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GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY OF SANTA FE LEARNING FROM DISASTER LOCAL RISK MANAGEMENT IN SANTA FE, 10 YEARS AFTER THE 2003 FLOOD United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction
GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY OF SANTA FE
LEARNINGFROM DISASTER
LOCAL RISK MANAGEMENT IN SANTA FE, 10 YEARS AFTER THE 2003 FLOOD
United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction
LEARNING FROM DISASTERS
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Edited byDepartment of Communication and Department of Risk Management of the Government of the City of Santa Fe
Idea and DraftingEduardo Aguirre Madariaga, Andrea Valsagna, and Verónica Viduzzi
Data Gathering, Research and InterviewsVerónica Viduzzi
Images Selection and ProductionMaría del Carmen Albrecht and Mariela Bertini
PhotographyEl Litoral newspaper and Santa Fe City Government
In collaboration with: Mariela Bertini, María del Carmen Albrecht, Rossana Ingaramo, Patricia Pieragostini, Marcelo Pascualón, Roberto Porta,Felipe Franco, Sara Lauría, Juan Nieva, Florencia Platino, and Isabel Molinas
English < > Spanish Translators and InterpretersPatricia Pradolin de Soto Payva and Ma. Luisa Mosset Iturraspe
Editorial DesignImage and Communication Program - Department of Communication - Santa Fe City Government
Layout:
ISBN: in progress
LEARNING FROM DISASTERS
LOCAL RISK MANAGEMENT IN SANTA FE 10 YEARS AFTER THE 2003 FLOOD
Department of Risk Management and Department of Communication of the Government of Santa Fe City Endorsed by UNISDR (the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction) - Latin America and the Caribbean
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Santa Fe, like most cities located on the plains, has a privileged nature. But such a benefit entails risks such as those posed by its disproportionate rivers, storms and rains, which may pro-voke catastrophes when combined with human activities. Due to climate change, many more extreme weather events are like-ly to occur.
70% of the city of Santa Fe consists of rivers, lagoons and swamps. For this reason, it is particularly vulnerable to hydro-meteorological phenomena and has been flooded repeatedly over the course of its history; the most serious events occurred in 2003 and 2007, with disastrous consequences for our peo-ple and territory.
Since 2008, we have considered risk management to be a State policy that must be included into the urban planning process so as to foster a culture of prevention. In this endeavor, we have counted on the support of all the political and institution-al forces in our city. Bearing this in mind, we started working on a permanent basis with a variety of stakeholders in order to promote safe and fair information, education, prevention, or-der, awareness, and growth.
Presentación
In Santa Fe, we strongly believe that the best way to achieve our goals is to work hand in hand with all the sectors of our society. And this means that each and every sector must be involved and contribute to the development of our dream city.
Thus, it is crucial to note the role of cities in disaster risk pre-vention; since it is right there that we can foresee, organize and carry out sustainable urbanization processes that increase “re-silience”, that is the ability to overcome crises, recover the pre-vious status and become stronger.
Cities must rise to the challenge of planning their growth on the basis of sustainable development and social equity. Ulti-mately, equity is the main objective of disaster risk reduction policies because we all know that, when a city is struck, those who have the least are the hardest hit.
2013 marks a decade after the tragic flood of 2003 when the waters of the Salado River overflowed the unfinished flood pro-tection embankment and covered one third of the city, taking its toll of many lives, goods, and heirlooms. The city collapsed, it took a long time to return to normality, and the reconstruc-
IntroductionLearning from the Tragedy
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This is precisely the idea: to be better prepared day after day so that our people will not suffer as much, when nature presents us with new challenges. The weakest and the neediest, in par-ticular, should find in the State the organization and the protec-tion they need. All the people of Santa Fe should be able to live, thrive and dream in harmony with the wonderful environment we have chosen to be our home.
José Manuel Corral Mayor of Santa Fe City,
Argentina
tion process has not yet finished. The Government of the City of Santa Fe considers that it is crucial to remember what hap-pened to us and to reflect on what is being done today, so that the city is better prepared with each passing day. To remember and also to appreciate what we were able to do together. The solidarity shown as we confronted the worst difficulties was as overwhelming as the river waters.
This book includes a part of our history, the description of the structure of the city and its relation to the surrounding rivers, some key data to understand our territory and risks, as well as a detailed summary of the actions taken to mitigate them, pursu-ant to the recommendations of the United Nations on this topic.
The UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction granted to Santa Fe, its nomination as Role Model in the UNISDR’s Making Cities Resilient Campaign and the Champion award granted to its Mayor are indeed evidence of recognition, which reinforce our commitment to continue working along these lines. Because there is a still a long way to go.
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The urban population has grown rapidly due to a variety of ac-tivities that involve production, commerce and services, which create employment and foster economic development. As a re-sult of this, people have flowed towards urban areas and the number of private and public works has increased dramatically.
On many occasions, this urban growth has taken place without much planning, without treating disaster risk management as a priority in the decision making processes related to land use and planning. This has contributed to increasing the level of exposure and vulnerability of people and public and private goods to natural hazards, in general, and to weather and hydro-meteorological events, in particular. This situation is clearly evidenced by the annual increase of disaster-related economic loss figures. In the last three years, they exceeded USD 100 bil-lion; in 2011, they hit a record of USD 418 billion(1).
Prólogo
According to the historical disaster loss databases for 16 coun-tries in Latin America and the Caribbean between 1990 and 2011, 90% of the losses provoked by medium and minor disas-ters relate to hydro-meteorological phenomena of increasing frequency and intensity. According to the last report by the In-tergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), this trend is expected to continue in the future, as we experience a gradu-al increase in the impact of climate change, which is a serious threat that must be confronted.
It is in this context where experiences like those undergone by the City of Santa Fe, Argentina, become highly significant. This is a specific example of the way challenges can be met at the lo-cal level, namely: reducing existing risk and planning new de-velopments from the perspective of risk management, in ways that reduce exposure and vulnerability. It is a clear example of how political will and technical capacity combine to create fea-sible long term solutions to the challenges urban development presents us with.
(1) Swiss Re, sigma world insurance database.
PrefacePlanning Development from the Viewpoint of Risk Management
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The experience is also interesting because it shows how global and national guidelines can be adjusted to the needs and pecu-liarities of the local context. As indicated in the description of the works carried out, the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: “Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters” and the UNISDR’s world campaign “Making Cities Resilient: My City is Getting Ready!” have contributed to ori-enting and designing the path followed by the City of Santa Fe to meet the challenge of consolidating its development through a timely and adequate management of the threats and opportu-nities posed by the land it is located in.
This book becomes part of the wealth of knowledge produced at the local level, and is meant to be a valuable contribution for other local governments so that they can reconsider their devel-opment policies and reverse the trends of the last decades that have led us to the present situation.
In Albert Einsten’s words: “you cannot keep doing the same thing every day and expect different results”. The experience of Santa Fe gives us the chance to reconsider how we meet de-velopment challenges and design measures that may serve as guidelines to define uses and restrictions within land use man-agement plans, aimed at reducing the impact of disasters on urban environments.
Ricardo Mena SpeckHead of the Regional Office
for Latin America and the Caribbean, Panama city, United Nations Office
for Disaster Risk ReductionUNISDR
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
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The City of Santa Fe has a population of 400 000 people and is located in a privileged natural environment, particularly influ-enced by the rivers that surround it, namely: the Paraná River to the east and the Salado River to the west. This location is highly advantageous, but also entails certain risks for the population when river levels rise or when there are heavy storms or rains.
Throughout history, these phenomena have resulted in floods of varying magnitude and consequences for the city and its in-habitants; and on occasions, they have even led to emergency or disaster.
In view of those occurrences, governments, organizations and the community undertook different actions aimed at preventing further damage and loss in the long run. These decisions, with their rights and wrongs, were made without planning or taking into account the land’s features, its potential and restrictions.
Within that context, in April 2003, the worst water-related di-saster struck Santa Fe, with serious consequences for the whole population, especially those on the western side of the city. The extraordinary flood of the Salado River laid bare the problems of a city that was ill-prepared to respond to natural disasters of this kind. The efforts and solidarity of the city dwellers and neighboring towns to tackle the consequences and recover were eclipsed by the situation.
A decade after the disaster, the risk reduction approach has changed. Since the late 2007, the government of the city has considered risk management to be a State policy, a keystone that involves different stakeholders at the local level, namely city agencies, private and public organizations and disaster-reduction related tools and measures, thus reducing the odds that a natural phenomenon will become a social catastrophe. This approach considers risk management as a continuous task that appeals to all, as a permanent search for the most ap-propriate way to share our environment with the rivers.
From this viewpoint, the tenth anniversary of the 2003 flood presented the perfect opportunity not only to evaluate how the city is currently dealing with risk but also to reflect upon the past and what we went through during and after the disaster. During March and April 2013, Santa Fe made a special effort to remember facts, thoughts and feelings in an attempt to under-stand what happened, seen at a distance, so as to turn memories into collective learning for the present and the future.
This book aims to summarize the progress made by the city in the field of risk management, and includes the challenges and the goals to be met. It also describes the main activities carried out in the city to commemorate the 2003 flood as an invitation to look back, so as to continue learning from the experience and working together towards a city that is safer and more sus-tainable with every passing day.
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The Salado River Flood
In April 2003, an extraordinary overflow of the Salado Riv-er caused one of the largest floods in the city of Santa Fe; in-deed the worst, if we measure its severity by its consequences. Although the overflow was extraordinary, it was not the only cause of the disaster. The flood was the result of a combina-tion of several natural, social and anthropic factors related to urban settlements and public and private works in the Salado River floodplain.
Among the main causes, we can mention: above-the-average rainfalls in the Salado River basin from October 2002 to April 2003, with the resulting rise in river levels; lack of protection due to the unfinished levee; insufficient highway bridge verti-cal clearance (155 meters in a floodplain 1000 meters wide at its narrowest point), which raised the upstream water level by almost one meter; lack of a properly devised hydrometeorologi-cal early warning system and a contingency plan, and general emergency planning mistakes.
Therefore, we can say that the flood evidenced that the city is highly vulnerable to this kind of phenomena, which resulted in a large human toll, enormous material and financial losses, im-measurable psychological and social consequences and damage to society that can still be seen. To summarize, the serious con-sequences were closely related to the magnitude of the event, the sudden inflow of water into the city and the population’s astonishment; they are related to the gradual settlement of peo-ple in the river floodplain without proper planning, without ad-equate infrastructure works or an ongoing campaign to raise awareness aimed at preparing and protecting the community.
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CHAPTER 2
THE CITY, THE RIVER AND THE RISK
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2.1 Characteristics of the City and its Urban Development
Santa Fe is surrounded by rivers and benefits from a privileged landscape and environment. But whenever the river overflows or storms are forecast, many city dwellers become concerned, because these events have caused urban floods and entail risk for the community.
In fact, it is not the rivers or the rains what causes the biggest problems; both phenomena simply evidence underlying vulnera-bilities. The risks are linked to the undue expansion of the city in-to the drainage basin without taking into account land restraints; that is to say, without a plan “that bears the land in mind”.
The city of Santa Fe is located at the meeting point between the floodplains of the Salado and the Paraná Rivers. This is why, its borders are mostly rivers and over 70% of its territory is made up of rivers, lagoons and swamps. Its topography features gen-tle plains that gradually slope towards the surrounding rivers: the Paraná River to the east and the Salado River to the west. Due to the flatness of the land, water drainage is slow and gives way to the formation of many lagoons, creeks and swamps.
Santa Fe was founded by Juan de Garay on a low hill near the current city of Cayastá, by the Quiloazas River (currently named San Javier River) on November, 15th of 1573. The city was founded to fulfill the desire of the Spanish Crown to have a port and a town on the Paraná River that would serve as naval and military support and would also facilitate transport and trade. The original location was highly exposed to territorial conflicts and, especially, to the river overflows. For this reason, the city was moved to its current site in 1650 in a process that took al-most a decade to complete.
The new site was strategic for the spatial organization of the re-gion and the fact that it was close to the river was a source of wealth because it allowed the city to build and control a port. Starting in 1662, the city started to consolidate along these lines: the port of Santa Fe was granted by the Spanish Crown the privi-lege to charge taxes on all passing ships (this privilege was called Puerto Preciso). For almost 120 years, workers and businessmen attracted by this benefit settled in the city; as a result, it experi-enced sustained growth. But then, in 1780, this privilege was overridden and the city stagnated, as trade diminished. Howev-
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er, starting in 1860, the country’s agricultural development pro-cess called for the creation of new communication routes. A new deep water port was built in Colastiné and it was linked to the city of Santa Fe by railroads. In the 20th century, as internation-al trade began to play a role in the local economy, a new port for overseas ships was built where the old quay used to be.
This new port featured warehouses, sheds, machines and rail-roads. Many railway companies as well as two oil companies set up operations in the city, thus fostering a rapid increase in commercial activity and labor demand.
Given the socio-economic changes experienced by the country since the late 19th century and throughout the 20th century, the population of the city increased very fast; there was a remark-able expansion of its urban area and, over time, the population density increased. The key factors that account for the growth and transformation of the city of Santa Fe were: the fact that the port was served by railways, the European and domestic migratory flows, and hectic levels of economic activity. Further-more, important public buildings were built in keeping with Santa Fe’s status as the capital city of the province. For almost three centuries, the population had settled around the “main square”; but by the end of the 19th century, the urban area ex-panded towards the north, past Boulevard Gálvez — which was then the northern limit of the city — and towards the Setúbal lagoon waterfront. Its growth to the west was hindered by the floodplain of the Salado River and its swamps. However, many public buildings and service areas were built there, simply due to its proximity to town and the low cost of the plots of land.
The area was settled by low and middle income social groups and squatter settlements, after the economic crisis of the 30s.
The gradual occupation of the lowlands to the west was followed by the construction of the levee called Terraplén Irigoyen in the mid 40s. This was the first of many actions that contributed to the increase in population and activities in the river floodplain. Since then, the city continued spreading westwards, towards even lower lands, where highly populated neighborhoods such as Centenario, Chalet, San Lorenzo, Santa Rosa de Lima, Villa del Parque, and Barranquitas, among others, appeared.
Starting in the mid 20th century, due to its strategic location, the city of Santa Fe experienced a period of expansion related to industrial development, the port and rail infrastructure, and the regional agricultural production. This translated into a re-markable population growth that went hand in hand with the domestic migration from rural areas to the city, particularly to Greater Santa Fe.
In the 70s, the city began to decay as factories and industrial facilities closed down and the port ceased its operations. This translated into a deteriorated economy with high unemploy-ment rates, which forced low income sectors to settle in cheaper lowland areas. Thus, shanty towns spread throughout the north-ern and western borders of the city. This situation aggravated with the railway shutdown and the retreat of the Sate in the 90s.
Meanwhile, many projects developed along national route 168 on the eastern waterfront of the Setúbal lagoon, namely: El Pozo
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• 1983. Paraná River overflow that caused the suspension bridge collapse.
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2.2 Milestones in the Social Construction of Risk
neighborhood, UNL Campus and the Scientific and Technical Research Center CONICET. Likewise, many weekend houses were built in the coastal area along route 1, and the old towns of San José del Rincón and La Guardia experienced a gradual ur-ban growth. Once the levee was built in 1994, there was an ex-ponential increase in the number of family settlements.
As time went by, contrasts in population growth and socio-economic status became more pronounced; and this situation peaked during the 2001 economic crisis. Thus, the central ar-ea of the city, which featured more consolidated infrastructure and service areas and better living standards, maintained its population between 1991 and 2001; meanwhile the population in the more vulnerable western and northern neighborhoods increased by 34% in the same period.
This brief account of the urban development of the city helps us understand why people settled in the Salado and Paraná Riv-er floodplains. Neighborhoods such as San Pantaleón, Pro Me-joras Barranquitas, Barranquitas Oeste, Barranquitas Sur, Villa del Parque, J. M. Estrada, Santa Rosa de Lima, 12 de octubre, Ge-neral Mosconi, Solidaridad y Progreso, San Lorenzo, Arenales, Chalet, Sarsotti, San Jerónimo, and Centenario did not appear in city maps drawn before 1930. According to the city blueprints, those areas were regarded as “communal swamps”, that is, low areas to be flooded by the Salado River when it overflowed. As regards the Paraná River floodplain, the occupation has to do with the infrastructure works carried out at the end of the 19th century in areas that belong to the river. Such works were:
1886
Construction of Santa Fe-Colastiné Norte and San José del Rincón railway, which was essential to the creation of the old port of Colastiné.
