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Innovations in disaster risk reduction

Next week it’s the International Day for Disaster Reduction to raise awareness about what we can do to reduce our risk to disasters such as earthquakes, droughts, floods, hurricanes and tornados. So we wanted to share with you how we’re taking action, take questions and discuss the latest knowledge, particularly on using technology to help people cope with disasters. Here's an example of what we do:

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  • Reply

    Gemma Hume said:

    gemma said:
    Technologies can't stop major natural events but han help reduce the impacts by providing more accurate worning systems and improved planning processes and the structural integrity of buildings and infrastructure. We'll talk about that in a bit but first I wanted to ask: what makes a disaster a disaster?
    on 5/10/11
  • Reply

    Ellie Hopkins said:

    said:
    According to the UN's International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), for a disaster to be recorded on their database, at least one of the following criteria must be met: • a report of 10 or more people killed • a report of 100 people affected • a declaration of a state of emergency by the relevant government • a request by the national government for international assistance I've got mixed opinions of this - on the one hand 10 deaths doesn't seem much when you think of the scale of many disasters, but on the other 10 deaths is 10 too many. One is a disaster. I guess it's difficult to define a disaster - what's the cut-off point? What makes 9 deaths a sad event, and 10 deaths a disaster?
    on 5/10/11
  • Reply

    Alastair Stewart said:

    said:
    I think it's important to distinguish between risks and disasters. A risk is the event be it a drought, hurricane, tsunami etc but a disaster is the scale of devastation following such an event. Certain groups are more vulnerable to disasters because of their inabilty to escape/cope with and respond to risks. Often these groups are the world's poorest and the more vulnerable sections of society such as the elderly, women and children. If that doesn't make sense, this fact may help to promote the point: "Between 1991 and 2000 there were 23 deaths per disaster in the world's richest countries, compared with 1,052 deaths per disaster in the world's poorest countries." (Oxfam International Policy Note on DRR, March 2009)
    on 5/10/11
  • Reply

    Gemma Hume said:

    gemma said:
    Thanks Alastair. Yes, things like frost, drought and ill health do not necessarily need to be disasters, they can be shocks and hazards, but only become a disaster when people can’t cope. When hurricane Katrina hit the US there was extensive highlight of how the rich were able to flee, but the poor were unable to, and so suffered the worst of the hurricane's destructive power.
    on 5/10/11
  • Reply

    Yassir Abdelmutalab said:

    said:
    From what I understand now, a disatster is a nature-based risks that harm people's lives and assets; and the difficulty of how to control the consequences. Why not considering the deadliest accident in aviation history of Tenerife 1977(a 583 fatalities - KLM & PAN AM) a disaster?; I think it is about the controlling (post-accidents); it is here the chance for the technolgy to play its role.
    on 5/10/11
  • Reply

    Gemma Hume said:

    gemma said:
    This brings me on to my next question. Why don't early warning systems always work for the poor? The famine in the horn of Africa is a good example of this.
    on 5/10/11
  • Reply

    Gemma Hume said:

    said:
    Famine early warning system in Africa- it was supposed to be strengthened but it failed miserably without political clout. ODI did a good blog on this topic - see: http://bit.ly/nSSssA We need longer-term strategies, backed by programmes with flexible funding that can change track as situations change.
    on 5/10/11
  • Reply

    Alastair Stewart said:

    said:
    I guess communication is a big part of this? I'm not entirely sure of the specific reasons in the horn of Africa but access to information and the ability to raise their concerns can be restricted for the poorest communities. Early warning systems can also miss vital signs as conditions can vary hugely within a specific area.
    on 5/10/11
  • Reply

    Alastair Stewart said:

    said:
    I guess communication is a big part of this? I'm not entirely sure of the specific reasons in the horn of Africa but access to information and the ability to raise their concerns can be restricted for the poorest communities. Early warning systems can also miss vital signs as conditions can vary hugely within a specific area.
    on 5/10/11
  • Reply

    Gemma Hume said:

    said:
    Hi Alastair. Yes, completely. Sometimes early warning systems are not enough on their own due to multidimensional sources of vulnerability, in the case of Africa, a reason was lack of access to water resources. Communication is a huge part of our disaster risk reduction work. We use technology, for example, to develop drought resistant crops, protect livestock and conserve precious water to help people cope with drought. However, if the information from these technology fixes isn’t properly dissemintated, then those fixes are useless.
    on 5/10/11

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