DISASTER MANAGEMENT

DISASTER MANAGEMENTPOST DISASTER PHASEMEASURESPrepared by Asst.Prof.Engr.Rehan MasoodDEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERINGTHE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE, LAHOREOutlineDRM MeasuresRehabilitationReconstructionDevelopmentDEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERINGTHE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE, LAHOREPREPARED BY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ENGR.REHAN MASOODREHABILITATIONDEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERINGTHE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE, LAHOREPREPARED BY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ENGR.REHAN MASOODRehabilitation DefinitionIt is the restoration of basic social functions.To restore buildings, or parts of towns, to their former condition or better.Rehabilitation, that looks at more long term inputs of reinstating lost livelihoods, introducing new economic opportunities and improving land and water management processes so as to reduce peoples vulnerability and enhance capacities to handle future calamities.Recovery essentially concerns rehabilitation as well as developing the tools to mitigate against the future impact of a disaster, and should return the community to an improved state of post-disaster. This includes those activities that continue beyond the emergency period to restore lifelines. Examples include providing temporary shelters, restoring power, critical stress debriefing for emergency responders and victims, job assistance, small business loans, and debris clearance.Disaster rehabilitation may be considered a transitional phase between immediate relief and recovery.DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERINGTHE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE, LAHOREPREPARED BY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ENGR.REHAN MASOODTypes of Rehabilitation Physical rehabilitation is a very important facet of rehabilitation. It includes reconstruction of physical infrastructure such as houses, buildings, railways, roads, communication network, water supply, electricity and so on. It comprises short-term and long-term strategies towards watershed management, canal irrigation, social forestry, crop stabilization, alternative cropping techniques, job creation, employment generation and environmental protection. It involves rehabilitation for agriculture, artisans, small businessmen and animal husbandry. The physical rehabilitation and reconstruction package must also incorporate adequate provision for subsidies, farm implements, acquisition of land for relocation sites, adherence of land use planning, flood plain zoning, retrofitting or strengthening of undamaged houses, and construction of model houses.DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERINGTHE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE, LAHOREPREPARED BY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ENGR.REHAN MASOODTypes of Rehabilitation Social rehabilitation is also an important part of disaster rehabilitation. The vulnerable groups such as the elderly, orphans, single women and young children would need special social support to survive the impact of disasters. Thus, construction of infrastructure such as community centres, day-care centres, anganwadis or homes for women, balwadis or crches and old age homes is a vital part of social rehabilitation. The rehabilitation plan must have components that do not lose sight of the fact that the victims have to undergo the entire process of re-socialization and adjustments in a completely unfamiliar social milieuDEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERINGTHE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE, LAHOREPREPARED BY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ENGR.REHAN MASOODTypes of Rehabilitation Psychological rehabilitationDealing with victims psychology is a very sensitive issue and must be dealt with caution and concern. The psychological trauma of losing relatives and friends, and the scars of the shock of disaster event can take much longer to heal than the stakeholders in disaster management often presume. The fear of changing means of livelihood could lead to occupational disruption and subsequently high degree of occupational redundancy in the victims.DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERINGTHE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE, LAHOREPREPARED BY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ENGR.REHAN MASOODRehabilitation & Community Participation Community participation is essential for planning the rehabilitation phase because local people better understand their own needs and the problems that create these needs.Community participation at all levels of disaster rehabilitation can go a long way in making rehabilitation effective. The participation of the community should go hand in hand with the assessment of unmet needs and response capacity. No disaster rehabilitation plan can achieve its objectives unless the disaster-affected community participates in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of its various componentsDEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERINGTHE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE, LAHOREPREPARED BY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ENGR.REHAN MASOODRehabilitation TrainingThis type of personnel training is to ensure that skilled personnel are available to serve the rehabilitation needs of individuals with disabilities in the aftermath of a disaster. The programme supports training and related activities to increase qualified personnel trained in providing rehabilitation programmes. The trainings are funded by donors under bilateral or multilateral agreements. This training also may introduce low cost housing packages- for example the one that is recommended by Habitat for Humanity International. However, buildings constructed out of local materials should also be reinforced to meet hurricane force winds.DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERINGTHE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE, LAHOREPREPARED BY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ENGR.REHAN MASOODStakeholders in RehabilitationThe role and responsibilities of all the stakeholders (planners, governmental agencies, NGOs, international agencies, self-help groups, and community) need to be clearly demarcated in the rehabilitation plan. The measures pertaining to rehabilitation cannot be sustained if they are not institutionalized. Local authorities have to be in active dialogue over priorities and focus of rehabilitation strategies. Efforts have to be made to establish and sustain the institutions that are involved in disaster rehabilitation such as micro-credit societies, environmental forums, grain banks, fodder banks, seed banks, mahila mandals, pani panchayats and so on. There is also a need to fix accountability on each organization involved in disaster rehabilitation. The duties of the army, paramilitary, home guards, civil defence, police, fire services, public sector and media need to be streamlined, in order to avoid haphazard coordination, multiliplicty of tasks, duplicity of organizations, red tapism, delay and wastage.DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERINGTHE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE, LAHOREPREPARED BY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ENGR.REHAN MASOODMedia and RehabilitationThe media can play an important role in strengthening disaster rehabilitation and building strong communities. As an important channel of communication, media transmit facts from disaster site to general public. Accurate, timely and consistent information dissemination by the media could be a useful contributor to disaster rehabilitation exercise. The media should try to highlight the stories of hope and courage in disaster aftermath, instead of merely focusing on human misery and distress. The Information, commuication and Technology revolution has opened up new vistas for use of communication in disaster rehabilitation. Options such as HAM Radios, Wireless and Incident Command System can be supplemented with new technologies of Internet, Intranet, Extranet and Webblogs.DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERINGTHE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE, LAHOREPREPARED BY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ENGR.REHAN MASOODDamage Assessment for RehabilitationDamage assessment is a precondition for effective disaster rehabilitation. Unless we are clear about the nature, extent and intensity of damage in the aftermath a disaster, we can never plan out, implement or evaluate the disaster rehabilitation plans and strategies. Perception, assessment and mitigation of risks are some of the dimensions of Damage Assessment. It can be done through systematic Sample Surveys, Earth Observation Programme, Geographical Information Systems, Aerial Photography and Remote Sensing. Possible uses of Aerial Photography include hazard mapping, vulnerability analysis and reconstruction planning. Feasibility study is also an important step towards damage assessment and rehabilitation of infrastructure.DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERINGTHE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE, LAHOREPREPARED BY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ENGR.REHAN MASOODQualities of Rehabilitation PlanThe rehabilitation plan must be clear, transparent, structured, objective, accessible, accountable and responsive. It has to be adaptive in nature so that it can change as per the demands of a new situation. Flexibility norms in terms of structure, processes and finances need to be ingrained in the plan. The key issues pertain to assessment of damage, fixation of responsibility, prioritization of requirements, execution of major mitigation strategies, and most importantly monitoring, evaluation and general review of the development process.DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERINGTHE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE, LAHOREPREPARED BY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ENGR.REHAN MASOODRECONSTRUCTIONDEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERINGTHE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE, LAHOREPREPARED BY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ENGR.REHAN MASOODReconstruction The full resumption of socio-economic activities plus preventive measures.Reconstructionfollowing relief and extending to a period of approximately two years, aimed at rebuilding the basic physical infrastructure and shelter to enable people to begin afresh.Reconstruction should be viewed as an opportunity to accelerate development work. It is an ideal time to introduce improved animal husbandry techniques, rangeland management, water resource development schemes and erosion control measures.

