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 worlds population living in urban areas At least 80% of population growth in the 1990s occurred in urban areas 17 of the 20 largest cities in the world are in developing countries - many exposed to EQ, 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 Region

Asia is famous for its great diversities and also for disparities . Half of the total world population live in Eight disaster prone countries
China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Japan, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand

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

Top Two Worst Disasters in Asia in 2006

The 2 deadliest disasters of 2006 were both in Asia -Indonesian EQ (May) killing 5,778

-Typhoon Durian (Philippines, Dec.) killing 1,399

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 worlds 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 Asias population lived in cities by 2000; this will rise to 60% by 2025 More than 50 cities in Asia with a population greater than 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 countriesBangladesh, 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 ADPCs Urban Strategy Asia 2020 expanded ADPCs outreach from 30 to 100 cities

Program for Hydro-Meteorological Disaster Mitigation in Secondary Cities in Asia (PROMISE) 2005-2008 Phase I
5 highly vulnerable urbanizing cities: Chittagong (Bangladesh), Hyderabad (Pakistan), Dagupan (Philippines), Kalutara (Sri Lanka) & Da Nang (Vietnam) - linked to watersheds, river basins or at risk coastal belts
Aim: to reduce vulnerability of urban communities to hydrometeorological disasters in S + SE Asia to measurably alleviate human suffering, prevent loss of life, and reduce the potential for physical and economic damage through: City demonstration projects Regional + national capacity building Advocacy for mainstreaming of risk management in urban governance Regional network + information dissemination

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 maintain Capacity building of community & authorities Work with stakeholders Risk Communication Plan Institutional 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 Action
a) How- to resource toolkits that translate awareness into action Specific UDRM focussed courses targeted at city & national officials & private sector developers Partnerships with urban authorities & regional city networks (Citynet, ICMA, IULA, ICLEZ) Safer sister city partnerships & network

b)

c)

d)

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