1904
Beginning of the construction of the new port for ocean-capable ships in Santa Fe. This work diverted the river watercourse, thus changing the appearance of the southern area of the city. What is known today as “South Lake” used to be part of the former river-bed. On the soil dug out to build the canal, a new coastal neigh-borhood was born across the river from the city — Alto Verde.
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1924
Construction of the suspension bridge. After it was opened, more and more people started to settle down in lands that used to belong to the river.
1936
Construction of the road that joins Santa Fe and Colastiné.
1942
Construction of the coastal road, which today is Provincial Route 1.
1952
Extension of Route 168 to the east. This work finished in 1969 with the opening of the Underwater Tunnel that links the cities of Santa Fe and Paraná.
Throughout this period, the Salado and Paraná Rivers experi-enced ordinary and extraordinary flood patterns causing dam-age and distress to those settled in the areas. This is why, in 1993, the provincial State, aided by international funding, be-gan to build levees along the Paraná River (including El Pozo, Alto Verde, La Guardia, and Colastiné neighborhoods and the towns of Rincón and Arroyo Leyes) and along the Salado Riv-er (including the west border of the city and adjoining areas). These works reflected a global trend that considered engineer-ing works and similar “structural” projects as the final solution to water-related problems.
2.2.1 Characteristics of the Protection System
The protection system in Santa Fe consists of more than 60 ki-lometers of levees, or flood protection embankments, and ma-ny flood pumps to pump out rainwater off the embankments.
Levees are artificial barriers made of soil, clay and sand that prevent river water from flooding the city during regular over-flows. They run parallel to the coastline and are aimed at pre-venting the river overflows from affecting those who have settled in low-lying areas. This protection system is very cost-ly and requires permanent maintenance. It alters the natural drainage of the land, making it more difficult for rainwater to drain. For this reason, follow-up works must be carried out, such as: reservoirs to store and manage rainfall water, pumps to pump it out, and a complex internal drainage network to take the water to the place from which it will be removed.
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2.3 Rivers, Overflows and Floods
Figures
• 64 km of flood protection embankments
• 152 (fixed, mobile and backup) pumps
• 53 pumping and operation centers
• 250 ha of reservoirs
• 125 km of drain pipes
• 60 km of open air canals
• 13 weather stations
These protection and drainage systems are of crucial impor-tance. The community should become aware of the land vul-nerability and adopt coexistence rules to ensure these artificial systems are always in perfect working conditions: refrain from throwing garbage into the drains, from removing soil from the embankments and from vandalizing the pumps. Besides, they must be prepared to face an eventual hazardous situation, that is, they must be organized and work in a coordinated fashion, knowing what to do and how to do it and anticipating future needs. In order to be prepared, contingency plans must be de-veloped and adopted by the community.
2.3.1 The Paraná River
The Paraná River is one of the most important rivers in South America and the largest watercourse that runs through the Ar-gentine territory. It belongs to the large La Plata basin and has an area of 3 100 000 km2. Its main tributaries are the Paraná, Pa-raguay, Iguazú, Uruguay and La Plata Rivers, among others. It runs through Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay.
The Paraná River extends over 4 000 km from its origin in the confluence of the Grande and Paranaíba Rivers to its mouth in the La Plata River. It runs from north to south and is divided into three sections known as upper, middle and lower basins. The city of Santa Fe is located in the middle basin, some 750 km away from the confluence of the Paraná and Paraguay Riv-ers. This section ending in the city of Rosario can be described as a plain river featuring a wide floodplain, many meanders, islands and sandbanks. Up to the southern area of the city, the left (east) bank looks like a cliff whereas the right (west) coast-line is low and prone to floods, with many brooks and ponds, that get flooded when the river overflows.
The average volume of the Paraná River amounts to 17 000 m3/s at the latitude of the city of Corrientes. In times of ex-treme overflows, the river tends to cover the whole floodplain and discharges into the Setúbal system. When water flooded the islands, its volume exceeded 50 000 m3/s, almost thrice its average volume and over twice its volume during regular over-flows (some 20 000 m3/s).
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(2) For more information about emergencies and disasters (in Argen-
tina until 2009], see Red Desinventar: www.desinventar.org.
The most significant events recorded took place in 1905; 1966; 1982/3; 1992 and 1988(2).
June 1905
The 1905 flood was one of the largest in the past century. River levels reached a height of 7.72 m, according to the records of the Port of Santa Fe, and a maximum volume of 50 000 m3/s. The height of the water remained over 7 m for 17 days. The flood isolated the coastal towns and covered the center of the city which, by then, had a population of 40 000 people. As the story goes, the river looked like a huge body of water that ex-tended from what is today La Rioja street to the city of Paraná.
March 1966
The 1966 flood reached a height of 6.94 m in the port of San-ta Fe and a volume of approximately 42 000 m3/s. The wa-ters covered large sections of Routes 1 and 168, which could not be used. There was a serious concern about the stability of the suspension bridge and, for that reason, a section of Route 168 was blown up to facilitate water drainage. The Santa Fe waterfront was seriously damaged by the erosive effect of the
current and the emerging settlements of La Guardia and Alto Verde were completely flooded. Other neighborhoods were af-fected too, namely: Barranquitas, Centenario, Cementerio Mu-nicipal, Costanera, and Guadalu pe. More than 1 600 people had to be evacuated.
December 1982 through August 1983
This was the longest lasting flood ever recorded in Santa Fe. The maximum water height reached 7.35 m measured by the port hydrometer, and the volume was up to 61 100 m3/s. The height of the water remained over 7 m for 49 days and over 5.70 m for 275 days. Five flood crests were recorded in that period. The routes and the flood protection system were over-whelmed. Two bridges fell down and the city was isolated from the Mesopotamia region. The pipeline that supplied water to the treatment plant was destroyed as well as part of the sewer pipeline. A huge body of water near the suspension bridge that had accumulated due to land-filling activities carried out in El Pozo neighborhood eroded and damaged the city waterfront heavily, causing the collapse of the historic and iconic bridge. The populations of La Guardia and Alto Verde were the hard-est hit. According to the different crest records, over 18 700 people were evacuated.
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June 1992
The water levels reached on this occasion eclipsed those of the last flood, reaching 7.43 m. River levels remained over 7 m for 15 days, and the maximum volume was 54 000 m3/s. Traffic along the access routes was suspended on a temporary and preventive basis; roads were reinforced to keep water away but some streets and avenues were completely flooded. Some of the levees in Alto Verde, La Guardia, Colastiné and Rincón were overwhelmed; as a consequence, many neighborhoods were flooded whereas others barely made it. The Santa Fe wa-terfront was seriously damaged by landslides and cave-ins. The hardest hit sectors were the coastal area, the protection em-bankments in Varadero Sarsotti, FONAVI Centenario and San Lorenzo neighborhoods, and Mar Argentino Avenue. 4 500 people were evacuated and there were 3 casualties according to Desinventar data. After that flood, the flood protection works for the coastline were carried out and consolidated.
April 1998
The 1998 flood had a volume of 47 000 m3/s and its maximum height in the port of Santa Fe was 7.16 m. It put the works then being carried out to the test. Not much happened in the areas where the works had been consolidated and finished, whereas those featuring temporary levees were seriously affected, par-ticularly the Leyes bridge. The levees on Route 1 stayed in place, but some critical sections evidenced high probability of failure.
2.3.2 The Salado River
The Salado River originates in the province of Salta, flows diag-onally from northwest to southeast across the province of San-tiago del Estero, and empties in the Paraná River basin in Santa Fe. It extends over 247 000 km2.
The lower section of the Salado River can be described as a plain river, but its natural drainage is altered by artificial canals, which are meant to drain low lands or those lands that are ad-versely affected by the road and railway networks, and also by nearby agricultural activities.
From its origins to its mouth in the Paraná River system (be-tween the cities of Santa Fe and Santo Tomé), it is divided into three sections: upper, middle and low basins. Although there are no fixed boundaries, it is generally considered that the low basin starts on the same latitude as the city of Tostado and ex-tends through the province of Santa Fe. It covers an area of 30 000 km2.
The average volume of the low basin ranges from 140 to 170 m3/s, but maximum volumes may be six to ten times larger than the average ones. During the floods recorded before 2003, the volumes reached up to 2 600 m3/s; but in 2000, it reached 4 000 m3/s, thus exceeding every existing record.
The Salado River also has regular overflows, although they are not as large or frequent as the Paraná River’s. In 1914 and 1973,
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• 2003. The city under water due to the overflowing Salado river.
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two important floods occurred that had little impact on inhabit-ed areas. Three decades after that, the Salado River overflowed again resulting in a disastrous outcome that seriously affected one third of the city.
April 1914
The flood caused by the Salado River in April through May 1914 was one of the largest of the 20th century. Its maximum volume reached 2 750 m3/s. However, the west side was a swampy and sandy area that had not been settled yet. According to official records, only five houses were affected. The river overflows and the heavy rains flooded the city of Santa Fe and other neighbor-ing cities such as Laguna Paiva, Recreo, Rafaela, Reconquista, and Tostado, among others.
May through June 1973
The heights of the river oscillated during this flood and threat-ened to break the existing levee. The maximum volume was 2 430 m3/s. On June 14th 1973, the Santa Fe-Rosario highway bridge collapsed. This was a significant event as far as magni-tude and duration are concerned. Around 1 000 people were evacuated. Different city areas were flooded as well as roads and routes. The hardest hit neighborhoods were La Florida, Yapeyú, Barranquitas Oeste, Centenario, Los Hornos, and Nueva Pom-peya, among others. This last one became completely isolated.
April through May 2003
Rainfalls in different sections of the basin caused this extraor-dinary flood, which had a maximum volume of 3 954 m3/s. Since the flood protection embankment works at the west ring road had not been completed yet, the river entered the city through the northern section of the flood protection sys-tem. Moreover, the insufficient vertical clearance of the high-way bridge increased the severity of the flood, since it acted as a dam. The levees were blown up in order to release the stagnant water, whose level was higher within the city than outside, thus provoking even further damage to the existing infrastructure.
One third of the city was flooded; 130 000 people were evac-uated and there were 23 casualties, according to official data. Total loss and damage amounted to over USD 3 billion and af-fected the whole city infrastructure, its environment, and its health, education, transport, energy and communication sys-tems, among others. The lack of organized assistance together with the lack of information resulted in chaos, and the citizens lost their trust in the local government. Nearly 400 evacuee re-ception centers were opened to assist the victims, and all the city institutions cooperated. For almost a month, the city was paralyzed — all the activities came to a halt. The magnitude of the catastrophe was such that international as well as national bodies provided emergency relief, and expressions of solidar-ity and support came from all over the country and the world. Putting the city services and infrastructure back to work de-manded huge economic efforts. The provincial government
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Height
7.83 m
6.55 m
6.12 m
6.15 m
6.94 m
7.19 m
6.36 m
6.25 m
7.35 m
6.53 m
7.43 m
6.16 m
6.54 m
7.24 m
7.10 m
6.37 m
Name of the river
• Paraná
• Paraná
• Paraná
• Paraná
• Paraná
• Salado
• Paraná
• Paraná
• Paraná
• Paraná
• Paraná
• Paraná
• Paraná
• Paraná
• Salado
• Salado
Date
06/14/1905
03/23/1929
03/06/1959
04/17/1961
03/17/1966
1973
03/07/1977
12/23/1982
07/05/1983
02/17/1990
06/22/1992
03/25/1995
03/05/1997
05/16/1998
02/17/1998
04/29/2003
Maximum heights of the Paraná and Salado Rivers
compensated affected families for their loss and provided fi-nancial support so that they could repair their houses. The Re-construction Agency built new neighborhoods aimed at the most vulnerable sectors in faraway areas of the north of the city, which lacked basic infrastructure and services.
2.3.3 Rainfall-related Flooding
The average annual rainfall in the area is 1 300 mm, and rains occur mostly between October and March. In the last decades, the weather phenomenon called “El Niño” has laid bare the problems urban areas must deal with, when confronted with hydrometeorological hazards of considerable magnitude and increasing frequency.
Vast sectors of the city have periodically been affected by mod-erate to heavy precipitations. Though many such events can be mentioned, the most severe one took place in March 2007.
March 2007
Between March 26th and April 4th, the total rainfall in the city of Santa Fe was 437 mm. The effects of the rains were ag-gravated by many factors such as insufficient drainage and storage capacity, and operating problems in the pump sys-tem that prevented the water from being pumped out to the west, towards the Salado River. The emergency response sys-tem showed deficiencies, and the same sector that had en-
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2.4 Growing “Against the River”
dured the worst of the 2003 flood was once again the hardest hit. Some 28 000 people had to leave their homes; the flood forced the closure of a number of streets, roads and frontage roads, and the city became isolated. This had an enormous so-cial and psychological impact.
The gradual occupation of the Paraná and Salado Rivers flood-plains demonstrates that urban planning has been carried out “against the river”, that is to say, adapting the environment to human needs rather than the other way round.
Quays, ports, canals, roads, viaducts, power lines, levees, land-fills, berms, pontoon bridges, and silos conform a heteroge-neous set of anthropic elements that show how the city and the river have adapted to each other. These works often have had a traumatic effect because they are aimed at satisfying human needs to the detriment of the landscape instead of carefully ad-justing the city to its natural surrounding environment.
Thus, the city of Santa Fe has experienced many flood disasters and emergencies throughout its history. Extreme overflows and heavy rains, such as the abovementioned, have provoked enormous damage and loss, in particular, to the families in low-lying areas, who are also the most vulnerable. Not only have response, rescue and assistance operations been carried out on each occasion to help the damaged but also infrastruc-ture building measures have been required and carried out in order to avoid further floods.
Throughout the 90s, key engineering works were built: 64 ki-lometers of flood protection embankments — to prevent water from flooding the city — together with a complex stormwater runoff drainage system to move water out from behind the le-vees and towards the river.
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• 2007. Rainfall-related flood that affected the southwestern area of the city once again.
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As a consequence of these works, built without careful con-sideration of pros and cons, people experienced an increasing feeling of trust and safety before the rivers’ natural fluctua-tions; and the areas that used to be labeled as low-lying and prone to floods soon became attractive, easy to access and even trustworthy.
Over just two decades, there was a remarkable increase in pop-ulation, infrastructure, activity and facilities in these areas. Such is the case of the “coastal area” of the Paraná River: be-tween 2001 and 2010, the population in El Pozo, La Guardia, Colastiné Sur, and Colastiné Norte neighborhoods, increased by 25.2% (as compared to the total increase in the city which was only 6.3%). As a consequence of this, San José de Rincón changed its status and became a city in 2011.
Meanwhile, on the west side of the city, the settlement of the humblest sectors in former swampy and sandy areas of the Sa-lado river consolidated. The lack of planning in infrastructure and services for these families increased their vulnerability, so they not only suffered economic want but also tragic flooding.
Knowing the city, its development and characteristics allows us to reflect upon risks in an increasingly comprehensive man-ner. Floods are not just caused by extreme hydrometeorologi-cal phenomena or by infrastructure problems to be solved with further protection works. Although these events can trigger emergency or disastrous situations than can be minimized or
prevented through protection measures, the conditions of the community as well as the ways in which it contributes to in-crease or reduce these risks are of utmost importance.
Eventually, the whole society must be aware of risks and con-tribute to their management if we are to be able to reduce them; citizens must demand that risk management should be a State policy and strongly commit to the construction of a saf-er and more sustainable future with their individual and col-lective daily actions.
The river should stop being a threat and we should stop threat-ening it; that is to say, we must stop settling in areas belonging to the river. We must adopt coexistence rules that better suit our environment. Only in this way, shall we strike a balance between natural and manmade dynamics, between use and protection of natural systems. This balance is essential, if we are to consolidate an urban environment that respects quality of life and sustainability.
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DISASTER RISK REDUCTION AS A STATE POLICY
CHAPTER 3
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As already said in the previous chapter, the city of Santa Fe was settled between two major rivers and grew without respect-ing the characteristics of the land, without taking into account its possibilities.
