Disaster Mitigation
in Asia

31 Jan 2009
Issue No. 64

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 January to March 2009 are: development of early warning systems, set up of emergency response system, disaster management planning for selected schools, and networking for DRR.

PROGRAM ACTIVITIES for January to February 2009:

INDONESIA – PROMISE-Indonesia conducted training for first responders on January 10 for the community at Rukun Warga 1 of Kelurahan Kebon Baru; the course costs came from the community’s own resources. Sixty community members participated in the course, and the project launched the “Air One Rescue Team” in the community. The final table-top simulation for Persons-in-Charge leading to the drill was conducted on January 10. Heavy flooding has hit Jakarta, affecting all the kelurahan within PROMISE-ID. School SMA Negeri 8 in Kelurahan Bukit Duri had to conduct classes outside as flood waters have entered its premises; the school sees about is about 6 m of water for a return interval of five years. Some area in Kebon Baru has been flooded up to 110 cm. the flood reference and community intact established during the process of the PROMISE activities has been very useful. The trainees of the November course on First Response were involved in the community emergency response during the flood. As a result, they could not participate in the Community-Based Emergency Response Course scheduled on January 19 to 23. The course is postponed to February.

PHILIPPINES – The PROMISE–Philippines met Ms. Candy de Juan, DECS DRR Officer-in-Charge (National level), on January 13 to give an update on the efforts of the education sector at the national level on Disaster Risk Reduction.  Ms. de Juan also met the DECS Officials in Dagupan City through the TWG and discussed future collaboration on mainstreaming DRR in the Local Education Sector.  The TWG held a Reflection Workshop last January 13 to get the lessons learned, suggestions, and reflections of the TWG about their working experience in the PROMISE project. On January 14, Professor JC Gilliard of the University of the Philippines gave an orientation on 3D Mapping in Barangay Mangin to the TWG and the Barangay Mangin Disaster Coordinating Council.  The PROMISE team wanted to explore the relevance of having a 3D map for DRR planning.  It was decided to pilot the process in Barangay Mangin to try the methodology and to update their hazard map.  After the mapping of Barangay Mangin, the methodology will be tried in the other barangays of Dagupan.  Networking activities included the presentation of PROMISE Philippines at the “DRR and Climate Change Orientation for NGOs Fisheries” on January 15, and at the Training on Child-Centered DRR and CBDRR for Save the Children Myanmar on January 28 to 30.  Ms. Mayfourth Luneta was a resource speaker at both events.  Activities for next month include the CBDRR training for the barangays at a medium-risk of flood disasters, and the 3D mapping of Barangay Mangin.

SRI LANKA – The PROMISE-Sri Lanka made a call for quotations for satellite images for the multi-hazard map of the emergency response system.  The project team met Major Sanjeewa Samaranayake, Disaster Management Centre District Coordinator of Kalutara, on January 27 regarding the establishment of disaster cells in selected schools.  Discussions to develop a resource center for DRR are under way with the University of Moratuwa to develop a web site for the center.  The team had a meeting with the Mayor of Kalutara UC on January 27 to discuss an appropriate site for it.  PROMISE SL met Dr. Eshwara, Coordinator Preparedness and Response Unit, Ministry of Health Care Nutrition, Colombo on January 28 to discuss the training program for health sector staff in the UC area.  Activities for next month include organizing the cluster meeting for the preparation of niche of drainage projects for Kalutara is now set for February 6.  The purpose of the meeting is to consult with Grama Niladhari (GN), Community Base Organisation (CBOs) and community members on possible proposals for the maintenance of drainage projects.

 A. From the Region

(1) Asia Launches SAFE for Climate Change
(based on a report from ASM)

Asian nations at the 15th Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum at Ha Long Bay in Vietnam (9-12 December) have agreed to develop Space Application for Environment or SAFE, a platform for prototype systems for environmental monitoring.  Thailand’s national space agency, GISDA, will host the first SAFE meeting in May 2009 in Pattaya.  For more information, please go to:
http://www.asmmag.com/news/asia-s-space-initiatives-for-climate-change 

(2) Disasters death toll up in 2008
The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) reported that the number of people killed in natural disasters spiked in 2008 to 235,816; it was more than three times the annual average of the previous eight years, even though there were fewer disasters at 321 compared to the 2000-2007 average of nearly 400.  Most of the lives were claimed by Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar and the Sichuan earthquake in China at 140,000 people and almost 90,000 people, respectively.  Nine of the ten countries with the highest number of deaths are in Asia.  Read the press release here: http://www.unisdr.org/eng/media-room/press-release/2009/pr-2009-01-disaster-figures-2008.pdf. 

(3) Bird flu outbreaks in Asia

(based on reports from Alertnet, IRIN, National Post and Intellasia.net)

Bird flu outbreaks have been reported in China, Vietnam and India.  Health officials in China confirmed that a 19-year-old woman has died of the H5N1 bird flu virus in Beijing this month, and agriculture officials in Vietnam reported one girl died as well.  Health authorities in India confirmed a fresh outbreak of deadly bird flu after thousands of chickens died.  Nepal has already banned the importation of poultry from West Bengal and Bihar. 

(4) Strong earthquakes in Indonesia
(based on reports from Alertnet)

A series of strong earthquakes struck Indonesia's easternmost Papua province in the early morning of January 4.  USGS reported that the first quake had a magnitude of 7.6, and was located 135 km from Manokwari, Papua, at a depth of 35 km; it was followed by at least 10 aftershocks, with one measured at 7.3 in magnitude quake.  Emergency Management Australia told Reuters that the quakes were felt in Darwin and in Papua New Guinea, while Japan's Meteorological Agency said the quakes caused tsunami waves of 10 to 40 cm hit their coast.  At least four people died and dozens were injured in Papua.  Several buildings collapsed due to the quakes. 

(5) Floods displace thousands in Asia and the Pacific
(based on reports from Alertnet, IRIN, ReliefWeb, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Straits Times, The Jakarta Post, and The Nation)

Since December, huge waves, storm surges, king tides and heavy rains have combined to flood coastal villages in several island nations of the South Pacific.  Fiji has declared a state of emergency and curfews after severe storms and flooding killed eight people and forced thousands to evacuate homes. Villagers on Papua New Guinea's northern islands again moved to higher ground to escape coastal flooding, with local media reporting houses being washed away.

On January 5, monsoon-triggered floods displaced more than 3000 people in northern and central Malaysia.  The waters forced the evacuation of people in Pahang, the worst-affected state.  Two landslides also occurred in Cameron Highlands.

The monsoon is creating problems in the 14 southern provinces of Thailand, especially Narathiwat, Phattalung and Yala.  By January 5, about 1,000 houses plus many roads, railroad tracks and government offices have been flooded in Narathiwat, many hard hit by heavy downpours lasting almost a week and flash floods. In Phattalung, five low-lying districts were under about 1m of water.  Yala declared Raman, Yaha and Kronpinang districts as disaster zones as almost 100 villages were flooded, affecting more than 7,600 residents.

On January 3, a tropical depression (local name Auring) set off flashfloods in southern Philippines and forced the evacuation of more than 21,000 people.  The eastern coasts of the Philippines experienced heavy flooding that reached 2m in some places, landslides and tidal surges triggered by the tail-end of a cold front from January 7 to 13.  About twenty people were killed and about 300,000 were evacuated.  Hundreds of houses were damaged, and damage to agriculture and infrastructure was estimated at USD 50,000.

Floods hit Indonesia last Jan 16 that affected several cities and districts in 13 provinces.  At least 14 people were killed and three others left missing, and around 50,000 people are displaced.  The worst hit areas are in West Sulawesi, West Nusa Tenggara and West Kalimantan.  The height of flood waters reached 2.5 meters.  On January 18, at least 20 people were buried by a landslide at a gold mine in the village of Buwung Mas Sekotong, around 1,060 km east of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.  Jakarta itself was affected by power outages and stagnant floods due to an ineffective sewerage system.  More than 1,000 students vacated state high school SMAN 8 in Bukit Duri, South Jakarta, as brown water crept into their classrooms.  This school is one of the targets of PROMISE Indonesia; the project team will begin disaster preparedness and mitigation activities in this school in February.

On January 20, Brunei experienced its worst flooding in 40 years.  Around 145.8 mm of rainfall was recorded during the 24-hour period from 8 a.m. January 20 to 8 a.m. January 21.  The heavy rains caused flash floods and landslides; two women died, and the power supply and telephone service were interrupted. 

(6) Winter hazards in India
(based on reports from Times of India)

A cold wave swept through northern India since the beginning of the year.  At least 80 people died as temperatures dipped to as low as 1 degree Celsius in some places.  A thick blanket of fog covered the region and disrupted road, rail and air traffic.  Affected states are Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttaranchal (Uttarakhand), Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Bihar.  An avalanche buried three villagers in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) on January 12.

B. Calls for Submission

(7) UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction - Call for nomination

Nominations close on March 18 for the Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction, which will be given in June 2009 in Geneva, Switzerland at the Global Platform for Disaster Reduction.  The biennial prize worth US$50,000 is awarded in recognition of significant achievements in DRR that have made real change at community and institutional levels. Applicants can be nominated by any ISDR System partner.  For details, go to: http://www.unisdr.org/. 

(8) Call for contribution: ISDR Informs

The UNISDR Asia & Pacific is pleased to launch a call for contribution for its annual publication on disaster risk reduction “Disaster Reduction in Asia & Pacific – ISDR Informs: Issue 4, 2008” that will be issued in March 2009 to reflect the status of disaster risk reduction in 2008 in the Asia and Pacific region.  Special focus is given to achievements, innovative approaches, projects and activities focusing on Building Resilience to Tsunami.  For details, go to: http://www.unisdr.org/. 

(9) Call for applications: Mary Fran Myers Scholarship

The Mary Fran Myers Scholarship Committee is now accepting applications for 2009 scholarship awards.  Scholarship recipients will receive financial support allowing them to attend the 2009 Natural Hazards Research and Applications Workshop in Broomfield, Colorado, July 15-18.  Deadline for applications is March 30.  For more information, visit : http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/awards/myers-scholarship.html.

C. Conferences and Courses

(10) Emergency Management Conference: Beijing

Organizers: Chinese Academy of Surveying and Mapping  The international conference on Geospatial Solutions for Emergency Management (GSEM 2009) is being held in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the Chinese Academy of Surveying and Mapping in Beijing, 14-16 September 2009. The organisers are calling for papers on themes including data and image fusion, disaster management and new sensors. The deadline for abstracts is 31 March.  For details go to: http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=7033807&msgid=174628&act=169Z&c=179908&admin=0
&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gsem2009.org. 

(11) 6^th International Course on Hospital Emergency Preparedness and Response – Bangkok, Thailand: 16 – 20 February 2009

Organizer: Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC).  The course is designed to assist health personnel, both administrative and medical, to prepare health care facilities and personnel to respond effectively to internal or community emergencies that involve large numbers of casualties.  This will enable hospitals and health facilities in general to develop well designed facility-specific plans to increase their ability to respond to emergencies.  This training course is intended for hospital staff, health care facility managers and administrators, who are responsible for hospital emergency planning, or and any emergencies involving mass casualties that require the major resources of a hospital.  Please contact: Mr. Frederic John Abo, fjbabo@adpc.net.  Further information and the application form are available at the following link: http://www.adpc.net/v2007/Programs/PHE/PROGRAMS/HEPR6/
Default-HEPR.asp.

D. Useful Resources

(12) ADB: Bangladesh Political and Economic Update, October 2008

To download, please go to: http://mms.adb.org/e-Notification/url.asp?ID=18714&DOCID=16466. 

(13) Disaster Preparedness for Kids

• Earthquakes for Kids is the USGS website with learning links, games, facts and figures, and other online learning tools for teaching children about earthquakes.  Get shaken at: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learning/kids//.

• FEMA for Kids was designed to educate and inform children and parents about disasters, preparedness, and recovery in a fun and interactive way. The site informs kids through several mediums, like stories, games, quizzes, and more. It also has resources for parents and teachers.  Check it out at: http://www.fema.gov/kids/index.htm.

• Kids and Youth is a site from the UN/ISDR Latin America and Caribbean that contains resources for kids about disasters, including a downloadable game called "Riskland" where kids must navigate through hazards and answer questions about prevention strategies.  Learn about disasters at: http://www.eird.org/eng/ninos/kids.htm.

• Natural Disasters is an online portal to films, articles, games and online learning experiences for kids.  The site is maintained by Portals to Learning, and is found at: http://www.portals2learning.com/disasters.html.

• Stop Disasters!  The UN/ISDR produced an online game to engage and teach children, ages 9 16, how to protect cities and villages against natural hazards through disaster risk planning and management. The online game includes five natural hazard scenarios (flooding, tsunami, wildfire, hurricane, and earthquake) with different levels of difficulty that require critical decision-making and strategic planning. Stop disasters at: http://www.stopdisastersgame.org/en/.

• The NOAA Weather Ranger site features bookmarks, coloring books, videos, and posters devoted to the super weatherman and his safety exploits.  Visit it at: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/alr/WeatherRanger/wrfinal/
  coloringbooks.html.

• Zombie Squad's mission is to educate the public about the importance of personal preparedness and self reliance, to increase its readiness to respond to a number of disasters such as Earthquakes, Floods or Zombie Outbreaks.  “If you are prepared for a scenario where the walking corpses of your family and neighbors are trying to eat you alive, you will be prepared for almost anything.”  Read up on disaster preparedness and the walking dead at: http://zombiehunters.org/index.php.

(14) 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 landslides:

• EM-Dat landslide disaster profile database access page: http://www.emdat.be/Database/DisasterProfile/profile_
  disasters.php?disgroup=natural&period=1900%242008&dis_type=Landslide&Submit=Display+Disaster+Profile

• SAARC brief on landslides: http://saarc-sdmc.nic.in/landslide.asp

• ADPC, “Landslide Hazard and Risk Assessment on Hill Country of Sri Lanka,”Regional Workshop on Best Practices in Disaster Mitigation, 2002, pp. 438 to 443: http://www.adpc.net/audmp/rllw/default.html

• ADPC, “Rapid Assessment: Flashflood and Landslide Disaster in the Provinces of Uttaradit and Sukhothai Northern Thailand,” June 2006: http://www.adpc.net/enewsjuly/Uttaradit_rapidassessment.pdf

• Safer Cities 12: Demonstration Housing Construction for Landslide and Flood Prone Areas: A case study from Ratnapura.  Sri Lanka, January 2005: http://www.adpc.net/AUDMP/library/safer_cities/12.pdf

• USGS Landslide program: http://landslides.usgs.gov/

• ADRC, “Landslide Hazard Mitigation in Indonesia,” 2008: http://www.adrc.or.jp/publications/TDRM2005/TDRM_Good_
  Practices/PDF/PDF-2008e/3.Indonesia.pdf

• ADRC, “Application of SABO Technology to Control Debris Flow and Landslides: Experience from Mugling-Narayanghat Highway Disaster,” 2008: http://www.adrc.or.jp/publications/TDRM2005/TDRM_Good_
  Practices/PDF/PDF-2008e/6.Nepal.pdf