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AUDMP - making cities safer

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Earthquake Safety Day 2001 in Kathmandu

As part of the first Earthquake Safety Day (ESD), an ESD National Committee was constituated by the Royal Government of Nepal with activities combined under the Kathmandu Valley Earthquake Risk Mitigation Project (KVERMP). For the third year in a row, the Committee organized ESD activities in Kathmandu from 12-19 January. The massive earthquake that shook Central America and southern Mexico and the recent disaster in Gujarat, India that killed thousands, provided even more relevance to this week-long event of promoting earthquake preparedness and mitigation. Dr. Suvit Yodmani, ADPC Executive Director, was recently interviewed by national Thai and English newspapers about ADPC, and more specifically, about Earthquake Safety Day in Nepal. Mr. Josh Moga, AUDMP Program Manager, and Mr. Aloysius Rego, Director of Planning Development and Partner Relations, were interviewed by Radio Thailand. Their interviews were broadcast in Thailand and on worldwide short-wave radio on January 16 and 19.

School Earthquake Safety Program

Replication of retrofitting and reconstruction in Nepal began with four selected schools under the School Earthquake Safety Program. Three of the four schools were retrofitted and one was reconstructed with seismic-resistant features. The replication work was completed by the end of December 2000 and demonstrated during the Earthquake Safety Day 2001 in January.

Apart from retrofitting and reconstructing school buildings to withstand identified seismic forces, the National Society for Earthquake Technology (NSET) realized that this program should also incorporate training of the school community (teachers, children and parents) on earthquake safety and preparedness. NSET believes that such training in the long term will lead to increased earthquake safety throughout the entire school system of Nepal.

A program for training on earthquake-safe construction practices has been developed. Methods of earthquake resistance construction and retrofitting of typical Nepali schools and houses have been incorporated into the training program using a Òtraining the trainersÓ approach. The program is aimed at masons, carpenters, bar-benders, mixer-operators and their helpers, as well as school teachers, parents, homeowners and students.

National Replication and Institutionalization Workshop in Cambodia

Pact Cambodia, the Cambodian Red Cross (CRC), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and ADPC organized a three-day National Replication and Institutionalization Workshop from 13-15 December 2000.

Cambodia's Community Based Flood Mitigation and Preparedness Project (CBFMP) has completed its second phase and is in the process of transferring the lessons learned in the demonstration projects to other communes in seven provinces. Sustainability is the projectÕs main priority and efforts are focused on integrating and institutionalizing CBFMP activities in the CRC under the ongoing Community Based Disaster Preparedness Program (CBDP).

There were about 50 participants representing CRC senior management, CRC department heads and branch managers from all seven provinces, and Red Cross Volunteers who had already been trained and participated in CBFMP activities in Phases I and II. In addition, stakeholder institutions such as Oxfam, Church World Service, AusAid, ADPC and representatives of the National Committee of Disaster Management (NCDM) of the Royal Cambodian Government also participated in the event.

About AUDMP The AUDMP is a eight-year program designed to reduce the natural disaster vulnerability of urban populations, infrastructure, critical facilities, and shelter in Asian cities. Currently, projects under the AUDMP are being implemented in sites in the following countries: The Philippines (floods in Naga City and multiple hazards in San Carlos); Indonesia (earthquakes in Bandung); India (technological hazards in Calcutta and Baroda); Sri Lanka (multiple hazards in Ratnapura); Nepal (earthquakes); Lao PDR (fires and other urban emergencies in Vientiane); Cambodia (floods in vulnerable districts); and Bangladesh (floods in Tongi and Gaibanda). Core funding for the AUDMP comes from USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA). Additional funds come from ADPC and collaborating institutions in target countries, among others. The program is managed by the USAID's Regional and Urban Development Office for South Asia (RUDO/SA) and is implemented by ADPC in Bangkok, Thailand. For additional information about the AUDMP, please contact Program Manager Josh Moga at (66-2) 524-5376; E-mail: audmp@ait.ac.th. Web site: http://www.adpc.ait.ac.th/audmp/audmp.html