The vain search for final solutions to the flood problem trans-lated into various works and field studies that were specifically aimed at the physical protection of the city against future floods. Neither the critical adjustment of the people’s living style to the characteristics of the environment nor the promotion of col-lective awareness about risk prevention were ever considered.
On each occasion, the efforts were aimed at assisting the affect-ed population and restoring the city life. Once the emergency was over, new works were planned to prevent waters from en-tering the city during river overflows. Thus, a cycle that not on-ly failed to reduce risks but also increased them was repeated over and over again.
Fortunately, this response-based approach has changed; as it no longer regards the restoration of the city situation to its original condition before the flood or the construction of en-gineering works as the final solutions to the problem. The city of Santa Fe has begun to learn from experience and to under-stand that disaster risk reduction must become a State policy.
Thus, in December 2007, a local risk management plan was included as a State policy in the “Santa Fe City” Development Plan. In March 2008, it was presented before the Honorable
City Council by Mayor Mario Barletta. Pursuant to the guide-lines agreed upon between specialized organizations and the United Nations, a comprehensive approach was adopted to deal with various risk-generating factors. Today, the city aims to reduce hazard-related loss and risk, improve the communi-ty’s quality of life and foster local development based on sus-tainable growth.
This process implementation and sustainability called for cru-cial changes in the city. The main aspects tackled in the process were: the adaptation of the institutional and legal framework, consensus building and a collaborative search for tools to build a sustainable territory, the inclusion of the concept of preven-tion in education and culture, the preparation of the city to tack-le extreme hydrometeorological phenomena, and the recovery of the sectors that had previously been affected by flooding.
Although these crucial changes dealt with the way risk was re-garded and managed in the medium and long term, they also entailed short term actions, not only aimed at reducing the ad-verse effects of events such as rains, storms or overflows but al-so at evidencing the ongoing changes and contributing to their consolidation in the future.
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3.1 A Legal and Institutional Framework
The local government plays a key role in city management and is fully accountable for whatever occurs within its jurisdiction, particularly when it comes to events that are potentially adverse to the community. For this reason, it is crucial to have an ad-equate legal and institutional framework that is sustainable in time and that contributes to the consolidation of risk manage-ment as a State policy.
The creation of the Risk Management Office that reports direct-ly to the Mayor, who is also one of its members, was the first step to highlight the relevance of the issue and facilitate its cross-sec-tional inclusion in all the local government departments.
It was crucial for risk reduction to become a true “cross-sec-tional” issue, so that the process was reinforced from different fields of activity with better resources, avoiding the overlapping of tasks and faculties among the different areas. Indeed, risk reduction means dealing with a great variety of areas that are connected, such as public works, social development, the envi-ronment, communication, education, culture, and urban plan-ning, which already have their specific departments.
In order to incorporate risk management into the different ar-eas of government, its organic structure was altered. Training and awareness workshops for municipal officials and authori-ties were carried out as well. These workshops, coordinated by the UNL, allowed for the creation of a space to share criteria and concepts towards a common outlook on the territory, its characteristics and the reduction of risk as a collective project.
The Municipal System of Risk Management was created by Or-dinance N° 11.512/08 to reach the different stakeholders and sectors involved in the issue. Ever since, the structure of the system is made up of a Central Committee and various specific commissions to deal with the different stages of risk reduction: prevention, preparation, response and recovery. In this way, the system began to promote collaborative work between different municipal risk reduction areas, actors, city tools and actions.
Thus, local alliances with different institutions and organiza-tions have consolidated, and progress has been made towards a commitment to work collaboratively on different prevention and community preparedness activities, as well as on the re-sponse of authorities, institutions and neighbors when con-fronted with hazards. Many agreements have been signed to provide relevant actors with training, to make temporary shel-ters available — so as not to use schools —, to manage hu-manitarian emergency aid in a transparent fashion, and to transport evacuees, among other issues.
Moreover, the implementation of a territory management De-centralization Plan, that divided the city into eight districts, has fostered the participation of neighbors, institutions and com-munity organizations in decision-making processes related to local issues. As regards risk management in particular, de-centralization has made it simpler to deal with the needs and problems inherent to each sector, thus promoting, creating and maintaining spaces for community participation aimed at im-proving emergency preparedness.
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3.2 Consensus-Building and Tools Towards a Sustainable Territory
(3) The Storm Drainage Master Plan entails waterworks for the 26
basins of the city, which called for an investment of USD 150 million
in 2013, plus the basins in the coastal area (Alto Verde and Colastiné)
incorporated by the INA (National Water Institute) in 2011, based on a
study ordered by the City Government.
The risk management process is aimed at reducing the vulner-ability of the population, its systems and its resources. Thus, it contributes to the sustainable development of the city since it aims to improve people’s quality of life, the characteristics of the environment, and its ecosystems. Furthermore, in order to discuss sustainable development we must start by considering the concept of sustainable territory with its pros and cons, and understand that the concept integrates the natural, the man-made and their interactions.
The inclusion of risk reduction in urban planning and environ-mental management translates into action plans, tools and reg-ulations that put these public policies into practice in the present and aim to consolidate their sustainability for the future.
Urban planning contemplates the adaption and expansion of the city drainage system, as the city grows. To that end, the
Storm Drainage Master Plan developed by INA (National Water Institute) has set guidelines for investments in risk prevention infrastructure, while funding to fully comply with the plan(3) is obtained. This funding far exceeds the municipal budget so it is necessary to resort to financial support from national and provincial organizations. Furthermore, the plan has included the coastal area and, through field studies, has determined the areas and the works that are to be carried out to ensure prop-er operation of the drainage system in the eastern levee ring.
Since 2008, important drainage works have been carried out and the flood protection system has been improved. It has also been agreed that the municipal budget must include the nec-essary funding to maintain and operate the system as well as to carry out minor works. Herein below is a list of the works that have been completed, those that are being carried out and those that are planned for the future.
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(4) The letters between brackets indicate municipal (M), provincial (P)
or national (N) funding.
Completed works(4)
• Pumping centers overhauling (P & M), reservoirs deepening (P)• Installation of a pipeline in Centenera canal (M)• Adaptation of drains in Unión y Trabajo neighborhood (M)• Drains in Quiroga St. and French Av. (stage 1) (P)• Drains reinforcement in General Paz and Dorrego Av. (M)• Erection of pumping centers at the intersection of Dorrego and Larrea St., and at the intersection of P. Díaz Colodrero and Avellaneda St. (M)• Lavaisse drains (N & M)• Drains adaptation in Santa Rosa de Lima and Colastiné Norte neighborhoods (M)• Drains in Chalet neighborhood, Pavón St. (stage 1) and Matheu St. (stage 1) (M) • Reinforcement of protection levees (P)
Works being carried out
• Drain 1, west ring road• Drain in French Av. (stage 2 )(P)• Drain in Entre Ríos St. (N & M)• Adaptation of drainpipes in Los Ángeles neighborhood (M)• Güemes drainage tunnel (Coronel Dorrego), (stage 1) (M)• Installation of a pipeline in Estado de Israel canal (M)• Drains in Guadalupe Central neighborhood (M)• Drain in Domingo Silva St., a city boundary street (M)
Future works
• Drain in Llerena St. (stage 1) (P)• Drain in Larrea St. (P)• Reservoir digging and expansion works (P & M)• Larguía drainage tunnel, from Gorriti Av. to Aguirre St. (M)• Drain in La Rioja St. (Santa Rosa de Lima neighborhood) (M)• Berutti pipeline (Los Troncos neighborhood) (M)• Drain in Espora St. (N)
Moreover, a new Urban Plan for Santa Fe was developed pursu-ant to Ordinance N° 11 768. It includes the previous plans and also the contributions made by the different social actors who collaborated in the drafting of guidelines for the years 2008 and 2009. The plan regards certain actions as opportunities to reduce the city’s vulnerability, as far as its growth and urban planning are concerned. These actions are: to foster the city’s growth towards the north and stop its expansion towards the west, to restrict settlements in areas that are prone to floods, and to define alternatives to recover these areas so that they may have a high environmental potential.
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• Guided tour to one of the pumping centers in the flood protection embankment system.
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However, in order to achieve territorial and development sustain-ability, the State had to work on the current conditions of vulner-ability and acknowledge and guarantee people’s right to land and housing. To that end, a Land Tenure Regularization Plan (pursu-ant to ordinance N° 11 631) was approved in order to grant ten-ure of the plots to families who had built their only residence, as long as those plots were not prone to flooding. The Plan started by surveying all the houses illegally built on municipal, provin-cial or private plots, one by one. A total of approximately 10 000 houses located in 35 city neighborhoods were surveyed. Thanks to this plan, in five years, 2 418 families received their land deed, 1 767 families signed a contract of sale which entitles them to the land deed in the future. Besides, 4 500 families were awarded certificates of occupancy that entitle them to sign the contract of sale. 1 500 houses are awaiting for the approval of their measure-ment drawings and lot subdivision. Finally, 500 houses located in 5 neighborhoods are being relocated in nearby plots with ap-propriate river height level.
The commitment to the social construction of a more sustain-able territory and a city exposed to fewer risks is evidenced by actions aimed at reducing the volume of water in streets and sidewalks. Specific regulations to reduce vulnerability to be observed by private buildings have been approved and imple-mented. These are: “sidewalk buffers”, stormwater flow regula-tors, and the compulsory use of elevated metal garbage baskets for household trash. The so-called “sidewalk buffers” are green grass areas in the city sidewalks (as per Ordinance N° 11 610) aimed at achieving better stormwater absorption and soil tem-perature reduction. The goal of this regulation is to gradual-
ly increase vegetation in public areas. Furthermore, pursuant to Ordinances N° 11 865 and N° 10 762, it is now mandatory to have elevated metal garbage baskets in sidewalks to get rid of household trash. These are of crucial importance when it comes to maintaining urban cleanliness and to reducing the risk of flooding due to storm sewers clogged with trash on streets, when it rains heavily.
Ordinance N° 11 959 is also worth mentioning since it provides for the use of methods to retard or reduce stormwater runoff in public works and private buildings. Such methods include: landscaping, corrective actions, porous surfaces, the creation of depressed areas, rain gutters, the reduction of impervious sur-faces, the lengthening of flow path by means of basins, ponding dams and regulators. This ordinance has been highly signifi-cant because it deals with the treatment of stormwater runoff due to heavy rains from a different point of view: rather than try-ing to achieve a quick discharge of stormwater runoff — which is impossible because of the levees and the low slope gradients —, it aims at managing stormwater runoff better within the city until it reaches its point of discharge or flows into the river. This change also promotes the participation and commitment of all the city social actors so as to reduce its vulnerability by means of methods and practices aimed at minimizing the impact of stormwater, especially in the city low-lying areas.
The public areas and the urban landscape have been taken in-to account due to their crucial importance when it comes to building place identity and a sense of belonging. Thanks to the program called Parks in my City and to the Green Belts Plan,
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100 parks, squares and esplanades, and over 50 sport fields have been renovated or built. The refurbishing of public parks has been remarkable, for example: in 2009 the 30 hectare-long Garay park — abandoned after being affected by the Salado River flood — was revamped. Different landscapes were creat-ed through an attractive combination of ponds and vegetation. In 2010, the Federal park — in a joint effort by the munici-pal and provincial governments — was also revamped. A sig-nificant building was restored and 23 hectares of green space that had been abandoned in the 90s, when the railway system of the country was left to decay, were recovered. In 2014, the first stage of the new park called Library of the National Con-stitution started, thus recovering 17 hectares that had been pre-viously used as a municipal dump. The project features an inclusive design in close contact with nature.
All these actions are aimed at complying with the commitment to having a green city that respects the natural environment and offers public areas for everybody. This goal has been rein-forced by the recent creation of the Municipal System of Pro-tected Natural Areas, pursuant to Ordinance N° 12 025. Within its framework, a project was designed for the creation of an Ur-ban Preserve on the west side, that is meant to turn reservoirs into public areas to be integrated into the city park system, given their enormous potential as far as landscape, recreation and tourist attractions are concerned. Such reservoirs have a key role, since they can store water and minimize the negative effects of floods. Thus, a petition for a grant was filed before the Secretariat of the French Global Environment Facility to turn into a Natural Urban Preserve 142 hectares out of 250 of
the west belt earmarked to be reservoirs. In this way, people’s quality of life will improve; environmental protection will be achieved and settlements in areas prone to hydrometeorologi-cal hazards will be prevented, to the direct benefit of 80 thou-sand western city dwellers, who are the most vulnerable from the social, economic and environmental points of view. Indig-enous species typical of our grasslands, prairies and wetlands are already being planted on the outer side of the west ring road. The whole project provides for the creation of a nursery for indigenous flora and for the development of socio-produc-tive projects for the local population, among other things.
Waste management is another crucial factor when it comes to risk reduction actions based on the concept of sustainable ter-ritory. This issue is both essential and controversial not only because waste in cities is harmful to the environment but also because it clogs the urban drainage system. Santa Fe has made considerable progress in this field through various actions and campaigns that were strongly supported by society and its in-stitutions. Such actions included: differentiated waste collec-tion throughout the city (as per Ordinance N° 11 549) based on household waste segregation into dry and wet, which entailed a strong citizen participation and permanent educational work on the topic; reduction of plastic bag use (as per Ordinance N° 11 601) based on a joint work with supermarkets and local shops; special management of the waste produced by large quantity generators (as per Ordinance N° 11 917) as well as the training of informal waste pickers to help them become “urban recyclers”.
In addition, in 2010 a new effluent and waste management fa-
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3.3 Risk Prevention Communication, Education and Culture
cility was opened to dispose of waste and treat effluents. It has state-of-the-art technology for compactation and cover material placement in the landfill. It also provides for the control of waste-decomposition-related gases, the composting of wet waste and the recycling of material. To that end, the facility has a waste sort-ing plant that has enhanced the work carried out by the Dignidad y Vida Sana (Dignity and Healthy Life) Non-profit Civil Organi-zation, a NGO created by former scavengers who turned their in-formal activity into an organized and inclusive activity.
Furthermore, in 2011 Santa Fe launched an Urban Reforesta-tion Program and different reforestation campaigns to plant and replace some six thousand trees per year in parks, squares, esplanades, public land and green belts throughout the city. In 2013, 6 470 trees provided by the municipal nursery were planted and each neighborhood was assigned one specific kind.
Thus the relation between the city, the river and the environ-ment has been dealt with from different perspectives. It was also included as one of the main strategic elements in the Tour-ism Development Program whose goal is to increase the sup-ply of local sustainable tourist activities, the possibilities for enjoying the coastal landscape and the recreational activities for tourists and citizens alike.
State action is not by itself up to the task of planning and man-aging risk reduction and sustainable development. Society and organizations must necessarily participate actively and commit themselves to incorporating issues of prevention into civic culture.
In 2007 the City Government launched the Risk Communi-cation Program in order to raise awareness, promote partic-ipation and foster the exchange of information between the government, technical and scientific institutions and the popu-lation. Both the Communication Office and the Risk Manage-ment Office are in charge of this program, which has had a crucial role in the promotion and organization of many activi-ties to this end, articulating actions with different municipal bodies and social organizations.
Local institutions, non-profit organizations and community and neighborhood associations have participated in different risk re-duction activities. Such activities included: workshops and pre-sentations in neighborhood associations and schools, that have provided people with a better knowledge of the city characteris-tics, floods and community organization, in order to improve flood preparedness and response. More than 60 organizations and 45 neighborhood associations have participated and con-tributed their experiences and perspectives on those issues.
Public access to updated information about the city and its risks has been facilitated thanks to the creation of a special sec-tion in the Website of the City Government. It is a blog that of-fers knowledge and information about the issue to promote
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• Construction site of the city storm drain system.
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(5) Comitato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo dei Popoli.
opportunities for prevention in different areas as well as to im-prove preparedness to confront rainfalls and river overflows. The Website contents include: the regulatory framework, the contingency plan, educational material, risk management news, weather information and information about the activi-ties that have taken place.
Considering the key role of mass media in emergencies as well as their responsibility to give trustworthy information so that the public can fully understand the risks of disaster, an agreement was signed with the local media regarding the criteria to be ap-plied when broadcasting information and covering emergencies. The idea is to advance in a new approach — focused on knowl-edge and professional and institutional skills — to promote re-sponsible information about disaster risk reduction issues.
