Promoting Urban Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation: Making
Asian Cities Safer
By A.J. Rego & Arambepola (ADPC)7th IIASA-DPRI Forum
Coping with Disaster: Challenges for the 21st Century and Beyond
20th September 2007 - Stresa, Italy
Growing Cities at Risk from Natural and Technological Hazards
• By 2004 half world’s population living in urban areas• At least 80% of population growth in the 1990s occurred
in urban areas• 17 of the 20 largest cities in the world are in developing
countries - many exposed to EQ, landslide, flooding hazard
• 25 largest cities have over 8 mill. inhabitants• Average number of victims in disaster is 150 times greater
in developing world mega city than in a developed country mega city
• Road accidents, industrial, chemical and transport accidents are a growing threat
Cities are vulnerable to disaster risk because of -
• Rapid urbanization• Rural - urban migration• Growing population - already stretched resources• Poor living standards - build without consideration
of safety (time pressures) + in hazard prone areas• Lack of public awareness to hazards/risks• Building codes are poorly enforced or non-existent• Environmental degradation - resource depletion -
lowers resilience
Cities are vulnerable to disaster risk because of - (2)
• Increased risk of industrial/technological hazards - (secondary impacts eg. fire/radiation)
• Densely packed housing - health risk• Disruption to draining channels due to uncontrolled urban
growth - flooding• Inadequate management or provision of services - waste +
sewage disposal, clean water access…• The poor building informal settlements on low quality
land; which are important …. banks
Vulnerability of the Asian RegionAsia is famous for its
great diversities and also for disparities .Half of the total world population
live in Eight disaster prone countries
China, India, Indonesia,
Bangladesh, Japan, Philippines, Vietnam,
Thailand
Top Two Worst Disasters in Asia 2004
• Typhoon Nanmadol, Philippines (November) winds of 220 km/hr - at least 412 deaths
• Indian Ocean Tsunami and EQ (December) - Affecting: Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand, Maldives - death toll at least 212,000
The 2 deadliest disasters of 2006 were both in Asia
-Indonesian EQ (May) killing 5,778
-Typhoon Durian (Philippines, Dec.) killing 1,399
Top Two Worst Disasters in Asia in 2006
Earthquake Vulnerability in Asia
Exposure (People/year) > 100'000 10'000 - 10'000 1'000 - 10'000 100 - 1'000 10 - 100
Earthquakes in Asia
• The Pacific rim experiences 90% of all the world’s earthquakes. • In 1976, China had the most deadly earthquake ever known. It
killed 800,000 people. • More than 50 cities in Asia with a population greater than
1,000,000 are at significant risk for an earthquake.• Recent major events are Iran in 2003, Indonesia in
2004,2005,2006, Pakistan in 2005,
Flood Vulnerability in Asia
Exposure (People/Year) > 100'000 10'000 - 100'000 1'000 - 10'000 100 - 1'000 10 - 100
Flooding in Asia
• The year 2000 saw the worst flooding in 60 years for Vietnams’ Mekong Delta region, 40 years for Cambodia, 35 years for Laos, and in a century for western Bangladesh and West Bengal, India.
• Year 2007 August Floods in India, Nepal and Bangladesh caused significant economic losses
• Recent events in 2007 show major threat is from flash floods which is evident from Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, Philippines
Cyclones/Typhoon Exposure in Asia
Exposure (People/year) > 100'000 10'000 - 100'000 1'000 - 10'000 100 - 1'000 10 - 100
Cyclones/Typhoons in Asia
• There were 95 major storms in SE Asia and the Pacific regions between 1980-2000.
• Since 1970, cyclones have killed an estimated 1.5 million in Bangladesh.
• The October 1999 storm surge in Orissa, India, affected 15 million people, killed 9,500 people, destroyed 3 million homes, and left seven million people homeless.
• Recent major events were in Karachci Pakistan in 2007, Vietnam and Philippines in 2006
Volcano Occurrence
Volcanoes in Asia
• Of the 16 largest eruptions in the last two centuries, five occurred in Asia. Three of these, all in Indonesia, killed 130,000 people.
• The eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991 was the second largest eruption of the 20th century.
• The Philippines, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea are all at significant risk for volcanic eruptions.
Mt. Pinatubo 1991
Asian Cities at Risk• 37% of Asia’s population lived in cities by 2000; this will rise to 60% by 2025
• More than 50 cities in Asia with a population greater than 1,000,000 are at significant risk from an EQ
• Rural to urban migration accounts for 64% of city growth in Asia
• Of the 10 largest Asian cities; 7 are prone to multi hazard risks and are awaiting a catastrophic event
Making Cities Safer
• Promote household vulnerability reduction measures• Build capacity of local government + emergency services• Decentralization of resources + decision making• Democratic means of DRR planning• Build capacity of community/social groups• Create institutional framework for action• Enforce appropriate building codes + urban planning
guidelines• Hazard assessments - physical/social/economic• Environmental management
UN-HABITAT Agenda 1996
Agenda actions for disaster prevention:• Appropriate laws & standards for land use, building &
planning• Encourage multi stakeholder participation in DM planning
especially vulnerable eg. elderly/disabled• Continued mobilization of domestic & international
resources for DRR activities• Distribute information on disaster resistant construction
methods for public works etc.• Facilitate voluntary move of people to less disaster prone
areas -ensuring access for all
UN-HABITAT Agenda 1996 (2)
• Training on disaster resistant construction for builders/designers/contractors
• Upgrade resistance of current infrastructure/critical facilities
• Risk mapping and vulnerability assessments• Community focused vulnerability reduction programs• Improve information dissemination on potential hazards• Strengthen technological, scientific & engineering capacity
for monitoring -EWS• Decentralization of authority & resources to enable
capacity building for greater resilience
Asian Urban Disaster Mitigation Program (AUDMP) 1995-2004
Implemented by ADPC in 20 secondary cities of 8 countries-Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Nepal,Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand
Aim: reduce disaster vulnerability of urban populations, infrastructure & lifeline facilities & shelter in Asia
• facilitate development of sustainable mechanisms for disaster mitigation
• build capacity of all stakeholders to mitigate disaster risks• promote replication and adaptation of successful
mitigation measures elsewhere
AUDMP Project Locations
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Safer Cities 12: Demonstration Housing Construction for Landslide and Flood Prone Areas (Sri Lanka)
Why Secondary Cities are a Priority for DRR Programs
Secondary versus Mega Cities -• Greater vulnerability - from rapid uncontrolled
urbanization• High migration rates -greater need for housing &
services• Economic growth attracts investment• In mega cities problems difficult to identify &
solutions complex to implement• Greater chance of success & measurable change• More manageable communities & simpler
institutionally
AUDMP Measurable Results• 5 of 8 targeted city emergency preparedness & response
plans written or revised• 95% of the 75% targeted public & private sector
professionals working with AUDMP initiated disaster mitigation training
• 43,000 households benefited from AUDMP sponsored disaster vulnerability reduction activities
• 5 regional networks, 209 organizations & 1,760 disaster mitigation professionals participating in AUDMP regional information network -started with 33 organizations only
• In 2002 ADPC’s Urban Strategy Asia 2020 expanded ADPC’s outreach from 30 to 100 cities
Program for Hydro-Meteorological Disaster Mitigation in Secondary Cities in Asia
(PROMISE) 2005-2008 Phase I5 highly vulnerable urbanizing cities: Chittagong (Bangladesh),Hyderabad (Pakistan), Dagupan (Philippines), Kalutara (Sri Lanka) & DaNang (Vietnam) - linked to watersheds, river basins or at risk coastal belts
Aim: to reduce vulnerability of urban communities to hydro-meteorological disasters in S + SE Asia to measurably alleviate humansuffering, prevent loss of life, and reduce the potential for physical andeconomic damage through:
• City demonstration projects• Regional + national capacity building• Advocacy for mainstreaming of risk management in urban governance• Regional network + information dissemination
PROMISE - Philippines:Dagupan City
Problem: reduced capacity of rivers due to heavy rains, upstream bank erosion clogging channel & transport of lahar material - causing floods (eg. 1990)
Solutions:Technical Working Group -plan, monitor,
document, train and maintainCapacity building of community &
authoritiesWork with stakeholdersRisk Communication PlanInstitutional change - Disaster Preparedness
Day (July 16th)
ADPC Urban Strategy Asia 2020
ADPC and partners working with 100 cities to reduce urban vulnerability and build disaster resilient communities through 4 strategies:
• Planning and Building Safer Cities
• Emergency Management & Response Planning for Cities
• Public Awareness Campaigns
• Knowledge Development & Capacity Building:
Specific Actiona) ‘How- to’ resource toolkits
that translate awareness into action
b) Specific UDRM focussed courses targeted at city & national officials & private sector developers
c) Partnerships with urban authorities & regional city networks (Citynet, ICMA, IULA, ICLEZ)
d) Safer sister city partnerships & network
Linking Climate Change to Urban Risk Reduction
• Study areas where improvement to governance structure is needed to enhance resilience of the poor communities in the urban coastal low-lying areas
• Analyse trends in primary (meteorological) events and secondary impacts (health hazards, slope destabilization etc) in built up areas to assess consequences of sea level rise & impact in urban coastal areas
• The scientific community in Asia has not yet undertaken adequate interest in conducting multi- sectoral studies to understand & prepare inventories of the climate change impacts on coastal ecosystems
Long Term Strategies for DRR• There is an urgent need to make risk mitigation one of the
essential components of urban governance and creating policy, legal and institutional arrangements to ensure safer urban communities
• The city level risk maps, using GPS and RS techniques transforming the community knowledge into formal products, can be integrated in other maps to see the changing risk scenario
• Ensure access to information by public• Urban community based approach to convert the
victimized communities to a resource
Long Term Strategies for DRR (2)
• Participatory approach for scenario building, risk assessment & action planning can also generate much needed awareness
• Ensuring safer housing & shelter, capable of withstanding hazard events, require quality assurance of housing construction and infrastructure as an essential part of urban risk reduction
• Making the private sector partner in development means it should also shoulder some responsibility in urban DRR
Long Term Strategies for DRR (3)
• Activating poor and motivating them to become resilient against natural calamities is an answer to the key issue of poverty reduction
• Vulnerability reduction should be integrated into the development process so that it can contribute to sustainability, empowerment & community resilience
• Support the implementation aspects of Hyogo Framework of Action & create more awareness about HFA
• Advocate strongly for decentralization of disaster risk management functions to local government sector & integrating in other sector based programs as a routine practice to facilitate building safer communities
• Mainstream DRR into local governance