|
Our
primary goal, no matter what our related disciplines
or approaches are, as disaster managers is to
minimize the effects of natural hazards on our
communities by minimizing the injuries and loss of
lives; the property and environmental damage;
and the social and economic disruption caused by
these extreme natural events. At all times, disaster
managers always aim at preventing hazards from becoming
disasters. However, despite the past and present
efforts of disaster management stakeholders, the
surface has been barely scratched toward this goal.
For all practical purposes, we have not been very
successful in the attainment of this goal. The
reduction of natural disasters has to be seen as
part of a larger picture, in a broader context and
more integral to the way we think and actually do
things in this society. In the past, disaster
managers looked at the issue of resilience to
hazards and risks from an individualistic point of
view. As such, we were unable to make the kind of
progress needed to make a real difference.
However the 21st century outlook marked a new decade
of awareness on the need to make remarkable
difference globally in the field of disaster
management, especially in the development of
disaster resilient communities.
There are a number of ways to achieve, or rather to
work toward this goal, but in reality there is one
that is by far the most important and the foundation
for all the others. This is the process of creating
disaster resistant communities by adopting the
concept of Mitigation. We can develop and implement
the best emergency management plan possible, the
most efficient preparedness plan, respond in the
most efficient way possible after a disaster occurs,
and execute a sound recovery. Nevertheless, as
important and effective as each of these may be,
none is nearly as important as to achieving our
primary goal of creating disaster resilient
communities. Neither can any of the functions and
roles be optimized in an emergency management
context without this process.
What is disaster resilient and how can we achieve
this level within the community? For the purpose
of reinventing our existing communities to be
disaster resistant, Disaster Mitigation stands as a
unique approach. Mitigation can be described as the
process of using and integrating the principles and
techniques of disaster risk reduction into the day-to-day
planning and development functions of our
communities. Natural hazards, or extreme natural
events like earthquakes, flooding, and
desertification are very much a part of the natural
workings of our earth and are not problems on their
own. However, they become very serious problems when
they impact our human settlements. It is here, at
this point of interface that our concern begins. But
then, even at this point, a natural hazard does not
have to become a natural disaster. This is because
many natural disasters are not natural, but are
rather human-made disasters because the effects are
as a result of the inappropriate settlement patterns
and poorly planned communities that we have built
where these natural forces converge.
Building Resilient communities in the 21st century
can be achieved if disaster managers look at the
relationship between how we manage growth, plan and
develop our communities. We need to look at our
procedures for relating developments with the
natural environment and its capacity to resist and
minimize the impact of disasters. Thus, we should
begin to envision the concept of a disaster
resistant community as the first step in developing
sustainable communities. Developing such communities
can only occur by reinventing our existing
communities, step by step, by institutionalizing the
appropriate principles and techniques into the daily
actions as part of ongoing planning and development
responsibilities. This is the only path
that will make a sustained difference toward
reducing the growing costs and terrible waste of
resources spent on recovery efforts after disaster
events.
The
Role of the Community Built Environment
In order to achieve our 21st century goal of
disaster reduction through building disaster
resilient communities, we should begin by using the
many lessons that natural disasters have taught us
over the past few decades. We have learnt, for
example, from our research and practical experience
that there is an integral relationship between the
way we plan and develop our communities, and the
ability of these communities to resist the forces of
extreme natural events. This relationship demands
that we give more attention to the various built-in
support systems and components of the community.
There should be serious considerations of community
development patterns, transportation and
infrastructures designs and configurations,
relationship between the built and the natural
environments, patterns of open space, housing and
neighborhood design, and building group
configuration and location.
Mitigation: The Means for achieving the Disaster
Resistant Community Goal
In the context of mitigation today, it is an
understatement to say prevention is better than
cure. In this 21st century, mitigation is indeed
prevention and is worth of life in general for their
citizens, can help us create more efficient
communities, save significant resources, provide mo
environmentally viable places live and attract and
keep progressive businesses.
Mitigation is concern with keeping a hazard from
becoming a disaster. A good mitigation process greatly
support and enhances the effectiveness of
preparedness, response and the recovery-reconstruction
functions of emergency management. For example,
whereas the preparedness function is concerned with
pre-planning the response for after the event has
occurred, mitigation is charged with planning and
building the various systems and components of the
built environment to minimize the loss of life and
property damage from the actual event, and thus the
subsequent socio-economic disruption which occurs as
a result of the damage. Such an approach therefore
reduces the need to respond and to recover after the
event.
Mitigation includes pre-event planning for
post-disaster recovery, an important recovery
component that assesses the vulnerability of a
community before the event occurs. It ensures that
the planning development process is in place so that
reconstruction and recovery can proceed without
delay, and in a manner that the principles and
techniques associated with disaster resistant
community are implemented. This contrasts with the all
too common approach building back as soon as
possible without applicable improvement thus
creating the same built-in vulnerabilities that
caused disaster in the first place.
Steps
to a Disaster Resistant Community
Having discussed the importance and context of the
subject, and some of the major issues impacting the
field, we need to look at how we can begin to apply
this information to our programs. The following key
steps must be kept in mind in developing programs
for disaster resilience;
1. Maintain a Comprehensive Perspective that go
beyond individual buildings to consider the entire
built environment.
2. Conduct a Community Risk Analysis that will
enable local authorities to document lessons
learned, and translate those lessons into the
development and design guidelines that can be
integrated into the community's unique planning and
decision-making process.
3. Integrate Planning into the Local Decision-making
Process to augment planning efforts.
4. Create and Utilize a Disaster Resource Network.
Local authorities must improve their access to
state-of-the-art information resources useful in the
planning process
5. Promote Public Awareness and sensitization
In conclusion, we have attempted to frame the
general theoretical foundation for building
resilient communities through proper mitigation
activities. As we continue to consider this crucial
, there are a number of questions that must be
addressed in much more depth: What are disaster
resistant communities? ... What do they look like?
How do they function? How do we reinvent our
present-day communities to be disaster resistant?
What are the costs and benefits? Are there multiple
benefits (economically, socially, and
environmentally)? What are the similarities among
communities that are resistant to floods? What is
the relationship between a safe building, a safe
neighborhood, and a safe community? How do we
achieve such communities? Who should take the
leadership role in achieving them? How do such
communities relate to sustainable communities? And,
how do Disaster Resistant Communities assist
comprehensive emergency management in general--
preparedness, response, recovery and reconstruction?
These questions cover a lot of ground, but they
represent the issues that need to be addressed if we
are to make significant progress toward our goal of
minimizing the impact of disasters on our society,
our economy, our resources, and our communities.
|
Print
page