Starting in 2008, different thought-provoking and training ac-tivities were organized for journalists and social communica-tors. Such activities included courses, workshops, meetings and visits to the city flood protection systems. These activities are aimed at improving risk communication in its broadest sense; ranging from the promotion of a culture of prevention to learning through experience and organization for a better performance when confronted to emergencies and disasters. It is worth highlighting that these activities have been supported by journalists and social communicators specialized in this is-sue at the national and international levels.
Also in 2008, the first training course aimed at teachers and community representatives was organized jointly with two NGOs, CISP(5) (Italian International Committee for the Devel-opment of Peoples) and Canoa. This first course was delivered by Universidad Nacional del Litoral professors and was attended by 15 people. In 2011, the course was organized again and this time it was attended by over 30 teachers. These training activi-ties were of utmost importance to stimulate reflection upon this issue in schools as well as to design educational support materi-als on floods and risk management for teachers, that included classroom activities suggested by the course participants.
The second course was part of a project called “Getting Prepared at School: More Prevention and Less Risk”, designed by the City Government in collaboration with the Provincial Ministry of Education - District IV. In order to raise awareness about the construction of risk and its possible reduction, this project put forward different strategies meant to facilitate teachers’ work by means of ideas, courses, tools, activities and materials. In four years, over 100 schools in the city have participated in various activities organized by the project that used the educational ma-terial developed within the Program “Classroom-City”.
Since the Argentine Red Cross, Santa Fe Branch, is also com-mitted to disaster and risk prevention, it devised in collabo-ration with the abovementioned project, school contingency planning for different types of emergencies. It is widely known
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that there are no universal recipes and that each institution is to prepare its own plan according to its characteristics and the risk scenarios. That is the reason why this action is meant to help the school design a plan according to its needs and pos-sibilities and develop the ability to prevent and organize an emergency response.
The university, from multiple disciplinary fields and perspec-tives, has addressed the issue of risks of different origins thus producing and increasing knowledge. A Record of Thesis and Senior Essays (16 so far) referring to risk and disasters has been created. It aims at promoting the production of theoretical and practical works on this topic, encouraging interdisciplinary in-tegration and enriching debates. It includes graduates and un-dergraduates from every academic program.
Students in the Social Work Program (UNL) have had the chance to do internships focused on “Habitat and risk manage-ment” for the City Government, coordinated by the Risk Man-agement Office. Thus, between 2008 and 2010, 36 students had the opportunity to increase their theoretical and practical knowl-edge of the topic. In addition, an elective course has been devel-oped by the UNL for students from all the academic programs who wish to include this approach in their professional training.
Raising awareness about the city, the territory and their dy-namics has played a key role in all the cultural and educational activities organized by the City Hall. A proof of this is the publi-cation of the serials called “The City and the River” (2009) and
“Living in Harmony with the River” (2013), produced by the program called Classroom-City, that deal with relevant topics for the cultural identity of Santa Fe so as to facilitate their treat-ment at schools as well as the students’ grasp of the urban grid.
This educational material aims at promoting the understand-ing of the risks associated to the river and the city’s strategies for reducing them. Within this framework, more than 5 000 people — including students, teachers, institutions, associa-tions, government officials, etc. — have visited the drainage system located in the “Water Route”, as suggested by the se-rials. The tour also includes a visit to the Waste Management Facility to learn about the recycling of reusable materials, that essentially depends on citizen’s commitment to household waste sorting.
Furthermore, the Department for Culture has created a play called “Aguacuentos” (water tales) to be presented in schools and events throughout the city. The combination of music, drama, songs, puppets and actors was a very attractive way to tackle the problems caused by garbage - clogged drains and riv-er pollution. Over 3 thousand children attended the 20 perfor-mances over a period of three years.
Multiple actions have been carried out in the fields of com-munication, education and culture such as the annual celebra-tion of the International Day for Disaster Reduction, which has gained increasing relevance since its creation in October 2008. This special initiative — put forward by the United Nations Or-
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3.4 A Better Prepared City
ganization to promote world reflection upon this issue — has been an opportunity for Santa Fe to present its progress and challenges in the field of risk management as well as to show the initiatives presented by the schools and to revise the contin-gency plans for the different neighborhoods.
The emergencies and disasters that the city endured, in par-ticular in April 2003 and March 2007, evidenced the vulner-ability of the community when confronting floods. One of the relevant aspects was the insufficient investment devoted to the completion and maintenance of mitigation works (levees, urban drainage network). Another was the lack of contingen-cy planning to deal with imminent threats, which aggravated the damages and losses, increased uncertainty and contribut-ed to the general chaos, thus making it more difficult for the city to recover fast.
Apart from these extreme weather events, Santa Fe, due to its particular geographical and physical characteristics, de-pends on the good working conditions of its flood protection and drainage systems to minimize the possibilities of urban flooding caused by river overflows or rains. These systems are complex and costly and they need regular maintenance and surveillance to ensure that they work adequately when needed. However, they are not infallible works nor do they eliminate risk completely. That is why it is crucial that the city be always on the alert and prepared.
The City Government, fully aware of this fact, has worked strenuously to prepare the community to tackle future events and put emphasis on three key aspects: improving the physical capacity of the city to receive and discharge water out of the le-vees; creating an early warning system; and including it in the contingency planning to optimize the organization of the com-munity before extreme hydrometeorological events.
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• Information, communication and educational activities.
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As for urban protection and drainage systems, as explained in section 3.2., cleaning and maintenance services were increased so as to improve their performance, in particular during the rainy season or in case of heavy rains. New pumps were ac-quired and the flood extraction equipment was renovated in a joint effort between the city and the provincial governments to enhance flood extraction power.
Likewise, the water reservoirs were deepened and modified to ensure a better mitigation and absorption capacity in case of rains and overflows. In some cases, it was necessary to relocate the families that had irregularly settled in those areas, not only because of the hazard it implied for them but also because they hindered the improvement works which were beneficial for the community as a whole.
Some parts demanded specific works or modifications to solve particular problems related to stormwater runoff and its pas-sage along the existing drainage system. These works were carried out taking into account not only the Storm Drainage Master Plan but also the assessment of the performance of the different urban sub-basins before rains and the observations of the neighbors who lived in the affected areas.
These modification and improvement works went hand in hand with a huge effort to produce, access and exchange infor-mation and knowledge about hydrometeorological events. Thanks to the permanent exchange of data and information with national and provincial bodies, the local hydrometeoro-
logical warning systems of both the Paraná and Salado Rivers were established and consolidated.
In addition, a weather radar that covers most of the provinces of Santa Fe and Entre Ríos was installed thanks to a joint ef-fort between the governments and scientific and technical in-stitutions. The simultaneous work of this and similar radars in nearby areas has been crucial in providing more accurate rain forecasts, that anticipate the characteristics and magnitude of the rains.
In addition, the City Government has created its own early warning system for heavy or abundant rains and has also ac-quired 13 weather stations — located within the city — which work in collaboration with 20 others. This equipment has been installed in different sectors of the city and in neighboring towns with the aim of increasing and specifying data on weath-er and rainfalls, given the variability of frequent convective pre-cipitation in the region. The warning system also includes a monitoring center with its own staff, who can count on real time information for making decisions. This has been highly beneficial for the system, as far as the reception of data, sat-ellite and radar images sent by the National Weather Service, the National Agricultural Technology Institute and Universi-dad Nacional del Litoral is concerned.
It is important to emphasize that the early warning system adds to other relevant measures aimed at emergency prepared-ness: the installation of VHF, a safe communications system;
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the elaboration of procedure handbooks and contingency plans for heavy rains or river overflows, and the creation of a Citizens Service Center connected to the geographic information sys-tem, among others.
Extreme weather events have evidenced the huge and severe impact that man-made actions have on the community. That is why a Contingency Plan has been produced to anticipate and organize the actions of the different sectors and areas of the city before rains or river overflows, according to the responsi-bilities inherent to each social or institutional actor. It is impor-tant to emphasize that this pattern of organization established to tackle different weather events has been the first step to deal with all types of risks, be they natural or man-made.
The local government has elaborated protocols and municipal procedure handbooks to be approved by the Mayor through specific regulations in order to face different hazardous situa-tions. The procedures, which can be regularly updated, clearly stipulate the tasks to be carried out by each municipal office in each stage (before, during and after the weather event). They include the names of those in charge, their responsibilities and the resources available to cope with possible emergencies.
Different training activities aimed at government officials and municipal staff added to the organization pattern. These ac-tions included: training of coordinators and heads of emergen-cy shelters — with the collaboration of the White Helmets and organizations devoted to provide psychological and social sup-port —, as well as training in psychological first aid for call
center operators who had to receive, record and refer claims or reports. Apart from this, the municipal staff has been trained to improve self-protection in hazardous tasks or situations, in environmental health and safety, in fire prevention and occu-pational injuries.
The population was informed about contingency planning ad-vances through various media. This contributed to strength-en and consolidate community preparedness to confront risks with the best possible knowledge and organization. Apart from informing about the preparations in interactive workshops and other meetings, specific communication materials were developed: a handbook called “A Better Prepared City” (2009 and 2013) and over 40 different brochures divided by neigh-borhood (2008-2010) and by district (2012-2013) with infor-mation about evacuation plans and measures to be observed by the families in each of the different sectors of the city. This material was distributed through the main graphic media of the city and in interactive events related to risk reduction, envi-ronmental care and quality of life improvement. Thus, in five years, twenty thousand newspaper supplements and a hun-dred thousand issues have been distributed in districts, neigh-borhood associations, schools, courses, exhibitions, meetings and different interactive activities.
These materials have been updated on a regular basis and have played a key role in public information campaigns regarding the Contingency Plan. The main provisions of the plan have been periodically revised, setting for example meeting points and evacuation routes in case preventive evacuation of the
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hardest hit sectors is required. In this way, a strenuous work has been carried out to communicate this Plan to neighbors so that they not only knew about it but also could participate in dif-ferent activities aimed at raising awareness about risk preven-tion and reduction, improvements of their own environment and of the city in general. Since 2009, the Contingency Plan has been rehearsed annually in various city neighborhoods and schools, in order to go through neighborhood evacuation plans and recommendations before the rainy seasons. This was rein-forced with cleaning and educational activities.
It is important to highlight the creation of a Citizens Service Center to record emergency-related problems based on in-formation provided by the neighbors through a toll-free line (0800), through digital media and, most recently, also through social networks (Facebook and Twitter). The center works round the clock and takes all kinds of calls, but it plays a very special role in case of emergencies, as all the citizens acknowledge that this center deals with claims and receives and provides informa-tion. Besides, it is connected to a geographic information sys-tem (GIS) that displays data about the location where the claim originated, thus making it possible to refer each case to the spe-cific body in charge (for example a clogged canal, a ripped-off tree or a request for emergency assistance in case of floods).
A VHF communication system was implemented to secure communications and prevent hydrometeorological events from affecting or interrupting them. It covers the whole city and its metropolitan area and is connected to similar systems belonging to organizations devoted to risk management and
citizen security. For the first time, Santa Fe has a system that was duly approved and authorized by the National Telecom-munications Regulatory Commission, thus ensuring commu-nication flow among relevant actors during emergencies of all types ad magnitudes.
Finally, it bears mentioning that each and every emergency rep-resents a learning opportunity for the city, that allows for the adjustment of the actions carried out by each sector involved, the assessment of the performance of the city government and other bodies and organizations, the analysis of the affected citi-zen’s response and the detection of problems to be solved. In this way, the response capacity of the city government has been enhanced by incorporating new measures to the existing plans and protocols, in a permanent process of optimization and ad-justment based on the city’s performance in each situation.
The city has endured many heavy rains (of 240 mm in 2010, of 180 mm in 2013 and of 140 mm in 2014 in a very short time) as well as the overflowing of both the Paraná (in 2010 and 2012), and the Salado (in 2014) Rivers. These events have put to the test the flood preparation and prevention measures. It has be-come evident that the city is in a better condition now to face such events and to go back to normal in a short time, with very few evacuees. This has strengthened the municipality and its population before this kind of emergencies.
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• Municipal kindergarten in Barranquitas, opened in 2013.
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3.5 Recovery as an Opportunity for Development
The 2003 and 2007 floods caused severe harm, that includ-ed the shameful loss of lives and damages assessed at almost USD 3 billion. Although the affected families have received subsidies to repair their houses, new houses have been built to relocate many of them in new neighborhoods and damaged infrastructure has been reconstructed; recovery entails a very complex process that is still far from complete.
By definition, this process puts together the decisions and ac-tions that are to be carried out after a disaster so as to restore the living conditions of the affected community. To that end, in this stage it is important to see to it that the conditions of vul-nerability previous to the event are not repeated and that the necessary changes to mitigate disaster risk are made. In this way, recovery represents a huge opportunity to strengthen sus-tainable development of the community and to improve the liv-ing conditions of the population.
From this perspective, in 2008, the different community orga-nizations of the sectors affected by the floods were invited to work together on the evacuation plans that are in place today. Community representatives, teachers and neighbors contrib-uted greatly to elaborating recommendations for the Con-tingency Plan and found a space to share their experiences, suggestions and claims with the aim of improving the neigh-borhoods and communities and minimizing risk.
In 2012, the Comprehensive Urban Programs (PUI) were launched in two critical sectors of the city. This added to the West Side Improvement Program (PROMEBA) that had been in force since 2009. All of them were aimed at promoting the social and environmental recovery of those neighborhoods in vulnerable hydrological and socio-economic conditions. The PUIs launched in the northeastern and western areas of the city have gathered the different areas of the city government so as to manage coordinated works in a specific sector of the ter-ritory, thus achieving a major impact and a true social transfor-mation. These works included: street lighting, curbs, cleaning and construction of drainage systems, enlargement of sewag-es, opening of streets and closing of the urban grid to prevent settlements in reservoirs. These works were put forward and analyzed by the neighbors in regular meetings, and were in-cluded in programs that are supervised directly by the mayor and executed in a cross-sectional manner by the various depart-ments that make up the Executive Branch. In addition to the socio-cultural projects and works carried out in the aforemen-tioned sectors, social policies have included: municipal kinder-gartens, the national government program called “More and Better Jobs for the Youth”, vocational training courses, the SOS Music initiative, the construction of parks and sports fields, the improvement of soup kitchens (renamed as “Solares” to con-vey the idea of sunny dining rooms full of light where to eat) and the creation of community centers (renamed as “Aleros” to convey the idea of protection), with the financial support of the provincial government.
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As regards public services that are essential to population, in 2008 the water network was expanded to neighborhoods in the west and the north of the city, so that all the population had ac-cess to drinking water. The national, provincial and munici-pal governments and ASSA (the water supply company from Santa Fe) together with the neighbors associated in coopera-tives joined in a program called Water+ Jobs to carry out these works. Between 2009 and 2013, 12 475 families from 41 neigh-borhoods gained access to the drinking water supply service, which then served 94% of the households.
In addition, in 2012 the Sanitary Sewer Network Expansion Plan was jointly launched by the city and the province with the goal of serving the whole city. 50 neighborhoods in the north and west of the city gained access to this service, to the benefit of 149 000 people. At present, 56% of the homes in Santa Fe are con-nected to the sanitary sewer network; and in 12 years time, the sewer system is expected to serve all the territory. 1 200 families in Santa Rosa de Lima neighborhood will soon be connected to the sewer network (PROMEBA). A sewage pumping station that will benefit 2 500 families in Los Hornos, Villa del Parque and Barranquitas neighborhoods is already under construction.
Besides, after 18 years, the city government has decided to re-start the natural gas expansion works. So far, this plan has benefited 200 families in Los Ángeles and 21 de octubre neigh-borhoods, in the northwestern side of the city, through special assessment.
A Road Improvement Plan was also launched to pave 200 city blocks between 2011 and 2015, funded by the city govern-ment and the neighbors that were to be benefited; curbs for 500 blocks and road improvements in another 500 blocks. Some of the main avenues in the poorest neighborhoods in the north and west sides of Santa Fe were paved and the storm-water drainage systems were installed, for example in Bulevar French and Peñaloza Av. so as to improve the living conditions of the most vulnerable.
In 2011, the city government created the Santa Fe Habitat Agen-cy aimed at increasing the tools and opportunities to secure access to land and housing, within the framework of a more organized urban growth planning. Thus, together with the pro-vincial government, the program called “My Land, My House” was launched. New infrastructure works aimed at urbanizing the northeastern side were started; streets were opened, paved and improved; stormwater drainage systems and drinking wa-ter supply systems were built; and electricity network, street lighting and afforestation works were carried out. Thanks to these works, 650 plots out of 1 500 plots in the urban grid will be available, thus creating new neighborhoods where the pri-ority is the habitat so as not to repeat situations of vulnerability like those experienced in the past.
Likewise, within the framework of the Procrear Housing Plan, the city and the national governments are working together so as to build 368 homes in two blocks opposite Federal park,
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since the priority is fostering development in areas where there are available plots with services rather than creating faraway neighborhoods with very few possibilities of improvement.
There is also a plan to relocate families settled in vulnerable areas which were originally meant to store stormwater. With-in the framework of the Comprehensive Urban Programs, the city and the provincial governments together with the move-ment called Los Sin Techo (the homeless) are building social homes in safe and appropriate lands to relocate families that are living in the reservoirs in the northern side (Bajo Judiciales neighborhood) and in the western side (Barranquitas and Villa Oculta neighborhoods).
3.6 In the International Arena: Making Cities Resilient
Since 2010-2011, the UNISDR (United Nations Office for Di-saster Risk Reduction) has launched the “Making Cities Re-silient” world campaign to foster the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action(6) at the local level. This initiative addresses issues of governance and urban risk from the per-spective of risk reduction and sustainable development.
The local government officials are both the key targets and the drivers for the campaign since they are faced with the threat of disasters on a daily basis and need better access to policies and tools to deal with them effectively. Besides, they deliver es-sential services to their citizens, such as water services, health, transport, etc. And they play the first role in responding to cri-ses and emergencies.
This is why, the goal of this campaign is to foster widespread commitment by local governments to risk reduction, adapta-tion to climate change and preparation for possible disasters so as to have a world net that includes cities of different sizes, characteristics and risk profiles.
(6) It is an international plan created by the United Nations in 2005 to
make disaster risk reduction a priority issue in every country world-
wide. See the annex for more details.
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Santa Fe has been the first city in Argentina to sign up to the “Making Cities Resilient” campaign with the idea of sharing its progress and experiences with other cities in the region and in the world. It has been granted the “City Role Model” status, not only for the scope of its actions but also for its comprehen-sive approach.
In 2011, the city was awarded the Sasakawa Award by the Unit-ed Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). It is awarded to individuals or institutions that have taken active ef-forts in reducing disaster risk in their communities and advo-cating sustainable development.
To acknowledge its labor, the city of Santa Fe has been invited to share its experience in cities such as Santiago de Chile, Nue-vo Vallarta, Mexico city, Santa Marta (Colombia), and Geneva (Switzerland). Together with 12 other cities in Latin America and the Caribbean, Santa Fe was selected to participate in the Thematic Platform on Urban Risk Reduction created by the UNISDR Regional Office, the Americas.
The activities and initiatives already mentioned have fostered the exchange of experiences among various cities so as to re-duce disaster risk at the local level by articulating actions with other jurisdictions. So far, Santa Fe has participated in ma-
ny meetings, has promoted the creation of networks, and has worked jointly with other cities on common issues.
In 2010, another milestone was the creation of the network of cities from El Litoral for disaster risk reduction, which gath-ered cities located on the Paraná River side in the provinces of Santa Fe, Corrientes and Entre Ríos. In their meetings, they dealt with essential aspects of the “Making Cities Resilient” campaign and exchanged experiences so as to improve early warning systems, risk assessment and the knowledge of differ-ent devices useful in preparation for river floods.
The Mayor of the city of Santa Fe participated in a project called “Municipal Network Structure, Exchange of Experiences and Innovations at the Local Level”, coordinated by CIPPEC (Cen-tre for the Implementation of Public Policies Promoting Eq-uity and Growth Research) and by Political Action Network Foundation (RAP) to improve local management. He intro-duced risk management policies to the members of the “group of 8” formed by the mayors of eight Argentine cities, namely: Tucumán, 25 de Mayo, Zárate, Rafaela, Santa Fe, Rosario, San Francisco, and Ushuaia.
Santa Fe has promoted the inclusion of Disaster Risk Manage-ment as one of the working areas of the Mercocities network,
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formed by 280 South American cities, and it has also intro-duced the debate of the topic of risk reduction as a public poli-cy at the local level.
Indeed, the government of the city of La Plata (Argentina) re-quested that Santa Fe provide advice and information about risk reduction activities after La Plata city was flooded in April 2013 due to an extreme weather event.
Between 2011 and 2013, experiences referring to the relation between the city and the river, risk prevention and resilience building in the community were exchanged with the cities of Alegrete (Brazil) and, encouraged by the UNISDR, with the city of Cartago (Colombia).
The corollary of these actions was that in March 2014, Mayor José Corral was appointed “Champion of UNISDR’s Making Cities Resilient Campaign”.
Thus, a joint effort is being made to find and put into practice in-novative solutions to the challenge of achieving sustainable devel-opment that is sensitive to risk generated by natural threats. The ten essentials developed by the campaign to make cities resilient (organization and coordination, participation of citizen groups and civil society, budget assignment, investment in and mainte-nance of critical infrastructure that reduces risk, etc.) are meant to promote debate and local action. The city is participating in an in-ternational consultation process to discuss the Post 2015 Frame-work for Action that is being analyzed by the United Nations.
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10 YEARS AFTER THE 2003 FLOOD
CHAPTER 4
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4.1 Commemoration Activities Carried Out by the City Government
In the last decade, every 29th of April different activities have been carried out to commemorate the flood, to keep the mem-ories alive and reflect upon prevention.
Protests demanding justice, staged by organizations created after the flood, should be mentioned. Organizations such as Carpa Negra (Black Tent) and Marcha de las Antorchas (Torch March) have adopted Plaza de Mayo square as a place for meet-ing and expressing themselves. Records, documents, scientific and academic articles, and creative works have been produced and disseminated on that symbolic date.
On the tenth anniversary of the flood, the commemoration was even more intense and heartfelt. The city government and ma-ny organizations carried out activities to remember the worst disaster ever endured by the city. The idea was to get people to understand the causes, to reflect upon the mistakes that came up to the surface as water rose, and to highlight the attitude of solidarity of thousands of Santa Fe citizens and of organiza-tions at the local, national and even international levels, which supported the population during the reconstruction process, although many of the wounds are still bleeding.
The city government organized many different activities to commemorate the anniversary of the 2003 flood and carried them out jointly with organizations, social actors and neigh-bors. Although April 29th is a dreadful day, it is also an expres-sion of the infinite solidarity of the citizens of Argentina and Santa Fe in the face of disaster. That is why, the municipal ini-tiative was aimed at keeping memories of the disaster alive, highlighting the attitude of solidarity, reflecting upon the coex-istence between the city and the river and risk management as a State policy, and developing a culture of prevention.
The commemorative activities followed seven different lines of action that involved the participation of different city govern-ment departments and social actors, namely:
• Flood Memorial. Collective elaboration of a project to build a memorial. Meetings and interactive workshops to discuss and define it.
• “Living in Harmony with the River”. Presentation of the new serial produced by Classroom-City; educational material about the city, its history and its connection to surrounding water-courses, with classroom activities.
• Contingency Plan and Water Route. Material published to dis-seminate information about the city’s preparation systems and measures to deal with hydrometeorological events. Rehearsal of the plan by means of a guided tour to the flood protection embankment and urban drainage systems, so that the com-munity becomes aware of their characteristics and operation.
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• Flood-related Art. Exhibition of different artworks by local art-ists to present multiple visions and perspectives about the rela-tion between the city and the rivers.
• Society, Communication and Risks. Conferences, panels and roundtables to discuss the key role of communications in risk management. The poster presentation called “Flood Narra-tives: the Voices of the Media” included many newspaper ar-ticles about the 2003 flood.
• “High Water Marks” Urban Trail. Creation of markers located in significant areas of the city to represent the maximum rise of the rivers during their largest floods. These markers were created to raise awareness and contribute to urban risk reduc-tion together with commemorative and educational activities.
• Solidarity Acts Recognition. Artists, professionals and institu-tions that collaborated selflessly during the disaster were hon-ored and a countless number of organizations were granted recognition awards for having sheltered evacuees and offered them protection and support.
4.1.1 Flood Memorial
The initiative responded to the idea of building a symbolic structure to keep memories alive, to get people to reflect upon what happened and upon the relation between the city and its natural environment so as to learn from the experience. Thanks to the joint work of different city government departments, a
project was made to build a multipurpose structure near the racetrack — which is where the Salado River water came into the city in 2003 —, to be used not only for commemorative but also for cultural and educational activities, so as to help people understand and redefine the city-river relation. The idea was to replace the traditional concept of monument by the concept of memorial to remember the tragedy, keep memories alive, and prompt reflection, assembly, respect and learning.
The City Hall made an initial sketch of the memorial based on a series of key parameters: harmonious relation with the environ-ment and the condition of being a multipurpose space that mir-rors the city-river relation in terms of balance and sustainability.
Meetings and workshops were held where the community worked together on this sketch to build a wider sense of the memorial meaning, to imagine its characteristics and define its contents (for example, digital library, audiovisual and graph-ic documentaries, memorabilia, and educational multimedia material).
Thus, between March and April different social actors from every city neighborhood were invited to work on the issue, namely: public bodies, social and community organizations, neighbor associations, unions, universities, and professional associations. The perspective of teachers and students from 21 schools directly affected by the 2003 flood was also taken into account. The activities were aimed at reaching a consensus on the Memorial contents, themes and approaches as well as at gathering documentary material of all kinds.
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• Poster presentation called “Flood Narratives: the Voices of the Media”.
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Participants were asked to imagine “a day at the flood memo-rial”, which triggered a productive debate about the contents, shapes and meanings this space should have. This resulted in a wide array of expressions, experiences, images, themes, purposes and suggestions for the collective construction of the memorial.
Some of the suggestions were that the entrance and foyer should have an ambience dominated by sound and iconic ob-jects. Emphasis was laid on offering guided tours, a guestbook and information about the different historic floods. As the ca-sualties were mentioned in the workshops, participants came up with the idea of including an all religions chapel in the Me-morial. Everybody agreed that the building should be under-stood as a place for contemplating nature and for learning, through different activities and educational material, about the hazards that the city is faced with. To sum up, the Memorial shall be a place for people to meet and reflect upon the past, a place that has been enriched by collective memory, knowl-edge of the city, its environment, natural resources, weather and phenomena, and the role that each and every citizen has in the construction of a more sustainable and resilient city.
4.1.2 “Living in Harmony with the River”
Issue N° 13 “Living in Harmony with the River” was published within the framework of the program called Classroom-City. It
depicts the historic and geographical characteristics of Santa Fe, how the territory was settled, the special bond with the environ-ment and other essential aspects for environmental education.
From many different perspectives, this issue goes deeper in-to the contents of Issue N° 5 “The City and the River”, which presents the general characteristics of the city, the historic con-struction of risk, and the works that have either mitigated or increased it. The new issue looks into the relation between the city and the Salado and Paraná Rivers to help teachers and stu-dents understand the social and natural dynamics of the terri-tory as well as to prepare the city to live with the phenomena resulting from such dynamics.
“Living in Harmony with the River” was presented by the city Mayor at School N° 14 “Dr. Nicolás Avellaneda”. The presenta-tion was attended by a large number of teachers and students who showed the works they had produced about the flood and the memorial. It was also attended by members of the Honor-able City Council, civil society organizations, university author-ities and other educational institutions.
The school is the most appropriate place to learn about the territory, reflect upon its features and find out how to live in harmony with rivers and water. For this change towards sus-tainability to succeed, it is crucial that experience be handed down to future generations; and education, communication and culture play a key role in this respect.
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During the 2003 Salado River flood, many schools sheltered evacuees. This expression of deep solidarity also proved to be devastating. One of the crucial elements for the city to go back to normal after the disaster was to resume everyday activities. The fact that schools were being used as evacuee centers com-plicated things and delayed this possibility for several weeks.
Since 2007, the role of schools has changed radically. Ten years after that tragedy, local educational institutions, coordinated by the City Education Department, carry out various activi-ties aimed at understanding the city and its risks and coexist-ing with the environment in a more harmonious way. Thus, schools help keep memories alive, reflect upon the past and build awareness in the community as a whole — students, au-thorities, teachers and even relatives. The result is the collec-tive construction of a city that is better prepared, aware of the risks it faces and of the ways to mitigate them, thus fostering a more eco-friendly living.
4.1.3 Contingency Plan and Water Route
The Contingency Plan for heavy rainfalls or river overflows was drafted in 2008, with the help of different actors and sectors of the community. Since then, its contents have been periodically revised and its indications, reviewed by people from different neighborhoods and organizations.
During commemorative events, printed information about evacuation plans, preventive measures and risk management
was updated and distributed. On the one hand, a special issue containing this information was published with the two larg-est-circulation newspapers in the city. On the other hand, some 25 000 brochures dealing with evacuation plans per neighbor-hood were used and handed out in schools located in the most vulnerable city areas.
In addition, in March and April there were more guided tours to the Water Route, and educational visits to reservoirs, levees and pumping stations so as to learn about the elements that conform the city flood protection and urban stormwater drain-age systems. These visits, originally meant for teachers and students, were later extended to other social actors and neigh-bors. Thus, since 2009 they have been repeated every year and in 2013, many more visits were organized which attracted the interest of people from different city neighborhoods.
The Water Route allows students and people in general to learn about the components of the system and understand how they work to reduce flooding, that is to prevent the water from flood-ing the city during river overflows and to facilitate stormwater discharge towards the river. This educational activity, open to the community, is aimed at better understanding the strengths and weaknesses of these systems as well as the problems caused by human actions such as removing soil from levees or clogging canals and drainage systems with garbage.
The initiatives related to the spreading of the Contingency Plan were part of the commemorative activities for the 2003 flood. They were aimed at redressing man-made errors that turned
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the Salado River overflow into a tragedy. At present, the city counts on a plan to act before present or future emergencies thanks to the effort of the whole community. Citizens and in-stitutions must commit themselves to knowing and respecting this plan and struggling for its upgrading and sustainability.
4.1.4 Flood-related Art
Cultural expressions result from people’s feelings, thoughts and experiences. Works of art, in particular, offer the artist’s personal view of events, and, as such, they reinforce the human capacity to understand and react. For this reason, art was a spe-cial guest during the activities organized to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the flood.
Two different kinds of art events were organized: the first one was a collective exhibition by the local artists who had been di-rectly affected by the flood and who could translate their in-delible memories into pictures, photographs and objects. The second one was a joint project by local artists to depict through different art categories the connection between the city and the river throughout history and the marks that subsequent floods left on the urban landscape. Both received a remarkable num-ber of visitors.
• “Marks in the Body: Art Work Collected Ten Years After the 2003 Flood”. Eventually, art helps to heal wounds, to give a new meaning to indelible memories and alleviate the pain they caused. The 13 artists who participated had experienced the
flood first hand; they were bonded by a deep sense of having been marked by the water and by the need to express their pain for their own and their loved one’s losses. Ten years after this experience, these art works creatively revealed the healing pow-er of art not only to facilitate personal catharsis but also to offer a new way of remembering and giving a new meaning to the painful experiences of those days.
The art works included oil and acrylic paintings, graphite and pastel drawings, photographs and objects by Juan Arancio José Cetour, Alicia Acosta, Luis Gervasoni, Eduardo Elgotas, Kazuta-ka Ishikawa, Nilda Marsilli, Abel Monasterolo, Andrés Pania-gua, Carolina Porrero, María Teresa Serralunga, Ethel Silva, and Juan Carlos Rodríguez F. It also included the banner be-longing to the “29 de abril” carnival parade group from Barran-quitas neighborhood which read “Never Again”.
Several artists admitted that only after a long time, had they been able to work on this theme because they needed to take a distance from the flood in order to create their art works. Some were made before the flood and adapted and given new mean-ing afterwards; others were almost premonitory, and others, created after the flood, offered a picture of the harshness of the event. All of them constitute the city heritage; they represent an expression of the past tragedy and of the present desire to have an ever better prepared community that knows what to do, should a similar event strike again.
One of the participant artists, María Teresa Serralunga, said: “Water usually gathers people under an umbrella, fishing or
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• Exhibition called “The City and the River: Five Instances in One Video Installation”.
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playing with spaghetti floats. On that occasion, it gathered us in an evacuee center, at the home of a relative or a friend. To-day, it gathers us again in an exhibition that commemorates that distressing month of April.”
• “The City and the River: Five Instances in One Video Installa-tion”. A group of artists from Santa Fe decided to put together multiple perspectives and personal views about the connec-tion between the city and its rivers. They offered, from a poetic standpoint, different views of the marks, the tracks, the move-ments and displacements caused by the floods at five different times throughout history.
This five-stage installation depicted and emphasized the con-nection between the city and its natural landscape from a his-toric perspective.
The exhibition appealed to memory so as to have a new per-spective of what happened and reflect upon Santa Fe as a “city by the river”. This dialogic art work acquired its full meaning through the interaction with the viewers, thus creating multi-ple perceptions.
The floor of the Municipal Museum of Visual Arts was covered with a huge satellite image on which people could tread and walk through the five different aesthetic constructions on the topic.
At the first stage, a signal that read “You are here” was aimed at understanding the large number of rivers, lagoons and
swamps that cover the city territory. The second stage called “Displacement” evoked memories of 2003, the terrible marks represented by destroyed furniture, elements shoved and water marks on the wall. The third stage called “Tracks” consisted of a silent video projection of damaged photographs on the urban grid. The fourth stage called “Sharp-edged Water” consisted of waves that could hurt and destroy memories, lives and proj-ects. The fifth stage called “Living in Harmony with the River” consisted of a water wall that presented a more harmonious fu-ture to the viewer. Rivers with their high and low levels — their fluctuations — are an opportunity rather than a threat. This last stage referred to the idea of a city that is better prepared to coexist with the river.
“The City and the River: Five Instances in One Video Installa-tion” was created and carried out by the city government with the participation of CreAr 2010 project (“Lines in the River: A Cartography of the Variable” coordinated by Patricia Mines, from the UNL Department for Culture). The installation was created by Ricardo Giavedoni, Patricia Mines, Abel Monaste-rolo, and Rubén Suppo. Eduardo Bavorovsky and José Piccioni were in charge of the sound. Francisco Garrido, Ricardo Giave-doni, Cristal Sellay, and Sebastián Varisco were responsible for the photography. The video was a work by Alejandro Maldona-do and Rubén Suppo. The mounting was carried out by Abel Monasterolo, with the help of Roberto Moschen, Juan Pablo Molini, Eduardo Gómez, Andrés Pavé, and Angélica Neville.
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4.1.5 Flood Narratives: The Voices of the Media
Those devoted to risk reduction and resilience building assert that communication plays a key role in these processes be-cause it facilitates the decision-making process and may even save lives during emergencies. A society that is vulnerable to disasters can take measures to reduce them and contribute to the sustainable development of the territory only when it is du-ly informed and aware of the potential risks. Communication is a crucial factor for mutual understanding between the differ-ent actors, in particular for those who come from the fields of science and technology, for government authorities, for institu-tions, and for the general public.
Lately, the city government has included social communicators and journalists in risk reduction training activities. The com-memoration of the decade after the 2003 flood necessarily had to include these key actors.
A conference called “Society, Communication and Risks: Re-flections 10 years After the 2003 Flood” consisted of a series of presentations, panel debates and roundtables about the role of communication in risk reduction, media coverage of the emer-gency and the role of the media in communication. With that idea, the “Flood Narratives: The Voices of the Media” poster presentation was organized to show the city media coverage of the tragedy as well as that of other national newspapers, special publications, magazines, and books.
The opening plenary speech “The Role of Communication in In-
ternational Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction” was delivered by the Panamanian speaker Margarita Villalobos, in charge of Public Awareness at the United Nations International Strategy for Risk Reduction (UNISDR) Regional Office, and by Gloria Bratschi, professor and researcher at the National University of Cuyo, who specializes in the field and collaborates with the UNISDR. Both of them highlighted the progress made by San-ta Fe in those years and the key role of communication when it comes to exchanging knowledge, building resilience, form-ing opinion, setting the agenda, and dealing with emergencies. They also emphasized the key role of training to serve people best in critical situations.
On the second day of the conference, Silvia Fontana (from the National University of Córdoba) and Jesica Viand (Na-tional Scientific and Technical Research Council [CONICET] researcher, Buenos Aires University) lectured on the “Social Sciences Perspectives on Risk Construction”. They presented the main conclusions of their dissertation works about the Salado River flood and the social construction of risk. After that, local journalists who had covered the 2003 flood on TV, the radio and the graphic media participated in a roundtable on “Jour-nalism and Emergencies: Experiences, Challenges and Learning”. Verónica Viduzzi (former Head of the Risk Communication Program of the City of Santa Fe) coordinated such roundtable with the participation of Guillermo Tepper, journalist and host of the radio program called “The Fourth Power” on LT10 radio station; Guillermo Dozo, journalist of El Litoral newspaper and editor of the Metropolitan Area section in 2003; Osvaldo Medi-na, LT9 radio station journalist; María del Carmen Luengo, an-
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chorwoman in the news program called Notitrece first edition on channel 13 from Santa Fe; and José Curiotto, journalist of El Litoral newspaper and host of the program called “Today’s Top-ic” on channel Cable&Diario in 2003. The final plenary speech “Media Coverage of Emergencies: Responsibilities and Challenges” was delivered by Sibila Camps, a journalist of Clarín newspa-per, professor and specialist on Risk Prevention and Emergen-cy and Disaster Media Coverage. Andrea Valsagna, Head of the Communication Department of the city of Santa Fe, contribut-ed with her comments.
Thus, the goal of the conference was to reflect upon the past events, focusing on the key role of a communication process that looks into the past and projects learning into the present and the future. Some activities were dedicated to analyzing the role of communication in disaster prevention during and after the emergency. Some others were dedicated to presenting the register of the news on those days, respecting the construction of voices by the media in the first month after the disaster. If, as Bill Kovach claims, journalism is the first version of history, this presentation has helped strengthen one of the pillars of collective memory, that is made up of chronicles, images, doc-uments and records of those days; narratives that will eventu-ally turn into history.
The exhibition included all the front pages of El Litoral newspa-per from Santa Fe between April 30th and May 20th of 2003 as well as those of Clarín, La Nación and Página/12, from Buenos Aires and El Diario and Uno, from Paraná; and also a compi-lation of radio news broadcast by the two AM radio stations in
the city: LT10 Radio Universidad (with a special coverage called “The Floods: Voices of a Tragedy”) and LT9 “Brigadier López”. It also included images of Channel 13’s Special on the 2003 Flood and a collection of images gathered by Cable&Diario news program under the name “The Salado River Lesson”. In addition, Pausa, Sin Mordaza and El Paraninfo periodicals spe-cial issues were displayed as well as ATE and UNL editions and publications on the topic. This exhibition was organized and carried out by the Department of Communication of the city and was devised and produced by Andrea Valsagna, María del Carmen Albrecht, Pablo Pizzi, Mariela Bertini, Verónica Vi-duzzi, Laura Badella, Estefanía Fantini, Juan Nieva, Mariana Torres Luyo, Paola Starder, and Carola Orduna.
4.1.6 “High Water Marks” Urban Trail
The city Government implemented an initiative by the City Council (as per Ordinance N° 11 927) aimed at creating an ur-ban trail of city landmarks, which featured the highest water marks of the rivers throughout the history of Santa Fe.
The idea was to set up objects, signs and references of the past floods so as to materialize collective memory and contribute to educational and risk awareness activities. The aim was to add another instance of reflection on the 2003 flood as one of the worst ever endured as well as to understand the magnitude of the rivers and the extension of their floodplains. These added meaning to the goal of living in harmony with the river as well as preparing the community to deal with and overcome overflows.
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• “High Water Marks” Urban Trail.
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The “High Water Marks” urban trail opened on April 29th and included five landmarks which had been particularly affected by the floods: the Children’s Hospital, the intersection of Pres-idente Perón and Iturraspe streets, the area near Colón foot-ball club, Juan de Garay park and the eastern waterfront. The idea is to complete the trail with more marks by Route 1, in the coastal area.
The Department of Planning of the City designed two rein-forced concrete square columns that represent the Salado and Paraná Rivers. Two sides are coated in brushed stainless steel and feature the highest marks throughout the history of the city: in the Paraná River column, the levels reached in 1905 (the highest ever), 1992, 1983 and 1998; and in the Salado River column, the levels reached in 1973 and 2003.
This initiative, by the City Government and the Honorable City Council, is not aimed at causing alarm but rather at strength-ening memory and awareness of the territory and its rivers and promoting a harmonious coexistence.
4.1.7 Solidarity Acts Recognition
April 2003 was a momentous time for the people of Santa Fe. Society trembled at the events that roughly exposed the “puls-es” of nature, human errors, social inequalities, adversity and pain. However, the flood also revealed — with much the same intensity — the deep sense of solidarity of the citizens of Santa Fe and Argentina at large.
The commemoration included a special activity aimed at recog-nizing and thanking the acts of solidarity carried out by differ-ent organizations, associations, public figures and volunteers who assisted the victims of the tragedy and contributed to the recovery of the city; to those who offered humanitarian aid and protected evacuees; to those who received and distributed dona-tions or registered missing people; to those who freely provided medical and psychological assistance or recreation, and to those who contributed their knowledge and support once people be-gan to return home. A countless number of social and religious organizations, unions, clubs, universities, youth movements, and media throughout the city, the country and the world made a significant contribution, oftentimes anonymously.
A special award was granted to the popular singer Soledad Pas-torutti, who represented all the artists that contributed their art work to support evacuees by organizing solidarity concerts for Santa Fe. This ceremony was held at the Municipal Museum of Visual Arts on April 22nd, when the exhibition “The City and the River” was opened.
Other acknowledgements included: Argentine Red Cross, Cári-tas Argentina, White Helmets (responsible to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship), the United Nations Develop-ment Programme (UNDP) and especially, to the then Nation-al Minister of Health, Ginés González García, who personally came to Santa Fe to manage the Health Centre and its group of public health professionals at the national and provincial lev-els, thus minimizing the risks of epidemics and preventing a major sanitation crisis.
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• Recognition to the work carried out by different organizations during the 2003 flood.
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On April 29th, these recognition awards were granted to the former Minister of Health and the former Deputy Secretary of Risk Control and Prevention of the National Ministry of Health, Andrés Leibovich; also to the Coordinator of the Unit-ed Nations Environment Unit in Argentina, Daniel Tomasini; the Vice President of the Santa Fe branch of Argentina Red Cross, Julián Rubio; to Father Axel Arguinchona on behalf of Cáritas Argentina, and to Alfredo Ladillinsky on behalf of the White Helmets. Later on, the authorities officially opened the High Water Marks Urban Trail and participated in a workshop called “The Flooded Hospital” organized by doctors and au-thorities of the “Orlando Alassia” Children’s Hospital, which had to be completely evacuated during the flood.
Finally, a special ceremony was held to acknowledge over 200 organizations that offered their facilities to be used as evacuees’ centers in 2003. The whole city could be said to have become one aid center for flood victims. On April 30th 2012, a ceremo-ny was held at the Municipal Opera House “1° de Mayo” to ac-knowledge private and public schools, chapels and churches, clubs, community centers, universities, neighbor associations, civil associations, trade unions, foundations, homes, kinder-gartens, health centers, political parties headquarters, friendly societies, universities, and student’s associations. Each received a commemorative plaque for future generations to remember and appreciate the huge support received by the city in 2003.
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4.2 Other Commemorative Activities of the Santa Fe Flood
(7) Source: El Litoral and Uno newspapers from Santa Fe.
Besides those activities organized by the City Government, oth-ers were also held to commemorate such a memorable event. The following list was based on the data published by the local media near April 29th (7); and therefore, it may not be complete. All through the year, different organizations held debates and workshops and the local and regional media broadcast specials to reflect on the tenth anniversary of the 2003 flood.
• April 23rd through 26th. Representatives from the water obser-vatories from the City of Santa Fe and the State of Veracruz (Mexico) met to exchange their experiences with water. Meet-ings, debates and lectures were organized by the Federal Wa-ter Council (Cohife) together with the Ministry of Water, Public Services and the Environment of the Province of Santa Fe.
• April 24th and 25th. Different activities under the motto “Com-memorating is Always a Way of Not Forgetting” were orga-nized by the provincial History Museum, responsible to the Ministry of Innovation and Culture. They included presenta-tions, debate panels and photography exhibitions organized by a Torch March participant, a group of thesis writers from the UNL School of Architecture and Urbanism, and a teacher who volunteered in an evacuee center in 2003.
• April 26th. The material for the photography exhibition “Views” was jointly provided by a civil association called La Búsqueda (The Search) and by photographer Amancio Alem from El Lito-
ral. It was jointly organized by Tertiary Institution N° 12 Gas-tón Gori and the student council called “Igualdad por el 12” (Equality for N° 12) . On the opening day, María del Pilar Gua-la, on behalf of the local periodical Pausa, journalist Guillermo Acrich, and María Claudia Albornoz, a member of the “Black Tent”, participated in a debate panel called “Views 10 years Af-ter the Flood” .
• April 26th through May 3rd. The Progreso market played host to the City Museum heritage exhibition called “Water that Comes, Water that Goes” with photographs of several floods, including that of 1905, which depict the intertwined relation Santa Fe and its surrounding rivers have had throughout history.
• April 27th. El Litoral published a Nosotros magazine special called “Ten Years After the Flood. Stored in Memory”: “… a collective chronicle built upon the experiences of journalists, photographers and cameramen about the tragedy that forever changed the memory of the people of Santa Fe”.
• April 28th. The newspaper Uno from Santa Fe published a spe-cial with stories, protagonists and images of the catastrophe that had never been published before, “that marked a before and after in the lives of the people of Santa Fe”.
• April 29th. Members of the Black Tent for Dignity and Justice, members of Torch March, human rights organizations, other
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NGOs and neighbors marched from different neighborhoods and gathered in Plaza de Mayo square to commemorate the tragic flood and to renew their claim for justice. This was orga-nized by the Flood Victims Assembly.
• April 29th. El Litoral published a special called “10 Years after the 2003 Flood. An Unhealed Wound” that included testimo-nies and reflections, a description of the city’s current situation with the measures taken and the works carried out to prepare the city to face different weather events, the status of the court cases, and the situation of the new neighborhoods created af-ter the flood.
• April 29th. Different educational institutions paid homage to their teachers for their acts of solidarity. Public schools and edu-cation workers that were victims of the flood were awarded spe-cial acknowledgement in a ceremony organized by AMSAFE La Capital (local Teachers’ Union), the regional branch of CTA (Ar-gentine Workers’ Union) and the Forum Against Impunity and for Justice, among others. Said victims were able to overcome the tragedy and move on, thanks to people’s solidarity.
• April 29th. A Holy Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Ms-gr. José María Arancedo, together with other priests from the southwest deanery, at the intersection of Mendoza and San José streets. The aim of the mass was to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the flood and to remember and pray for
the flood casualties as well as for all the victims who “...have suffered not only material but also and in particular spiritual, psychological and moral harm”. It was also an opportunity to give thanks for people’s solidarity and to demand justice for the victims.
• April 29th through May 8th. An exhibition called “April 29th, 2003: University - Society” was organized by FUL (UNL Stu-dents’ Union) and the UNL History Museum at the Rectorate Hall. It featured 19 infographics that depicted through docu-ments, photographs, articles and interviews the social role of UNL during the 2003 emergency to preserve the memory.
• April 30th. UNL Rector Albor Cantard, Santa Fe former Mayor and former UNL Rector, Mario Barletta; the Head of the Stu-dents’ Welfare Office and former FUL Secretary, Katya Zus-ka; and LT10 journalist, Guillermo Tepper participated in the “Memory, University and Society: UNL’s Commitment in the 2003 Flood” debate panel, that was moderated by the UNL Stu-dents’ Union Chairman, Rodrigo Benítez.
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CHAPTER 5
REFLECTIONS
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5.1 Achievements and Challenges
Disaster risk reduction and resilience building have become key topics for organizations, cities and countries worldwide. This approach change — from tackling emergencies to dealing with risk generating conditions — has been enriched by the di-verse and fruitful contributions of different organizations, sec-tors, disciplines and scientific areas specialized in this subject.
However, each community should adjust theory and methodol-ogy produced in different geographies and communities to its own needs, translating priorities agreed upon at the interna-tional level into local actions that are appropriate to their own particular setting and environmental conditions.
For this reason, the implementation of local risk management in Santa Fe is not to be considered a linear, uniform or de-finitive process but rather a long and winding road towards building a safer and more sustainable community. This pro-cess must be coordinated by the local government and count on the commitment of various areas; but at the same time, it must be open to the participation of the different social actors and institutions that have a say in the issue of comprehensive risk reduction.
The cross-sectional inclusion of disaster risk reduction and re-silience building policies in the different departments of the lo-cal government is indeed another aspect to be highlighted. In this way, these concepts are regarded as parameters to be taken
into account before implementing any territory-related mea-sure. The City Government’s general budget for risk reduction is thus substantially increased.
The training of the key actors in these issues has been crucial for the consolidation of the process as well as for its sustain-ability. These crucial actors include: professionals from dif-ferent fields, journalists and social communicators, teachers, education authorities, students, government officials and civil servants, volunteers, and involved neighbors.
In order to develop a sustainable growth project, it has been of utmost importance to include a disaster risk reduction ap-proach in city management and planning. The challenge is how to include these topics in specific urban growth and man-agement policies on a permanent basis, and how to project the sustainable development of cities taking into account garbage, transport and housing issues so as to live in harmony with the environment.
Santa Fe stands out for the progress made in the field of risk re-duction; and this has been acknowledged by different national and international organizations. Although this risk reduction process necessarily starts with the community’s decision, it is by no means to be considered as finished; on the contrary, it is a never ending process that always finds new challenges and goals to meet.
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In this process, special effort should be made towards strength-ening organizations so that the local governments have an ac-tive participation in the decision making process pertaining to their territories. Many such decisions are made by different agents coexisting in the city, and must be the result of a care-ful articulation between the different government levels for the sake of convergence. It is important for the actors involved to have the same approach and working strategy so as to agree on criteria, interests and perceptions. This is a very special chal-lenge that should be taken into account whenever a decision is made and whenever authorities or community representatives are dealing with disaster risk reduction challenges.
Trust and credibility are essential values for every government, and specially for the local government that should lead the risk management process. Trust building is the pillar on which the participation of the rest of the actors and of the community at large is founded. This is crucial because this process may be led by just one organization, but will never materialize without the participation of the community.
Along the same lines, it is vital to consider the different ways in which the community perceives and understands risk, so as to plan interactive educational and cultural activities that fos-ter a culture of prevention and the construction of a resilient city. Unless the community fully understands the problem, it is very hard indeed to devise actions that can improve the rela-
tion with the environment and to promote a positive attitude towards the reduction of the hazards the city faces.
In addition, improving the quality of life of the most vulner-able sectors who are more exposed to extreme weather events should still be the main goal to be achieved by all the govern-ment sectors and by society at large. It is impossible to mini-mize risks, if a large number of people still live in poverty and deprivation. This is why, disaster risk reduction policies are indeed policies of equity and social inclusion since, generally speaking, the hardest hit by disasters are always the humblest and the neediest, who require the most state aid. Societies that offer more self-development opportunities and better and de-cent living conditions are better prepared to respond to, to sur-vive and to overcome hazards.
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5.2 Process Sustainability
Risk management requires a radical change in the way we in-terpret and act on reality; it requires a radical switch towards community sustainable development based on a culture of risk prevention and resilience building.
The process has long-term, medium-term and short-term goals, but it does not have an end point. Indeed, risk reduction entails a permanent and systematic effort by the whole city, mostly by its authorities but also by its organizations and in-habitants. Risk management as a State policy should strength-en institutions and transcend governments and people.
In order to achieve a lasting transformation, the process in Santa Fe is based on four pillars: creation or adaptation of the legal framework, participation of different actors, communica-tion and education for current and future citizens, and percep-tion of the change of approach through specific actions in the short run.
At the end of 2007, the first step was taken with the amend-ment of an ordinance then in force that regulated the faculties and structure of the Local Civil Protection system. A new ordi-nance, N° 11 512, was passed to create the Municipal System of Risk Management, thus changing the old concept to reflect the new paradigm.
This system provides for the participation and inclusion of the different city actors who are involved in risk management tasks. Besides including the views and consensus reached in the interactive workshops, this system sets up permanent work committees that deal with various aspects (communication, prevention, preparation and response, and recovery). These committees engage in debate and joint work with the local gov-ernment and relevant actors in each field.
As mentioned in the section devoted to the consolidation of risk reduction as a State policy, communication and education have been — and still are — key pillars for future sustainabil-ity. Communication facilitates social exchange and interaction among citizens, among political, social and scientific actors. Sharing and providing information are crucial for the decision making process at any level. The more open and wider commu-nication is, the more strategies actors will count on to reduce risk and foster community wide development, thus consolidat-ing the sustainability of the process.
Social transformation is a complex process, that can only be achieved in the long run and on a permanent basis. However, when it takes too long, the community may lose motivation, trust or initial enthusiasm. Bearing this in mind, the City Gov-ernment has implemented a local risk management policy that
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contemplates future urban planning, but at the same time, it has carried out specific actions to change the present.
Risk reduction in the city has focused on minimizing the damage caused by rains and river overflows, and organizing the State’s aid, shelter and protection for those who need it. Notwithstanding, the process has transcended this relatively narrow goal: the last six years have witnessed a remarkable im-provement in the city’s level of preparedness to face natural hazards, and an intense effort aimed at living in harmony with the environment with its pros and cons.
The efforts and achievements made evidence the significant changes that the city of Santa Fe has undergone in different fields and through different strategies. The implementation of the process has transcended the term lengths of individual pol-icymakers, and disaster risk reduction has consolidated into a true State policy. The development plans are today aimed at having a more equitable, sustainable and better prepared city.
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CHAPTER 6
ANNEX
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Acronyms
• MCSF: Municipality of the City of Santa Fe
• HCC: Honorable City Council
• GPSF: Government of the Province of Santa Fe
• UNL: National University of Litoral
• INA: National Water Institute
• PROMEBA: Neighborhoods Improvement Program
by the National Government
• UNISDR: United Nations International Strategy
for Disaster Reduction
• NWS: National Weather Service
• CISP-CANOA: Comitato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo
dei Popoli, and CANOA Civil Association
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6.1 Actions Carried Out by the Government of Santa Fe City
Activities completed or in progress
Adaptation of the Legal and Institutional Framework to the Change of Approach
• Creation of the Bureau of Risk Management. • Cross-sectional inclusion of disaster risk reduction policy in the mu-nicipal structure.• Awareness raising and training workshops aimed at city government officials. • Awareness raising and consensus building workshops aimed at pub-lic and private organizations devoted to risk management. • Analysis of regulations and drafting of Ordinance N° 11 512/09 to cre-ate the Municipal System of Risk Management • Creation of the Municipal System of Risk Management; implementa-tion of its bylaws to appoint special work committees.• Building and consolidation of alliances between local government and different social and institutional actors. Consensus Building and Tools for the Construction of a Sustainable Territory
• Adaptation and expansion of the urban drainage system based on the Storm Drainage Master Plan developed by INA.• Adaptation and maintenance of the protection and drainage systems for hydrometeorological events.
MCSF.MCSF.
MCSF, UNL.
MCSF, UNL, different private and public organizations.MCSF, UNL and HCC.
MCSF, HCC.
MCSF, Red Cross, Caritas, Rotary, neighborhood clubs and organizations and neighbors’ associations, etc.
MCSF, GPSF, INA.
MCSF, GPSF.
Year
20072007 onwards
2008
2008/09
2009/2010
2009 onwards
2008 onwards
Actors involved
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• Pumping systems overhaul, reservoirs deepening and drainage cleaning. • Workshops and meetings with various socio-institutional sectors in-volved in the development of the city for the collaborative development of urban planning. • Final draft and approval of the urban plan and its regulations (Ordi-nance N° 11 478/11). • Launching of the Land Tenure Regularization Plan (Ordinance N° 11 631) after identifying existing irregular settlements . • Relocation of families settled in flood prone areas through the imple-mentation of comprehensive actions and programs. • Revamping of parks, green areas, esplanades, and reservoir areas through programs such as “Parks in my City” and “Green Belts Plan”.• Urban solid waste management through different programs and ac-tions: waste segregation, reduction of plastic bags use, and promotion of reusable bags or boxes, social awareness raising campaigns.• Construction of a Waste Management Facility that provides recycla-ble waste sorting services and technology for the treatment of solid ur-ban waste and recovery of materials. • Launching of the “Sidewalk Buffers Program” aimed at increasing the green areas in the city sidewalks to improve water absorption and re-duce soil temperature.• Mandatory use of elevated metal garbage baskets to get rid of house-hold trash, to maintain urban cleanliness, and to reduce the risk of flooding due to clogged storm sewers.
MCSF.
MCSF, public and private organizations.
MCSF; HCC.
MCSG, GPSF.
MCSF, GPSF, Los Sin Techo movement.
MCSF.
MCSF, HCC.
MCSF, civil association called Dignidad y Vida Sana.
MCSF, HCC.
MCSF, HCC.
2008 onwards
2008
2010
2008 onwards
2010
2010
2010
2012
Actors involvedActivities completed or in progressYear
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• Installation of devices in new works and in existing ones to retard or reduce stormwater runoff, as per Ordinance N° 11 959.• Santa Fe’s commitment as a Green City, reinforced by the creation of the Municipal System of Protected Natural Areas as per Ordinance N° 12 025.
Incorporation of the Concept of Risk Prevention in the Fields of Education and Culture
• Creation of the Risk Communication Program aimed at raising aware-ness on and increasing knowledge of risk management.• Organization of interactive activities about risk reduction: lectures and workshops in different neighborhoods and schools. • Joint project together with the UNL Social Work Program to develop on-site internships focused on “Habitat and risk management”. • Creation of a special section in the Website of the City Government with specific information about the city and its risks to facilitate public access to information and increase the knowledge of this issue.• Training activities aimed at key actors in the risk management pro-cess such as journalists and social communicators.• Training activities aimed at teachers, including the development of educational material for classroom activities.
MCSF, HCC.
MCSF, HCC.
MCSF.
MCSF, over 60 organizations from over 45 neighborhoods.MCSF, Social Work Program.
MCSF.
MCSF, the media, educational institutions, journalists and communicators.MCSF, CISP/CANOA, UNL.
2013
2007
2008 onwards
2008 to 2010
2009 onwards
2008 onwards
Actors involvedActivities completed or in progressYear
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• Launching of the project “Getting Prepared at School: More Preven-tion and Less Risk”, aimed at raising awareness about risks and their possible reduction by means of educational strategies and tools (in-cluding ideas, courses, activities, and materials).• Publication of the Classroom-City serials “The City and The River” and “Living in Harmony with the River” aimed at raising awareness about the city, the territory and their dynamics by means of educational and cultural activities. • Record of theses and senior essays about subjects related to city risks and disasters, aimed at generating, promoting and expanding knowledge.• Creation of an educational game called “Risk & Strategy” to consider the issue at schools and other educational spaces.• Collaborative elaboration of school plans for emergencies, with the support of the Argentine Red Cross, to help schools draft their preven-tion and emergency response plans. City Preparedness to Face Extreme Weather Events
• Reinforcement of cleaning and maintenance activities of the protec-tion systems prior to the rainy season.
MCSF, public and private schools in the city.
MCSF, public and private schools in the city.
MCSF, graduate and post graduate students from various programs.
MCSF, Argentine Red Cross, private and public schools.
MCSF, GPSF.
2009 & 2013
2010
2011-2012
2010 onwards
2008 onwards
Actors involvedActivities completed or in progressYear
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• Specific works to reduce the problems related to stormwater runoff.• Permanent production and exchange of information about hydrome-teorological events so as to consolidate local early warning systems.• Installation of a weather radar covering most of the provinces of Santa Fe and Entre Ríos to ensure access to more accurate weather forecasts.• Drafting of a handbook of procedures for municipal action and contin-gency plans to respond to hazards, in particular weather events
• Training activities aimed at city government officials and staff to im-prove the coordination of shelters in emergencies.• Publication, updating and dissemination of “A Better Prepared City”, a handbook including the contingency plan.• Rehearsal of the contingency plan in different neighborhoods and schools, in particular before the rainy season.• Elaboration of brochures divided by neighborhood with information about evacuation routes and meeting points in each vulnerable neigh-borhood or sector in case of floods.• Creation of a call center to deal with citizens’ claims and queries.
MCSF.MCSF, GPSF, NWS.
MCSF, GPSF, NWS, INTA, UNL.
MCSF, neighbors’ associations, clubs and neighborhood organizations.MCSF, White Helmets,Red Cross, and Caritas.MCSF, El Litoral and Uno local newspapers.MCSF, schools, neighbors’ associations and neighborhood organizations.MCSF, neighbors’ associations and neighborhood organizations.
MCSF.
2009 & 2013
2009 onwards
2008 onwards
Actors involvedActivities completed or in progressYear
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• Creation and consolidation of a local early warning system before heavy rains (including weather stations, monitoring centers, VHF com-munications system, call center, procedure handbook, and contingen-cy plan).• Installation of a VHF safe communications system, duly approved and authorized by the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commis-sion, that covers the whole city.
Recovery of the Sectors Affected by Past Floods as an Opportunity for Development
• Invitation to community organizations from areas previously affected by disasters to include their considerations in contingency plans. • Launching of the West Side Improvement Program aimed at recov-ering this area of the city, which was particularly damaged by the 2003 and 2007 floods. • Extension of the drinking water network in different neighborhoods of the city within the Water + Jobs Program, through the joint effort of gov-ernments and neighbors.• Creation of the Sanitary Sewer Network Expansion Plan aimed at serving the whole city.• Creation of Comprehensive Urban Programs (PUI) aimed at recover-ing neighborhoods in vulnerable hydrological and socio-economic con-ditions.
MCSF, 13 associated stations.
MCSF, Amateur Radio Club from SF.
MCSF, neighbors’ associations and neighborhood associations.MCSF, GPSF, PROMEBA (national)neighbors’ associations and neighborhood associations.MCSF, GPSF, National Gov. programs, neighborhood organizations and neighbors.MCSF, GPSF.
MCSF, GPSF, neighbors’ associations,and neighborhoodorganizations.
2011 onwards
2008 onwards
2012
2012 onwards
Actors involvedActivities completed or in progressYear
87
2011
2011
2011 onwards
2011 & 2013
2014
• Creation of Santa Fe Habitat Agency to continue improving and en-larging homes, in particular those aimed at relocating families settled in reservoirs.
Santa Fe as a City Role Model in Risk Reduction
• Enrolment of Santa Fe in the world campaign “Making Cities Resil-ient: My City is Getting Ready” where the city was granted the city role model status.• Sasakawa Award (UN) granted to the city to acknowledge its disaster risk reduction efforts.• Participation of the city in international meetings and conferences; the City was invited to narrate its experience in risk reduction in Chile, Mexico, Colombia, Switzerland, and Brazil among others.• Selection of Santa Fe to participate in the Thematic Platform on Ur-ban Risk Reduction, formed by 12 cities in Latin America and the Ca-ribbean.• Inclusion of Santa Fe in a network of cities in Argentina and the Mer-cosur Countries.• Exchange with the cities of Alegrete (Brazil) and Cartago (Colombia).
• Nomination of Santa Fe City Mayor José Corral as Champion of the Making Cities Resilient Campaign.
MCSF, GPFS, and otherhousing related sectors.
UNISDR/UN, MCSF and all the actors involved in the process.
UNISDR/UN, MCSF and all the actors involved in the process.UNISDR/UN, MCSF and all the actors involved in the process.
UNISDR/UN, MCSF and all the actors involved in the process.
MCSF, CIPPEC, and Mercocities network
MCSF, local governments of Brazil and Colombia.UNISDR/UN.
Actors involvedActivities completed or in progressYear
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6.2 Disaster Reduction in the Global Context
In many parts of the world, the disasters caused by natural haz-ards — floods, landslides, droughts, forest fires, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, among others — have resulted in enormous loss not only in terms of human lives but also in the destruction of social and economic infrastructure. And they have obviously had a negative impact on fragile existing ecosystems. Between 1960 and 2000, the number of events increased along with their frequency and magnitude, in par-ticular in the 90s.
Although natural hazards still occur, human actions can in-crease or reduce the vulnerability of societies to those risks and the number of environmental and technological disasters, by focusing on the socio-economic factors that provoke such vul-nerability. Besides, there is an array of actions that can be taken to reduce, mitigate and prevent risk, thus fostering the sustain-able development of communities.
Therefore, the international community designated the 90s as the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDN-DR 1990-1999) to raise awareness on the importance of risk reduction. The experience gained during that decade has trig-gered a conceptual shift, from the old idea of just responding to disasters to the new idea of reducing them, which goes hand in hand with the essential role of human action.
The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduc-tion (UNISDR) is the successor to the IDNDR. This strategy is aimed at helping societies cope with the negative impact of natural and man-made catastrophes so that they may evolve from protection against hazards to risk management by includ-ing the concept of reduction within the idea of sustainable de-velopment.
The scope of action of the UNISDR mirrors this conceptual ap-proach; and so do the institutional agreements signed by this body, which are based on the resolutions of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and of the UN General Assembly, as well as on the decisions made by the Risk Reduction Inter-Agency Task Force.
6.2.1 United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
The adoption of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters has given new emphasis to the activities aimed at disaster re-duction worldwide. Governments, UN agencies and regional organizations are already redefining their national strategies and plans, and launching promotion campaigns and institu-tional plans for concrete action. As agreed upon in the Hyogo Framework, the UNISDR system works jointly with its nation-al, regional and international partners to provide the coordi-nation and assistance needed to implement said Framework.
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Since the World Conference on Disaster Reduction (held in Ko-be, Japan), different meetings have been held to discuss the ele-ments to be used for the adjustment of the UNISDR’s system to the Hyogo Framework for Action priorities. By the end of 2005, the final version was presented and is now being implemented.
Some of the main elements to strengthen the UNISDR system, included in the Secretary General’s Report before the General Assembly, are:
• A global forum called Global Platform for Disaster Risk Re-duction (GP/DRR) for the participation of governments, UN agencies, regional organizations and civil society, whose role is to provide counseling and support for the implementation of the Hyogo Framework;
• A UNISDR secretariat, regarded as an independent body of the UN Secretariat. It serves as a catalyst and focal point for disas-ter risk reduction within the UN systems, and promotes such commitment at the national, regional and international levels;
• National Platforms for Disaster Risk Reduction defined by each government, to coordinate and follow up the implemen-tation of the Hyogo Framework;
• Regional Networks or Platforms to coordinate disaster reduc-tion cooperation efforts at the regional and sub regional levels, which include inter-institutional work teams and a network of national platforms to coordinate and include disaster risk re-
duction in the regional frameworks, and to establish promo-tion and information networks;
• Thematic platforms or specialized knowledge networks to foster the priorities of the Hyogo Framework, with the support or under the supervision of the Global Platform.
6.2.2 Hyogo Framework for Action
Governments throughout the world have committed them-selves to taking effective measures to reduce disaster risk and have adopted the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) to reduce the degree of vulnerability to natural disasters. This Framework provides nations and communities with assistance to better con-front the threats that jeopardize the benefits of development.
Collaboration is at the heart of the Hyogo Framework: disasters can affect everyone, and are therefore everybody’s business. Di-saster risk reduction should be part of every-day decision-mak-ing: from how people educate their children to how they plan their cities. Each decision can make us either more vulnerable or more resilient.
The HFA is the key instrument for disaster risk reduction im-plementation adopted by the UN member states. Its general goal is building resilience of nations and communities to disas-ter and substantially reducing disaster losses by 2015 in lives and in the social, economic, and environmental assets of com-
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6.3 “Making Cities Resilient” World Campaign
munities and countries. The HFA sets forth five priorities for decision-making and offers guiding principles and practical means for achieving disaster resilience for vulnerable commu-nities, in the context of sustainable development.
1. Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation;
2. Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance ear-ly warning;
3. Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels;
4. Reduce the underlying risk factors;
5. Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels.
The Office of the UN International Strategy for Disaster Re-duction (UNISDR) has launched this Campaign to help local governments and cities improve their risk reduction and resil-ience building capacity.
The initiative, launched in 2010-2011 and still in force today, addresses issues of local governance and urban risk, based on previous campaigns about risk reduction in schools and hos-pitals as well as on the principles of sustainable development.
Local governments are both the key targets and drivers for the campaign, since they are faced with the threat of disasters on a daily basis and need better access to policies and tools to effectively deal with them. Local governments deliver essen-tial services to their citizens (water, health, and transport ser-vices, among others), and play the first role in responding to emergencies.
This is why, the Campaign focuses on local stakeholders to manage and reduce urban risk from the perspective of city-to-city learning and exchange. This World Campaign is aimed at having the largest number possible of local governments pre-pared so as to form an interactive world network made up of different kinds of cities in terms of size, characteristics and risk profiles. This initiative calls for local governments to commit to and address climate change and disaster risk reduction. The media, together with the organization of public awareness rais-ing activities and the development of specific technical tools will help achieve these goals.
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According to the Campaign Website: “Making cities safe from disaster is everybody’s business: national governments, local government associations, international, regional and civil so-ciety organizations, donors, the private sector, academia, and professional associations as well as every citizen need to be en-gaged and must play their part in contributing to building di-saster resilient cities.”
6.3.1 Ten Essentials of Making Cities Resilient
A ten point checklist aimed at local governments was devel-oped in line with the five priorities of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015. For more information see: www.unisdr.org
1. Put in place organization and coordination to understand and reduce disaster risk, based on participation of citizen groups and civil society. Build local alliances. Ensure that all departments understand their role with regard to disaster risk reduction and preparedness;
2. Assign a budget for disaster risk reduction and provide in-centives for homeowners, low-income families, communities, businesses and the public sector to invest in reducing the risks they face;
3. Maintain up-to-date data on hazards and vulnerabilities, pre-pare risk assessments and use these as the basis for urban de-velopment plans and decisions. Ensure that this information
and the plans for your city’s resilience are readily available to the public and fully discussed with them;
4. Invest in and maintain the critical infrastructure that reduc-es risk, such as flood drainage, adjusted where needed to cope with climate change;
5. Assess the safety of all schools and health facilities and up-grade these as necessary;
6. Apply and enforce realistic, risk compliant building regula-tions and land use planning principles. Identify safe land for low-income citizens and develop upgrading of informal settle-ments, wherever feasible;
7. Ensure education programmes and training on disaster risk reduction are in place in schools and local communities;
8. Protect ecosystems and natural buffers to mitigate floods, storm surges and other hazards to which your city may be vul-nerable. Adapt to climate change by building on good risk re-duction practices;
9. Install early warning systems and emergency management ca-pacities in your city and hold regular public preparedness drills;
10. After any disaster, ensure that the needs of the survivors are placed at the centre of reconstruction with support for them and their community organizations to design and help imple-ment responses, including rebuilding homes and livelihoods.
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6.4 Record of Theses and Senior Essays
In 2010, a record was opened for theses about local risk man-agement produced by students graduating from higher educa-tion programs. This kind of academic work generates a space for debate about risk management and a multidisciplinary in-tegration of the issue.
This record is open to theses and senior essays produced by university graduates and postgraduates. So far, the following works have been presented:
• “Comprehensive Flood Risk and Emergency Management in Santa
Fe City”
Authors: José María Bauza, Diego Andrés Vallejo. Tutor: Eng. Rudy
Grether.
Study Program and University: Industrial Engineering. Santa Fe Re-
gional School. UTN (National Technological University).
Disciplinary Area: Natural and Exact Sciences. Engineering and Agron-
omy.
• “The Social Construction of Natural Disasters in Santa Fe City”
Author: Tamara Beltramino. Tutor: Mg. Virginia Trevignani.
Study Program and University: Sociology. School of Humanities and So-
cial Sciences. UNL.
Disciplinary Area: Humanities and Social Sciences.
• “Comprehensive Assessment of Risk of Flooding of an Urban Cen-
ter by a Plain River”
Author: Héctor Martín Corzo. Tutor: Eng. Carlos Paoli.
Study Program and University: Master Program in Environmental Man-
agement. School of Engineering and Water Sciences. UNL.
Disciplinary Area: Agronomy and Engineering. Social Sciences and
Humanities.
• “What Profile of Governor Reutemann did El Litoral Newspaper Con-
struct during the 2003 Flood? Analysis of the Newspaper Discourse
during the Event”
Author: Federico Decaillet. Tutor: Prof. Adriana Falchini.
Study Program and University: Journalism and Communication. School
of Humanities and Sciences. UNL.
Disciplinary Area: Social Sciences and Humanities.
• “The Impact of Roads on Wildlife in La Capital District, Santa Fe:
Corrective Action Suggested”
Author: Gustavo Leandro Elberg. Tutors: Andrés M. Attademo (PhD),
Paola M. Peltzer (PhD, co-tutor).
Study Program and University: Environmental Sanitation, Course of Ec-
otoxicology. School of Biochemistry and Biology. UNL.
Disciplinary Area: Natural and Exact Sciences.
• “River Environments in Santa Fe City. The City Regards the Salado
River as an Urban Opportunity”
Authors: Lara N. Ferrari, Leandro A. Jacob, Virginia C. Visintini. Tutor:
Carlos Falco.
Study Program and University: Architecture and Urbanism. School of
Architecture and Urbanism. UNL.
Disciplinary Area: Social Sciences and Humanities.
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• “It Never Rains but It Pours. Risk, Catastrophe and Solidarity. The
Case of Santa Fe”
Author: Silvia Esther Fontana. Tutor: Cynthia Pizarro (PhD).
Study Program and University: Master Program in Anthropology. School
of Philosophy and Humanities. UNC (National University of Córdoba).
Disciplinary Area: Social Sciences and Humanities.
• “Votes for Mayor in the 2003 Elections in the Western Side of Santa
Fe City”
Authors: Ivan Montenovi, William Díaz Moreno. Tutor: Laura Tarabella.
Study Program and University: Geography. School of Humanities and
Sciences. UNL.
Disciplinary Area: Social Sciences and Humanities.
• “Design of Educational Material to Reduce Vulnerability to Water-
Related Disasters”
Author: Ana Carina Palumbo. Tutors: Horacio Gorodischer, Silvia
Wolansky (co-tutor).
Study Program and University: Design and Visual Communication.
School of Architecture, Design and Urbanism. UNL.
Disciplinary Area: Social Sciences and Humanities.
• “Intergovernmental Relations and Inter-Actors Articulations in the
Construction of Social Policies. Decentralization and Housing Public
Policies in Santa Fe City”
Author: María de los Milagros Sosa Sálico. Tutor: Eng. Carlos María
Lucca (Master).
Study Program and University: Master in Public Administration. UNC
(National University of Cordoba) Public Administration Research and
Training Institute (IIFAP).
Disciplinary Area: Social Sciences and Humanities.
• “Influenza A H1N1 Pandemic: Psychological and Social Repercus-
sions in the Community”
Author: Laila Beatriz del Luján Tomas. Tutors: Ps. Ricardo Rubén Gal-
liani, Dr. Eduardo Carlos López (co-tutor).
Study Program and University: Psychology. UCSF (Catholic University
of Santa Fe).
Disciplinary Area: Social Sciences and Humanities.
• “Water Marks: Landscapes of Memory and Oblivion Related to the
Floods in Santa Fe City, Argentina”
Author: Susann Ullberg. Tutor: Gudrun Dahl.
Study Program and University: Social Anthropology Doctoral Program.
Stockholm University, Sweden.
Disciplinary Area: Social Sciences and Humanities.
• “Before the Disaster. The Social Construction of Risk in Santa Fe City
and the 2003 Flood”
Author: Jesica Melina Viand. Tutors: Claudia E. Natenzon, Silvia G.
González.
Study Program and University: Geography. School of Philosophy and
Literature. UBA (University of Buenos Aires).
Disciplinary Area: Social Sciences and Humanities.
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• “SMS for Finding People”
Author: Alejandro Sebastian Visentini.
Study Program and University: IT Systems Engineering. UTN (National
Technological University) Santa Fe Regional School.
Disciplinary Area: Engineering.
• “Environmental Risk in Coastal Towns (southern sector)” (Final re-
port.)
Authors: María Laura Visintini et al. Auxiliary Research Team: Diego
Combin, Gisela Gatti, Juan Pablo Levrino, Mónica Resek, and Prof.
Carolina Schmidt.
Study Program and University: Outreach project. Geography. School of
Humanities and Science. UNL.
Disciplinary Area: Social Sciences and Humanities.
• “Demarcation of Flood Hazard Prone Areas in the City of Santa Fe
and its Sphere of Influence”
Authors: Viviana Zucarelli, Jorge Collins, Carlos Paoli, Gradela Bemal,
Ricardo Giacosa, Carlos Monteverde, Pablo Cadk, and Carlos Ercole.
Auxiliary Research Team: Diego Combin, Gisela Gatti, Juan Pablo Levri-
no, Mónica Resek, and Prof. Carolina Schmidt. Tutors: Mg. Prof. Hor-
tensia Castro, Prof. María Laura Visintini.
Study Program and University: Centro Regional Litoral. National Water
Institute and School of Engineering and Water Sciences. UNL.
Disciplinary Area: Engineering.
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6.5 Santa Fe City Map
SALADORIVER
SALADORIVER
PARANÁRIVER
City government public land
COLASTINÉRIVER
SETÚBALLAGOON
Urban area
NORTHWEST
NORTH
NORTHEAST
WEST
EAST
SOUTHWEST
CITY CENTER COASTAL AREA
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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IntroductionLearning from the Tragedy. José Manuel Corral
PrefacePlanning Development from the Viewpointof Risk Management. Ricardo Mena Speck
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 2
THE CITY, THE RIVER AND THE RISK2.1 Characteristics of the City and its Urban Development2.2 Milestones in the Social Construction of Risk2.3 Rivers, Overflows and Floods2.4 Growing “Against the River”
CHAPTER 3
DISASTER RISK REDUCTION AS A STATE POLICY3.1 A Legal and Institutional Framework3.2 Consensus Building and Tools Towards a Sustainable Development3.3 Risk Prevention Communication, Education and Culture
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3.4 A Better Prepared City3.5 Recovery as an Opportunity for Development3.6 The International Arena: Making Cities Resilient
CHAPTER 4
10 YEARS AFTER THE 2003 FLOOD4.1 Commemoration Activities Carried Out by the City Government4.2 Other Commemorative Activities of the Santa Fe Flood
CHAPTER 5
REFLECTIONS5.1 Achievements and Challenges5.2 Process Sustainability
CHAPTER 6
ANNEX6.1 Actions Carried Out by the Government of Santa Fe City6.2 Disaster Reduction in the Global Context6.3 “Making Cities Resilient” World Campaign6.4 Record of Theses and Senior Essays6.5 Santa Fe City Map
The City of Santa Fe has incorporated risk management as a State policy and has included this approach in its Development Plan with a view to building a better prepared and a more sustainable city, in harmony with its environment.On the tenth anniversary of the tragic flood of 2003, the goals of the City Government were to remember the event and account for the actions taken, thus promoting reflection upon the lessons learned from the disaster.This book, endorsed by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Americas, gathers information about the history of the city, its relation with the surrounding rivers and the comprehensive management process to reduce risk, thus building community resilience to potential hazards.
www.santafeciudad.gov.ar/gestionderiesgos
Mayor José Manuel Corral
General Secretary Carlos Pereira
Secretary of GovernmentMaría Martín
Head of Public Works and Water Resources DepartmentRoberto Porta
Head of Urban Planning DepartmentEduardo Navarro
Head of Social Development DepartmentCarlos Medrano
Head of Production DepartmentPablo Tabares
Head of Communication DepartmentAndrea Valsagna
Head of Culture DepartmentPatricia Pieragostini
Head of Education DepartmentRossana Ingaramo
Head of Health DepartmentNatalia Zehnder
Head of the TreasuryMaría Belén Etchevarría
Head of ControlRamiro Dall’Aglio
Head of Risk ManagementEduardo Aguirre Madariaga
Head of Citizens΄ RightsFranco Ponce de León
Head of Social EconomyMariano Cuvertino
Head of Cooperación, Investment and Foreign TradeJosé María Chemes
Head of Habitat Santa Fe AgencySara Lauría
Head of the Misdemeanor CourtCornelio Collins
City ProsecutorEsteban Gaggiamo
SyndicAndrea Arrieti
GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY OF SANTA FE
United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction