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERINGTHE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE, LAHOREPREPARED BY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ENGR.REHAN MASOODReconstruction PhaseThis stage lasts for several years following the disaster. In this stage people have already assumed the responsibility of recovery and work together to develop reconstruction plans and programs. Reconstruction and rebuilding may be going on around them but the community has already returned to its normal routine; with some adaptation.The above stages will assist you as a disaster officer to understand what people in disasters go through. Why? As a disaster officer, you will be able to make better informed decisions, to be able to meet the emotional needs that may arise during and after a disaster.DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERINGTHE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE, LAHOREPREPARED BY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ENGR.REHAN MASOODRehabilitation or Reconstruction PhaseRehabilitation or reconstruction phase: once permanent solution is obtained, the focus shifts from relief to development. The aim is to help the affected community become self-reliant. The responsibility of providing assistance is handed over to the affected community, the local authorities, development agencies and other non-governmental organizations. Because humanitarian and development technicians have different approaches to providing assistance and the infrastructure for relief is inadequate for development, the programs are re-oriented and redesigned.DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERINGTHE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE, LAHOREPREPARED BY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ENGR.REHAN MASOODFrom Reconstruction to RehabilitationThe reconstruction of shelter and community infrastructure, in fact, forms an important entry point for the rehabilitation process.

A reconstruction program is the first step towards restoring and upgrading local habitat. It introduces improved systems of building, sets up basic building element supply, builds up the skills and management capacity of families, local agencies and village artisans in a restricted area and sets up local information and knowledge systems. All these to enable "better building".

A holistic view of "Habitat" that links the process of housing with the capacity to make and exercise informed choices w.r.t. building construction, habitat improvement and economic betterment is the larger goal.

Re-establishing peoples lives through rehabilitation efforts involves:Moving up the ladder from house to habitat to livelihoodLocal awareness creation including training for all so that people gain control over the housing process.Capacity Building and linking to enterprises-Livelihood supportDevising livelihood interventions in the farm and non-farm sectors based on new economic opportunities to create economic surpluses (that can be directed to responsive housing)Creating a basis for community access to institutional housing financeDEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERINGTHE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE, LAHOREPREPARED BY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ENGR.REHAN MASOODGuiding Principles for Rehabilitation and reconstruction programmesProvision of emergency relief to be operationalized by the way of mobilizing human and material resources, ensuring food security, constructing temporary structures and making available all basic needs.Relocation of all the displaced people, restoration of basic and alternative means of livelihood along with community-based infrastructure and institutionsInitiation of long-term development interventions, which would lead to sustainable community based strategies for disaster reduction (Medury and Dhameja, 2005).DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERINGTHE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE, LAHOREPREPARED BY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ENGR.REHAN MASOODDEVELOPMENTDEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERINGTHE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE, LAHOREPREPARED BY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ENGR.REHAN MASOODDefinitionSustainable development involves more than growth. It requires a change in the content of growth to make it more equitable in its impact. The main objective of sustainable development is to prevent acts of nature from becoming disasters. The main focus of sustainable development is to mitigate the conflict between development and environment to safeguard the resources for the present and future generations. While at first glance, this may seem unrelated to disaster prevention, the truth is that they are intricately entwined (Dhameja, 2001).DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERINGTHE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE, LAHOREPREPARED BY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ENGR.REHAN MASOODDevelopment and disasterFor a long time the cause and effect relationship between disasters and social and economic development was ignored. Development planners hoped that disasters would not occur and, if they did, were most effectively handled by relief from donor countries and relief organizations. Disasters were seen in the context of emergency response-not as a part of long term development programming.When a disaster did occur, the response was directed to emergency needs and cleaning up.The growing body of knowledge on the relationships between disasters and development indicates four basic themes.DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERINGTHE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE, LAHOREPREPARED BY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ENGR.REHAN MASOODDevelopment and disasterThe themes may be expanded as follows:Disasters set back development programming, destroying years of development initiatives.Rebuilding after a disaster provides significant opportunities to initiate development programs.Development programs can increase a particular area's susceptibility to disasters. A major increase in livestock development leads to overgrazing, which contributes to desertification and increased vulnerability to famine.Development programs can be designed to decrease susceptibility to disasters and their negative consequences. Housing projects constructed under building codes designed to withstand high winds result in less destruction during the next tropical storm.DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERINGTHE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE, LAHOREPREPARED BY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ENGR.REHAN MASOOD

A response strategy - facilitating the creation of Sustainable LivelihoodsA effective response strategy is tounderstand the need for building materials, buildings and livelihoods and catalyze the conversion of this need into demand.The demand for (sustainable) building technologies and construction practices can be provided throughsustainable enterprises.This response strategy addresses the present (immediate) need of reconstruction through local building technology-based enterprises. Reconstruction activities, if designed to include local manpower, provide the essential (albeit short term) jobs leading to an immediate spurt in the local economy. At the same time, building material and skill based local enterprises ensure continuous supply of quality building materials and skills. In the long term this is likely to result in a sustainable improvement in shelter conditions while also enlarging livelihood options in the region.

The reconstruction program at the outset provides a major advantage to the new enterprises. It forms the initial captive market, provides critical visibility to the new technologies and improved systems of construction and also (if systematically approached) builds up the acceptance of these new "products" in the market. A sensitive reconstruction program will necessarily involve an accompanying process of educating the affected population on the aspects of safer construction; thus inculcating an appreciation of the improved systems. After the initial reconstruction phase, families would preferentially opt for these materials and techniques to extend their houses.

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERINGTHE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE, LAHOREPREPARED BY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ENGR.REHAN MASOODA response strategy - facilitating the creation of Sustainable LivelihoodsAn important aspect here is that new materials and techniques should match the paying capacity of the targeted communities. A multi pronged approach is required here:First, the selection of the improved technologies and construction systems should bear in mind the long-term affordability of the affected population. This involves correct selection of raw materials, production processes and scales of delivery. An optimum combination of large industry based materials and village enterprise based production with materials sourced from regional building centers.Secondly, a parallel intervention in improving quality of life through enlarged livelihood options and improved land, water, resource management practices resulting in enhanced purchasing power within communities.And, thirdly, interventions of housing and livelihood finance are required that enable people to access available building options.

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERINGTHE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE, LAHOREPREPARED BY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ENGR.REHAN MASOOD

How Development May Cause DisastersDevelopment projects implemented without taking into account existing environmental hazards may increase vulnerability to natural disasters. For example, projects designed to increase employment opportunities, and thus income, usually attract additional population growth. Low-income people may then have to seek housing in areas previously avoided, on hillsides or in floodplains. The cost of relief assistance after a landslide or flood can easily outweigh the benefits to the economy of more jobs. Similarly, development projects may lead to negative political consequences that increase the vulnerability to civil conflict.DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERINGTHE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE, LAHOREPREPARED BY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ENGR.REHAN MASOODDevelopment opportunities afforded by disastersDisaster can serve as a catalyst for introducing mitigation activities.Disasters often create a political and economic atmosphere wherein extensive changes can be made more rapidly than under normal circumstances. For example, in the aftermath of a disaster, there may be major opportunities to execute land reform programs, to improve the overall housing stock, to create new jobs and job skills, and to expand and modernize the economic base of the community - opportunities that would not otherwise be possible.Disasters can also highlight high-risk areas where action must be taken before another disaster strikes. The realization of vulnerability can motivate policy-makers and the public to participate in mitigation activities. Disasters may also serve to highlight the fact that the country is seriously under-developed. They can thus bring in funding and the attention of donor communities to apply to long-term development needs (Henderson, 1990).DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERINGTHE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE, LAHOREPREPARED BY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ENGR.REHAN MASOOD