Title: MANAGING NATURAL DISASTERS IN THE COASTAL AREAS
1 MANAGING NATURAL DISASTERS IN THE COASTAL AREAS
BY JOSEPH R MUKABANA, PhD Kenya Meteorological
Services P.O. Box 30259, Nairobi, KENYA Tel
254-2-567880 Fax 254-2-576955 E-mail
mukabana_at_meteo.go.ke
2 INTRODUCTION
- Economic activities in coastal ocean
environment account for substantial proportions
of the gross domestic products of many maritime
countries. - This is due to growing reliance on
- Coastal and Marine living resources
- Coastal and Marine non-living resources
- Shipping and Trade and
- Coastal Tourism.
-
3INTRODUCTION Cont
- To effectively improve and sustain development
and to mitigate or reverse the undesirable trends
or effects of the natural disasters in coastal
areas, we need to - Define disasters
- Critically examine natural disasters associated
with coastal areas and - Analyze the causes of these disasters and
associated impacts.
4Natural Disasters
- Definition and General Consideration
- A Disaster is a serious disruption of the
functioning of a society, causing widespread
human, property or environmental losses which
exceed the ability of the affected society to
cope using only its own resources. -
5Natural Disasters (Cont.)
- Plants and animals including humans are enacted
within the global theatre of natural disasters
arising from a variety of natural processes e.g. - Volcanic eruptions
- Earthquakes
- Tropical cyclones
- Floods
- Droughts
- Land/Mud slides
- Outer space meteorite
- Tsunamis etc.
6Natural Disasters (cont)
- More recent examples of the potential hazards of
the extreme events have been demonstrated by - The impacts of the India Ocean tsunami triggered
by under-sea earthquake in Band Aceh (Indonesia)
on 26th December 2004 and which killed over
160,000 and destroyed property worth billions of
US dollars - The 1997/98 El-Niño related floods in some parts
of eastern Africa and - Floods in Mozambique.
- The El-Nino floods of 1997/98 in East Africa
were immediately followed by one of the longest
and severest droughts in the history of the
sub-region associated with the 1999-2000 La Nina
episode. The drought impacts are still persistent
in some areas to date.
7Types of Natural Disasters in Coastal Areas
Related to Climate
- Natural disasters in coastal areas can be
categorised into three major types i.e.
geological, biological and meteorological. - 1) Geological
- Those driven by earths internal energy, e.g.
earthquakes and volcanoes. - Those resulting from land surface processes or
land use/cover changes (agriculture, mining,
settlement, etc). - Both these two processes can cause landslides,
snow avalanches, river flooding, soil erosion,
mudslides (collapsing soils) water and soil
pollution, coastal flooding, ocean processes like
storm surges, tsunamis, etc.
8Types of Natural Disasters continued
- 2) Biological
- These are in the form of disease epidemics and
epizootics like malaria, proliferation of pests
and parasites and invasion of areas by insects. - 3) Meteorological
- These result from extreme climate events e.g.
floods, lightning strikes and resulting fires,
droughts, thunderstorms, tropical cyclones,
tornados, waterspouts, hailstorms, sandstorms,
frost, etc - At times the disasters are as a result of a
combination of two or all three of these
processes.
9Impacts of Natural Disasters on Coastal
Populations and Their Management
- The effect of a disaster on populations may
either be direct or indirect. - Direct Impacts
- Direct impacts of a disaster involves injury,
death to human beings, plants and animals, and
damage to property. -
- Indirect Impacts
- Indirect impacts are through a knock-on effect
(after-shocks) from reduced economic resources
caused by the disaster and disrupted ecosystems.
10Impacts of Natural Disasters (Cont...)
- Tropical Cyclones and Storm Surges
- Over the centuries, the deadliest and the most
destructive element of a tropical cyclone, has
been the storm surge. - Thousands of people living in low-lying coastal
areas have lost lives and property through storm
surges.
11Storm Surge
A Storm Surge is an abnormal rise of sea level
caused by a cyclone moving over a continental
shelf
12(No Transcript)
13Potential Impact upon Landfall of a Tropical
Cyclone
14Table 1 DEATHS DUE STORM SURGES
15Impacts of Natural Disasters (cont..)
- Tsunamis
- A series of traveling ocean waves of extremely
long length generated primarily by earthquakes,
volcanic eruptions, outer-space meteorite splash
or landslides occurring below or near the ocean
floor. - Tsunamis are a threat to life and property for
all coastal residents living near the ocean. - Although 80 of the tsunamis occur in the
Pacific, they can also threaten coastlines of
countries in other regions, including the Indian
Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Caribbean region, and
even the Atlantic Ocean.
16Impacts of Natural Disasters (cont..)
- The Indian Ocean Tsunami
- Slummed in more that 8 countries in the Indian
Ocean realm and killed more than 160,000 people - According to Asian Development Bank (ADB) Report,
the number of the poor in India could rise by
645,000 and by 250,000 in Sri Lanka. - In the Maldives, where about half the island
nation's houses were affected, more than 50 per
cent of the population could fall into poverty,
ADB said. - FAO, a UN agency, report reckons that Indian
Ocean fisheries have been devastated by the
tsunami, endangering the livelihoods of hundreds
of thousands of families.
17ENHANCEMENT OF A TSUNAMI WAVE
18RESPONSE TO A TSUNAMI WAVE
1, 1946 People flee as a tsunami attacks downtown
Hilo, Hawaii (Bishop Museum Archives)
19Impacts of Natural Disasters (cont..)
- Floods
- Floods are mainly triggered by severe
thunderstorms, cyclones, the El-Nino related
phenomenon or monsoons. - In low-lying coastal areas, storm surges,
tsunamis or rivers swollen by exceptionally high
tides can cause flooding. - Floods can threaten human life and property.
20Floods
21Impacts of Natural Disasters (cont..)
- Landslides
- Land slides occur when heavy rains send large
amounts of earth, rock, sand or mud flowing
swiftly down mountain slopes. - Land slides are intensified where vegetation is
scarce due to bush fires, overgrazing,
deforestation, impacts of droughts etc. - Two weeks of continuous rainfall towards the end
of 1999 saturated soils in Venezuela to the
extent that thousands of landslides shot down
Avila mountain in the state of Vargas, washing
away towns, killing an estimated 15,000 people
and costing almost US 2 billion.
22Landslides
23Impacts of Natural Disasters(cont..)
- Droughts
- Droughts are a result of a natural reduction in
precipitation over a long time - When rainfall becomes relatively scant or
infrequent, it can disrupt the normal balance
between precipitation and the evaporation-transpir
ation process, and drought can begin - Crops and livestock can die due to drought
- Hydro-electric power dams dry-up disrupting
industrial activities - Lack of adequate water for drinking and
sanitation leads to malnutrition thirst and
disease outbreaks among humans and animals and -
- The human, economic losses and costs due to
environmental degradation mounts up rapidly.
24Impact of droughts on Agriculture
25Impacts of Natural Disasters (cont..)
- Disease Outbreaks and Health Related Disasters
- Disease outbreaks impact negatively on the health
of a community - In tropical counties, flood water can become a
breeding ground for mosquitoes, tsetse fly
creating an increased risk of malaria, sleeping
sickness, typhoid, cholera and dengue fever
outbreak - Droughts lead to thirst, malnutrition and famine
due to lack of water and food scarcity.
26Climate and Natural Disasters
- Statistics show that over 70 of all natural
disasters experienced in coastal areas all over
the world are related to extreme climate events.
Occurrence of one or more of climate related
disasters may trigger other disasters (e.g.
drought, floods ) - An increasing body of observations gives a
collective picture of a warming world and other
changes in the climate system. - Cause rise in concentration of the main
anthropogenic greenhouse gases in the lower
atmosphere (carbon dioxide, methane and oxides of
nitrogen) which affect the earths radiation
budget and lead to warming of the earths
surface.
27Climate and Natural Disasters (cont...)
- Global surface temperature has increased by
between 0.4C and 0.8C since 1860 with the 1990s
being the warmest decade - Tide gauge data show that a rise in sea level
during the 20th century is between 10cm and 20cm.
- Model simulations indicate that a doubling of
carbon dioxide by the year 2100 will result in a
mean global warming of 1.1 to 3.1 C and a sea
level rise of 11 to 77cm. - Global warming will cause mass expansion of sea
water, melting of glaciers and rise in sea level.
- Scientific evidence already points towards a
discernible climate change. - This is likely to alter the frequency and
magnitude of natural disasters associated with
extreme climate events along the coastal areas. - .
28Integrated Management of Natural Disasters Along
Coastal Areas
- The best way to confront natural disasters is to
-
- Create a culture of safety among the communities
at risk - Enhance the capacity of the people living in
vulnerable areas. - Preparedness is key in helping communities manage
the inevitable disasters when they do occur. - This can only be achieved by having
cross-sectoral approach in putting up early
warning systems. - As shown above, any sustainable management of
disasters in the coastal areas will require the
integration of climate information in all aspects
of planning.
29Natural Disaster Preparedness and Adaptation for
Coastal Areas
- This should cover
- 1. Establishment of early warning systems and
capacity building of the national institutions
responsible for data collection, analysis and
issuance of forecasts and warnings of the
disasters. - The warnings need to be
- Very Accurate to invite confidence to the
targeted community - Timely to allow a high degree of preparedness
and - Mechanisms need to be in place to facilitate
immediate and effective response.
30Tsunami Early Warning System
31Natural Disaster Preparedness and Adaptation for
Coastal Areas (cont...)
- Risk assessments and zoning of the land-use
practices in the coastal areas and proper
planning of development at the coastal zone. - Introduction of Government policies to protect
vulnerable communities. - Evacuation plans to be followed in the event of a
disaster happening or receiving a warning of an
impending disaster.
32Natural Disaster Preparedness and Adaptation for
Coastal Areas (cont...)
- In the case of Tsunamis, Cyclones, Storm
- Surges and Floods these initiatives
- should include
- Protection of life and property including
- buildings through construction of
- seawalls, barrages, dykes, coastal
- embankments and dams.
33Natural Disaster Preparedness and Adaptation for
Coastal Areas (cont...)
- In the case of Landslides
- Initiatives should be directed towards
- Construction of hydraulic structures to control
the flows - Construction of channels or deflection walls to
direct flow around buildings - Planting of ground cover on slopes and
- Building retaining walls in mudflow areas
- Construction of sediment control dams and
- Afforestation.
34Natural Disaster Preparedness and Adaptation for
Coastal Areas (cont...)
- In the case of Droughts Preparedness and
adaptation, initiatives should be directed
towards developing drought-resilience policies
designed to head off adverse impacts. These
include policies on - The boosting of water supplies in vulnerable
coastal areas - Introduction of water conservation programmes
- Irrigation as a tool to reduce adverse impacts
of droughts - Water recycling in cities
- Encouragement of the use of statistical
techniques of data, particularly rainfall, to
find systematic patterns like trends, persistence
or cycles.
35Natural Disaster Preparedness and Adaptation for
Coastal Areas (cont...)
In the case of Disease Outbreaks and
Health Related Disasters Initiatives should
include formation of permanent Search and Rescue
teams to carry out relief and rehabilitation
initiatives. The team should have the capacity
to provide services like medical care, clean
water, balanced food, etc.
36Natural Disaster Preparedness and Adaptation for
Coastal Areas (cont...)
- Disaster Managers need to put in place elaborate
evacuation plans to be followed in the event of a
disaster happening or receiving a warning of an
impending disaster. Specifically - A secure and reliable communication system need
to be in place for rapid response - An elaborate evacuation procedure and transport
arrangement - Emergency pathways (routes) to safe areas
(shelters and high grounds) properly highlighted.
37Mitigation Strategies
- Disaster preparedness will have to include the
- following
- Evacuation measures
- Provision of medical aid
- Prompt disposal of dead bodies and animal
carcasses - Preventive means against epidemics
- Supply of food and safe drinking water.
38Conclusion and Way Forward
- In order to mitigate the effects of natural
disasters in coastal areas, it is necessary to
understand the dynamics of the processes involved
and give accurate and timely early warnings - Over 70 of natural disasters in coastal areas
are climate related.Hence, management of these
disasters will need the integration of weather
and climate Monitoring in the process. - Capacity building in areas of observing the ocean
and the atmosphere for accurate and timely
forecasts of extreme climate events is necessary.
- Cross-sectoral multi-hazard approach and
coordination between various agencies is
necessary in the effective management of coastal
disasters.
39Thank You For Your Kind Attention