end early warning system
for tsunami and hydro-meteorological
hazards. For inquiries, contact Mr. Falak
Nawaz,
tedadpc@adpc.net, or Mr. Anup Karanth,
Anupkar@adpc.net.
Download the brochure at:
http://www.adpc.net/v2007/Programs/CRM/Downloads/2008/
May/Regional%20Training%20Course%20on%20End-to-End%20Multi-hazard%20EWS.pdf.
(10) 9th 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.
(11) 2nd Regional Course on
Climate Risk Management: Science,
Institutions, and Society – Bangkok,
Thailand: 17 to 28 November 2008
Organizer: Asian Disaster Preparedness
Center (ADPC). The course aims to build the
capacity of professionals to manage risks
associated with climate variability, change,
and extremes. It builds upon the Asian
Disaster Preparedness Center’s (ADPC) two
decades of experience in disaster
management, facilitating regional
cooperation and building capacities of
disaster management institutions at all
government levels, disaster management
practitioners and communities, and a decade
of experience in institutionalizing climate
information applications for disaster
mitigation. It incorporates case studies and
sectoral examples from ADPC’s climate risk
management programs and projects all over
Asia. Upon completing the course,
participants will be able to: 1) design
early warning systems for climate-related
risks; 2) design climate risk management,
climate forecast applications, and climate
change adaptation projects, and 3) develop
tools to integrate climate risk management
practices into development programs and
policies. For inquiries, contact Ms. Kareff
Rafisura,
kareff@adpc.net. For more information
on this course, please go to:
http://www.adpc.net/ece/ir/pdf-reports/LongRangeClimateF.pdf.
(12)
8th Regional Training Course on Earthquake
Vulnerability Reduction for Cities –
Bangkok, Thailand: 26 January – 6 February
2008
Organizer: Asian Disaster Preparedness
Center (ADPC). The course is designed to
impart greater understanding of the causes
and effects of earthquake and collateral
hazards, primarily focusing on mitigating
such impacts in order to reduce damage and
loss of lives with sustained development.
The designed course is a blend of
principles, concepts, case studies and
hands-on experience of seismic risk
reduction strategies. Please contact: Mr.
Falak Nawaz, ADPC, +66 2 516 5900 to 10, Ext
330, email:
falak@adpc.net,
tedadpc@adpc.net. Further
information and the application form are
available at the following link:
http://www.adpc.net/v2007/TRG/TRAINING%20COURSES/Special%20Courses/2009/EVRC-8/Default-EVRC-8.asp.
D. Useful Resources
(13) Safer Cities 22: Flood Disaster
Mitigation and River Rehabilitation by
Marikina City, Philippines, Iglesias and Yu,
2008
ADPC, through the Program for
Hydro-Meteorological Disaster Mitigation in
Secondary Cities in Asia (PROMISE),
published this latest case study in the
Safer Cities series. The case study of
Marikina City highlights the flood
mitigation efforts by Marikina City’s local
authority and people, with a special focus
on how the physical restoration of the
riverbanks and solid waste clean-up
contributed to flood disaster mitigation. To
download, please go to:
http://www.adpc.net/v2007/Programs/UDRM/
PROMISE/INFORMATION%20RESOURCES/Safer%20Cities/Downloads/SaferCities22.pdf.
(14) NDMP Newsletter, 2008
The Natural Disaster Mitigation Partnership, Vietnam Newsletter
features the PROMISE 2008 Working Group
Meeting organized by ADPC, NDMP and CECI in
Da Nang, Viet Nam, 15 TO 17 July 2008.
To download, please go to:
http://www.adpc.net/v2007/IKM/EVENTS%20AND%20NEWS/ADPC/2008/Aug/Ban%20tin%20thang%207.08%20En.%20Final.pdf
(15) Indigenous Knowledge for Disaster Risk
Reduction, UNISDR 2008
The publication Indigenous Knowledge for Disaster Risk Reduction:
Good Practices and Lessons Learned from
experiences in the Asia-pacific Region,
is published by UNISDR with the assistance
of the European Union. It aims to build
awareness of indigenous knowledge as an
effective tool for reducing risk from
natural disasters. PROMISE-Philippines is
featured as the case study, “Combining
Indigenous and Scientific Knowledge in the
Dagupan City Flood Warning System” written by Lorna P. Victoria.
To download, please go to:
http://www.unisdr.org/indigenous_knowledge-drr.
(16) CRED Annual Disaster Statistical
Review, 2007
The Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED)
published the second edition of the
Annual Disaster Statistical Review: Numbers
and Trends 2007; it analyzes the 2007
disaster figures with comparisons to
previous years. To download, please go to:
http://www.emdat.be/Documents/Publications/Annual%20Disaster%20Statistical%20Review%202007.pdf
(17) CRUNCH Newsletter Issue 13
CRED published the 13th issue of CRUNCH that presents the
new disaster classification adopted for the
EM-DAT database. To download, please go to:
http://www.emdat.be/Documents/CredCrunch/Cred%20Crunch%2013.pdf
(18) Online Resources Series on Natural
Hazards
This new section is a focus on online
resources on the hazards that are of special
interest for urban disaster management. The
hazards that will be featured are (in
order): tropical cyclones (a.k.a. cyclone,
typhoon and hurricane), drought, flood,
landslide, earthquake and technological
hazards. Here is a list of online resources
on drought:
