Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management Framework Introduction to Natural Disaster Risk Management Presentations Session 2 Slide 1 Building Blocks

of Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management: Concepts and Terminology. Katalin Demeter, World Bank Institute. Slide 2 In this presentation we introduce the basic concepts related to disaster management and the key elements of a comprehensive disaster management framework. The objective of this introductory presentation is to have a common understanding of principles, terms and processes involved in disaster management and in a systemic way guide through the complexity of issues development practitioners are facing when they deal with natural disasters. The following approach will be used throughout this course and the overall Disaster Risk Management Learning Program. Slide 3 Disasters caused by natural hazards such as earthquakes, floods, landslides, drought, tropical cyclones have a heavy toll on human lives, economic and social infrastructure, and on ecosystem. While natural hazards remain part of our existence, human actions can either increase or reduce the vulnerability of societies to hazards and related disasters. The pattern of development, specifically the persistence of widespread poverty, rapid and uncontrolled urbanization and environmental degradation have led many regions and countries more vulnerable to natural hazards. Since the following sessions will discuss in more details these issues, in this presentation we briefly introduce the factors contributing to increased vulnerability. 1. Rapid growths and increasing poverty in urban areas. Many countries have experienced rapid and uncontrolled urban expansion characterized by inadequate land use and infrastructure development. Migration of poor to urban areas and settling where land is cheap, mostly disaster prone areas like steep hillsides and flood plains, put cities and its population to greater risk. Current land use regulations and controls are mostly unsuccessful to prevent the growing number of illegal settlements with poorly designed and low quality constructions. 2. Poverty and environmental degradation in rural areas. The large number of poor in rural areas has resulted in increased reliance on natural resources as a main source of rural subsistence. The marked deterioration of environment and natural resources such as deforestation, river bank alterations, inappropriate hillside agriculture contributes to diminishing natural protection against hazards. Examples include soil erosion and loss of vegetative cover that diminishes the lands capacity to absorb heavy rainfall and thus contributes to landslides and flash

floods. Mangrove forests that provide protection against high winds are disappearing from hurricane prone coastal areas. 3. Poor policy planning Few countries pursued public policies based on understanding of vulnerabilities and actions redressing them. Land use and building codes regulations are inadequate and poorly enforced in most of the hazard prone areas. Incentives to encourage economic actors to adopt preventive measures are mostly missing. Allocation of the necessary resources to infrastructure maintenance in order to sustain resistance to natural hazards are frequently overlooked. 4. Last but not least, the emphasis on disaster response, that represented the main focus in the past, absorbed a great deal of resources which would normally be allocated for well grounded development efforts. The natural alternative of the above approach is the promotion of framework that puts the emphasis on disaster risk reduction, prevention and on strengthening the capacity of societies to cope with natural hazards. Slide 4. In general terms, disasters are discrete events, such as rainstorm, hurricane or earthquake, occurring at a specific point of time, at a particular geographical area, affect large population and require external assistance to cope with consequences. In order to manage the risk from natural disasters it is necessary to understand the threat posed by hazard, the magnitude of values human lives and assets - exposed to the threat, susceptibility towards hazards in form of vulnerabilities and actions, and measures to protect human values. The specific terms that are used to describe disasters are: natural hazards, vulnerability and risk. Natural Hazards are natural phenomena potentially causing losses to human settlements and economic activities. Natural hazards can be classified by origin: Geological Hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, landslides; Climatic Hazards such as tropical cyclones, floods, drought; and Environmental Hazards for example environmental pollution or deforestation. The other distinction of hazard types is related to the accumulation of warning signs and vulnerabilities over time: Sudden onset hazards have short or no warning and cause immediate damage. Examples are: earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, tropical storms, volcanic eruptions, and landslides Slow onset hazards which act slowly and the damage either immediate or develops over longer time period. Examples are drought, famine, environmental degradation, desertification, and deforestation.

Vulnerability is a set of conditions resulting from physical, social, economic and environmental factors which increase susceptibility to losses from the impact of natural hazards. It is important to remember that incidence of natural events that could cause disasters lies beyond human control, while vulnerability can be controlled. Risk is the probability of harmful consequences or expected losses resulting from interactions between natural hazards and vulnerable conditions. Risk Management is defined as the process of identifying, analyzing and quantifying the probability of losses in order to undertake preventive or corrective actions. This involves two types of activities (i) planning actions to reduce vulnerability in areas where risk can be controlled, and (ii) establishing protective mechanisms against the potential economic losses from uncontrollable factors of natural hazards.

Slide 5 As we have discussed earlier, disasters result from the combination of hazards, conditions of vulnerabilities that are usually accumulate over time, and insufficient capacity or measures to reduce the potential damages. Since little can be done to reduce the occurrence and intensity of most natural hazards, actions and activities should focus on reducing existing and future vulnerabilities to damage and loss. There are three primary and interrelated categories in risk management: risk identification, risk reduction and risk transfer. These measures mostly related to pre-disaster phases of disaster risk management and reflect the new approach that puts the emphasis on ex-ante actions instead of measures taken prior (e.g. preparedness), during and shortly after disaster event (e.g. disaster response, relief, recovery and rehabilitation). Natural hazard risk management significantly differs from traditional preparedness and response activities. It takes a pro-active and systemic approach by ensuring that growth and development policies incorporate vulnerability reduction measures and natural resource management considerations. In a graphical presentation the risk reduction framework can be seen along a continuum of post- disaster and pre-disaster phases. Some argue that categorization according to disaster cycle is artificial, since restoring livelihood after a catastrophic event is already a mitigation activity from the perspective of the next disaster event. While acknowledging that there are different views and approaches exist, for the purposes of our course we will follow the model described above. Slide 6 The pre-disaster phase of disaster risk management involves four distinct but interrelated components. Risk identification, risk reduction/mitigation, risk transfer and preparedness. Risk identification and Analysis is a thorough analysis of existing vulnerabilities, location, severity and intensity of threat. By determining the causes of existing vulnerabilities makes it possible to eliminate or reduce them. The following activities help to identify and understand natural hazard risk: Hazard data collection and mapping (frequency, magnitude and location) , vulnerability assessment (population and assets exposed), risk assessment (probability of expected losses) Risk reduction or Prevention/Mitigation: are measures taken to eliminate or reduce the intensity of hazardous event. They can address existing vulnerabilities through measures like retrofit or strengthening. Actions can be taken to reduce future vulnerability, such as implementation and enforcement of building standards, environmental protection measures and resource management practices. Measures can be directed towards physical, social and environmental vulnerability. It is very important that post-disaster reconstruction and rehabilitation incorporates mitigation elements instead of rebuilding earlier vulnerability. Physical measures divided into structural and non-structural measures. Structural risk reduction measures include any actions that require the construction to reduce the effects of a hazard event, such as flood- and wind proofing, elevation, seismic retrofitting and burial of utilities. Non-structural measures are policies and programs that guide future development and investment towards reduced hazard vulnerability. Examples of non-structural measures include physical development plans, development regulations, acquisition of hazardous properties, tax and fiscal incentives and public education. Socio-economic measures. These measures aim at increasing the resilience of individuals and communities to hazard effects. Activities include raising awareness of hazards and vulnerabilities and helping to establish community and mutual assistance networks and programs. Activities that help build individual and

community hazard resilience require a parallel strengthening of the capacity of the State to anticipate and respond to future extreme events, since failures at the national level can render many community initiatives ineffective. Environmental measures. Environmental risk reduction measures are designed to protect existing, or rehabilitate degraded, environmental systems that have the capacity to reduce the impacts of natural hazards. These can take the form of policies and programs, such as development control or environmental impact assessments that reduce or eliminate the effect of human activities on the environment. They can also include physical measures that restore or fortify damaged environmental systems, such as coral reef protection, reforestation of critical watersheds or restoration of degraded river courses. To reduce risk, it is necessary to develop mitigation plans that determine who, what, when and where regarding the implementation of preventive and corrective activities. These plans should include a detailed cost-benefit analysis to evaluate the long-term profitability of the prevention and mitigation measures. Risk Transfer: these mechanisms do not reduce actual vulnerability but reduce financial risk by transfer mechanisms in order to ensure that funds are available when loss occurs. Risk transfer mechanisms are often inefficient from cost perspective, so it is important to take all the necessary measures to reduce the vulnerability of assets to be covered before transferring the risk. Without getting into details the main risk transfer/ risk financing methods are: Budget self-insurance allocation a small proportion of budget to be spent on improved maintenance. These allow to either forgo the purchase of regular insurance or to achieve a higher deductible, thus lowering the insurance cost. Market Insurance and Reinsurance. Insurance provides coverage for damage and expenses that are beyond the potential for budget self-insurance. Once the extent of coverage has been agreed and premiums are paid under an insurance contract, the insurer assumes the risk and makes available funds necessary to repair damage or rebuild shortly after a disaster event. Insurance costs for certain categories of buildings or uses, however, may be unaffordable, and coverage for some categories of natural hazards may be unavailable. Public asset coverage. Most public assets are not covered by insurance. Funds for rebuilding damaged assets, therefore, must come from annual budgets or external sources. This puts great pressure on public budgets in the post-disaster period when economies are often particularly weak, as typically little has been set aside for budget self-insurance purposes. Insurance coverage for critical public assets will ensure that key infrastructure can be rebuilt or rehabilitated quickly if damaged in a hazard event. Selection of assets that merit insurance coverage should be based on careful prioritization of public facilities and on comprehensive facility vulnerability assessments. Risk pooling and diversification. Insurance costs for geographically concentrated or relatively homogeneous groups or facilities are often high, due to the potential for simultaneous damage to all members of the group or category. Diversification of the risk pool, through banding with others from separate areas or industries can result in reduced insurance premiums for all participants. Risk financing. Risk financing mechanisms allow losses to be paid off in the mediumto long-term via some form of a credit facility. Alternative risk financing mechanisms provide cost-effective, multi-year coverage that assists with the stabilization of premiums and increases the availability of funds for insurance purposes. Preparedness. The fourth element of ex-ante phase is emergency preparedness. It aims at improving the capacity to respond rapidly and effectively to save lives, reduce suffering and enhance recovery of communities after a disaster strikes. It includes early warning systems, evacuation plans, establishing shelters. Improving understanding and communication among actors involved and mobilizing response is critical for reducing potential impact of disasters. Since

preparedness is closely related to actions at the level of individuals and communities, coordination among them is critical. Slide 7 Post disaster phases include (i) emergency response, (ii) rehabilitation and recovery, and (iii) reconstruction. (i) After disaster strikes, humanitarian assistance takes over to save lives and provide essential supply to the most affected. This stage is relatively short and includes activities such as search and rescue, evacuation, provision of shelters, first aid, emergency medical care, temporary restoration of transport and communication. (ii) Rehabilitation refers to stage when activities aim at restoring the normal conditions in the affected areas and communities. Temporary repairs of housing, buildings and infrastructure (transport and public utilities) are done during this period. Very important to focus on measures that help victims to return to work, create new job opportunities, mobilize financial resources (public, insurance and multilateral) and launch projects that deal with other consequences of disasters. (iii) Reconstruction phase includes activities that revitalize affected economic sectors, rebuild critical infrastructure, and allocate appropriate budgetary resources according to newly emerged social priorities. It is important to emphasize that reconstruction should incorporate mitigation measures to reduce vulnerabilities of future disasters. During the second stage of post disaster phase damage assessment activities should be carried out to identify the needs and priorities for reconstruction phase. Slide 8 Implementation of effective disaster management systems requires political commitment, which manifests in appropriate policies, planning, supporting legislation and resources devoted to disaster management issues. While the systems vary according to political and economic culture of the countries, there are some general requirements to be considered when designing the governance systems. Existence of National preparedness plan and strategy is an indication of such a political commitment. Disaster planning should be pro-active with focus on preparedness and mitigation. Risk reduction should be mainstreamed in development planning and sectoral policies. The strategy and planning should be supported by legislation laws, acts, and regulations with clear assignments of responsibilities and accountabilities. Resources financial, human and technical - should be mobilized (innovative and alternative funding, taxes, incentives )and allocated for risk reduction and management. Slide 9 From organizational perspective it is important to follow multidisciplinary and multisectoral approaches. In the formal system there is a key agency interministerial - mandated with authority and resources to coordinate all related actors such as ministries, donor agencies, NGOs, and private sector. The system must ensure a close working relation between policy formulating body and operational agency that must implement the decisions. Links between national, regional, local and community level is crucial in ensuring vertical communication, information and resource flow. The model should fully integrate NGOs in order to improve the cooperation and establish comprehensive, integrated pattern of response. The institutional aspect includes systemic development of necessary codes, standards, norms and enactment mechanisms. Slide 10 Several countries are in the process to integrate the key elements of disaster risk management into their national disaster management systems. It is important to monitor the progress according

to certain criteria. The International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) Secretariat and UNDP are developing a framework for guiding and monitoring disaster risk reduction at all levels. On global level, the Disaster Risk Index (DRI) can help in monitoring the success of applied development policies. The index was introduced in the recent UNDP publication, Reducing Disaster Risk: A Challenge for Development. DRI enables the measurement and comparison of relative levels of physical exposures to hazard, vulnerability and risk between countries. On national level ISDR recommends a set of benchmark criteria (still tentative) to monitor advancement in implementing disaster risk reduction. The criteria are grouped according to the disaster risk management areas/components.

Governance indicators include: Existence of National Risk Reduction Strategy, Percentage of GDP allocated for disaster reduction, incorporation of disaster reduction in Poverty Reduction Strategies, percentage of budget allocation for prevention and mitigation, existence of disaster reduction committees or platforms with defined responsibilities and activities, periodic review of committee activities and accomplishments, systematic control of compliance and enforcement For monitoring thematic areas such as Risk Identification the following benchmarks can be used: hazard maps, historical records of hazards and their impacts, vulnerability and capacity indicators developed and systematically mapped and recorded, percentage of development projects and investments with disaster risk assessment component, etc. Risk Management indicators could include trends in deforestation, use of environmental impact assessments in disaster reduction planning, use of forestry management to reduce flood risk, extent of insurance coverage, use of safety nets and social protection in recovery process, use of micro-finance services in high risk areas, enforcement of zoning plans, retrofitting, trends in number of constructions in hazard prone areas, percentage of public buildings in compliance with building standards. Preparedness and emergency management can be monitored with the following indicators: emergency response networks and plans, (tested and updated regularly), emergency funds and stocks, coverage and number of community training. The listed indicators serve national monitoring purposes and based on aggregated data. As the disaster risk management concept is moving from centralized, government-led approach toward decentralized mode, there is an emerging necessity to establish an indicator system to measure progress on community level. The Inter-American Development Bank is pioneering the effort in this regard and recommends a set of potential indicators to measure the key elements of disaster risk and changes in that risk over time. The conceptual framework for baseline assessment is on slide 4. Slide 11 Without aiming at comprehensiveness in listing the ISDR suggested indicators, we will quickly review one more thematic area: Knowledge Management. Through the process of knowledge creation and knowledge sharing it is possible to engage civil society and market actors in disaster risk management, reduce vulnerability of communities at risk and improve capabilities of most affected to cope with consequences of hazardous events. There are four areas in knowledge management: Information management and communication, Education and training, Public awareness and Research. In information management, the timely dissemination of information through appropriate channels and networks can be measured by number of professionals and public networks, documentation and data bases on disasters, forms and

availability of end user products (web-sites for public and specialized information and knowledge). Actions taken in the area of education and training such as incorporation of disaster reduction into basic curricula of schools, vocational training, dissemination of traditional knowledge and community training programs can be monitored by referenced educational materials, number of courses and institutions. Public awareness can be benchmarked against media coverage of disaster reduction related activities, disaster reduction day and other visibility raising activities. Research agenda in disaster management should include risk reduction, improvement in quality and availability of data, methodology related development and regional collaboration in research.

Slide 12 Summarizing the previous slides: Traditionally disaster management has focused nearly exclusively on actions that can be taken immediately prior to, during or shortly after a disaster event to reduce the economic damage and loss of life. Funding recovery and reconstruction after catastrophic events has also often been seen as a sole responsibility of governments. In recent years this traditional disaster management approach has been evolving slowly to include natural hazard risk management as a key element of the system, in addition to preparedness, response and recovery planning and management. According to this new approach, risk management is an ongoing process and aims at reducing vulnerability to natural hazards across all levels of society and all economic sectors. To be effective, disaster risk management needs to become an integral part of economic planning and policy making. The role of different stakeholders, public, private sector, central and local government, communities and individuals should be clearly defined in the system. Comprehensive strategy, commitment from the national government, and enabling environment for community initiatives are key to success.