Promoting Urban Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation: Making Asian Cities Safer

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Promoting Urban Disaster Preparedness and
Mitigation Making Asian Cities Safer

• By A.J. Rego Arambepola (ADPC)
• 7th IIASA-DPRI Forum
• Coping with Disaster Challenges for the 21st
  Century and Beyond
• 20th September 2007 - Stresa Italy

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Growing Cities at Risk from Natural and
Technological Hazards

• By 2004 half worlds population living in urban
  areas
• At least 80 of population growth in the 1990s
  occurred in urban areas
• 17 of the 20 largest cities in the world are in
  developing countries - many exposed to EQ
  land flooding hazard
• 25 largest cities have over 8 mill. inhabitants
• Average number of victims in disaster is 150
  times greater in developing world mega city than
  in a developed country mega city
• Road accidents industrial chemical and
  transport accidents are a growing threat

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Cities are vulnerable to disaster risk because of
-

• Rapid urbanization
• Rural - urban migration
• Growing population - already stretched resources
• Poor living standards - build without
  consideration of safety (time pressures) in
  hazard prone areas
• Lack of public awareness to hazards/risks
• Building codes are poorly enforced or
  non-existent
• Environmental degradation - resource depletion -
  lowers resilience

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Cities are vulnerable to disaster risk because of
- (2)

• Increased risk of industrial/technological
  hazards - (secondary impacts eg. fire/radiation)
• Densely packed housing - health risk
• Disruption to draining channels due to
  uncontrolled urban growth - flooding
• Inadequate management or provision of services -
  waste sewage disposal clean water access
• The poor building informal settlements on low
  quality land which are important . banks

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Vulnerability of the Asian Region
Asia is famous for its great diversities and also
for disparities . Half of the total world
population live in Eight disaster prone countries
China India Indonesia Bangladesh Japan
Philippines Vietnam Thailand
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Top Two Worst Disasters in Asia 2004

• Typhoon Nanmadol Philippines (November) winds of
  220 km/hr - at least 412 deaths
• Indian Ocean Tsunami and EQ (December) -
  Affecting Indonesia Sri Lanka India
  Bangladesh Malaysia Thailand Maldives - death
  toll at least 212000

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Top Two Worst Disasters in Asia in 2006

• The 2 deadliest disasters of 2006 were both in
  Asia
• -Indonesian EQ (May) killing 5778
• -Typhoon Durian (Philippines Dec.) killing 1399

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Earthquake Vulnerability in Asia
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Earthquakes in Asia

• The Pacific rim experiences 90 of all the
  worlds earthquakes.
• In 1976 China had the most deadly earthquake
  ever known. It killed 800000 people.
• More than 50 cities in Asia with a population
  greater than 1000000 are at significant risk
  for an earthquake.
• Recent major events are Iran in 2003 Indonesia
  in 200420052006 Pakistan in 2005

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Flood Vulnerability in Asia
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Flooding in Asia

• The year 2000 saw the worst flooding in 60 years
  for Vietnams Mekong Delta region 40 years for
  Cambodia 35 years for Laos and in a century for
  western Bangladesh and West Bengal India.
• Year 2007 August Floods in India Nepal and
  Bangladesh caused significant economic losses
• Recent events in 2007 show major threat is from
  flash floods which is evident from Nepal Bhutan
  Thailand Philippines

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Cyclones/Typhoon Exposure in Asia
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Cyclones/Typhoons in Asia

• There were 95 major storms in SE Asia and the
  Pacific regions between 1980-2000.
• Since 1970 cyclones have killed an estimated 1.5
  million in Bangladesh.
• The October 1999 storm surge in Orissa India
  affected 15 million people killed 9500 people
  destroyed 3 million homes and left seven million
  people homeless.
• Recent major events were in Karachci Pakistan in
  2007 Vietnam and Philippines in 2006

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Volcano Occurrence
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Volcanoes in Asia

• Of the 16 largest eruptions in the last two
  centuries five occurred in Asia. Three of these
  all in Indonesia killed 130000 people.
• The eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991 was the
  second largest eruption of the 20th century.
• The Philippines Indonesia and Papua New Guinea
  are all at significant risk for volcanic
  eruptions.

Mt. Pinatubo 1991
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Asian Cities at Risk

• 37 of Asias population lived in cities by
  2000 this will rise to 60 by 2025
• More than 50 cities in Asia with a population
  greater than 1000000 are at significant risk
  from an EQ
• Rural to urban migration accounts for 64 of
  city growth in Asia
• Of the 10 largest Asian cities 7 are prone to
  multi hazard risks and are awaiting a
  catastrophic event

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Making Cities Safer

• Promote household vulnerability reduction
  measures
• Build capacity of local government emergency
  services
• Decentralization of resources decision making
• Democratic means of DRR planning
• Build capacity of community/social groups
• Create institutional framework for action
• Enforce appropriate building codes urban
  planning guidelines
• Hazard assessments - physical/social/economic
• Environmental management

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UN-HABITAT Agenda 1996

• Agenda actions for disaster prevention
• Appropriate laws standards for land use
  building planning
• Encourage multi stakeholder participation in DM
  planning especially vulnerable eg.
  elderly/disabled
• Continued mobilization of domestic
  international resources for DRR activities
• Distribute information on disaster resistant
  construction methods for public works etc.
• Facilitate voluntary move of people to less
  disaster prone areas -ensuring access for all

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UN-HABITAT Agenda 1996 (2)

• Training on disaster resistant construction for
  builders/designers/contractors
• Upgrade resistance of current infrastructure/criti
  cal facilities
• Risk mapping and vulnerability assessments
• Community focused vulnerability reduction
  programs
• Improve information dissemination on potential
  hazards
• Strengthen technological scientific
  engineering capacity for monitoring -EWS
• Decentralization of authority resources to
  enable capacity building for greater resilience

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Asian Urban Disaster Mitigation Program (AUDMP)
1995-2004

• Implemented by ADPC in 20 secondary cities of 8
  countries-
• Bangladesh Cambodia Indonesia Lao PDR Nepal
• Philippines Sri Lanka and Thailand
• Aim reduce disaster vulnerability of urban
  populations infrastructure lifeline facilities
  shelter in Asia
• facilitate development of sustainable mechanisms
  for disaster mitigation
• build capacity of all stakeholders to mitigate
  disaster risks
• promote replication and adaptation of successful
  mitigation measures elsewhere

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AUDMP Project Locations
Safer Cities 12 Demonstration Housing
Construction for Landand Flood Prone Areas
(Sri Lanka)
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Why Secondary Cities are a Priority for DRR
Programs

• Secondary versus Mega Cities -
• Greater vulnerability - from rapid uncontrolled
  urbanization
• High migration rates -greater need for housing
  services
• Economic growth attracts investment
• In mega cities problems difficult to identify
  solutions complex to implement
• Greater chance of success measurable change
• More manageable communities simpler
  institutionally

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AUDMP Measurable Results

• 5 of 8 targeted city emergency preparedness
  response plans written or revised
• 95 of the 75 targeted public private sector
  professionals working with AUDMP initiated
  disaster mitigation training
• 43000 households benefited from AUDMP sponsored
  disaster vulnerability reduction activities
• 5 regional networks 209 organizations 1760
  disaster mitigation professionals participating
  in AUDMP regional information network -started
  with 33 organizations only
• In 2002 ADPCs Urban Strategy Asia 2020 expanded
  ADPCs outreach from 30 to 100 cities

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Program for Hydro-Meteorological Disaster
Mitigation in Secondary Cities in Asia (PROMISE)
2005-2008 Phase I

• 5 highly vulnerable urbanizing cities Chittagong
  (Bangladesh)
• Hyderabad (Pakistan) Dagupan (Philippines)
  Kalutara (Sri Lanka) Da
• Nang (Vietnam) - linked to watersheds river
  basins or at risk coastal belts
• Aim to reduce vulnerability of urban communities
  to hydro-
• meteorological disasters in S SE Asia to
  measurably alleviate human
• suffering prevent loss of life and reduce the
  potential for physical and
• economic damage through
• City demonstration projects
• Regional national capacity building
• Advocacy for mainstreaming of risk management in
  urban governance
• Regional network information dissemination

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PROMISE - PhilippinesDagupan City

• Problem reduced capacity of rivers due to heavy
  rains upstream bank erosion clogging channel
  transport of lahar material - causing floods (eg.
  1990)
• Solutions
• Technical Working Group -plan monitor document
  train and maintain
• Capacity building of community authorities
• Work with stakeholders
• Risk Communication Plan
• Institutional change - Disaster Preparedness Day
  (July 16th)

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ADPC Urban Strategy Asia 2020

• ADPC and partners working with 100 cities to
  reduce urban vulnerability and build disaster
  resilient communities through 4 strategies
• Planning and Building Safer Cities
• Emergency Management Response Planning for
  Cities
• Public Awareness Campaigns
• Knowledge Development Capacity Building

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Specific Action

• How- to resource toolkits that translate
  awareness into action
• Specific UDRM focussed courses targeted at city
  national officials private sector developers
• Partnerships with urban authorities regional
  city networks (Citynet ICMA IULA ICLEZ)
• Safer sister city partnerships network

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Linking Climate Change to Urban Risk Reduction

• Study areas where improvement to governance
  structure is needed to enhance resilience of the
  poor communities in the urban coastal low-lying
  areas
• Analyse trends in primary (meteorological) events
  and secondary impacts (health hazards slope
  destabilization etc) in built up areas to assess
  consequences of sea level rise impact in urban
  coastal areas
• The scientific community in Asia has not yet
  undertaken adequate interest in conducting multi-
  sectoral studies to understand prepare
  inventories of the climate change impacts on
  coastal ecosystems

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Long Term Strategies for DRR

• There is an urgent need to make risk mitigation
  one of the essential components of urban
  governance and creating policy legal and
  institutional arrangements to ensure safer urban
  communities
• The city level risk maps using GPS and RS
  techniques transforming the community knowledge
  into formal products can be integrated in other
  maps to see the changing risk scenario
• Ensure access to information by public
• Urban community based approach to convert the
  victimized communities to a resource

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Long Term Strategies for DRR (2)

• Participatory approach for scenario building
  risk assessment action planning can also
  generate much needed awareness
• Ensuring safer housing shelter capable of
  withstanding hazard events require quality
  assurance of housing construction and
  infrastructure as an essential part of urban risk
  reduction
• Making the private sector partner in development
  means it should also shoulder some responsibility
  in urban DRR

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Long Term Strategies for DRR (3)

• Activating poor and motivating them to become
  resilient against natural calamities is an answer
  to the key issue of poverty reduction
• Vulnerability reduction should be integrated into
  the development process so that it can contribute
  to sustainability empowerment community
  resilience
• Support the implementation aspects of Hyogo
  Framework of Action create more awareness about
  HFA
• Advocate strongly for decentralization of
  disaster risk management functions to local
  government sector integrating in other sector
  based programs as a routine practice to
  facilitate building safer communities
• Mainstream DRR into local governance