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Urban Risks in Disaster Management Urban Risk issues in Malaysia rose to
prominence following the December 2006 major floods. Since then till now there
have been a number of flash floods and landslides including those in Kuala
Lumpur which caused much disruption to economic and commercial activities and
destruction to property. The landslide disaster at Bukit Antarabangsa in 2008
which occurred in an affluent area, albeit at the suburbs of the city was
another calamity which revealed the insidious threats of natural disasters
affecting urban areas. This post looks at urban risks in the context of disaster
management as a updateon where we stand in terms of initiatives
taken.Urban Vista
Growth and urbanisations of cities in the Asia-Pacific Rim are
vital elements in the developed and developing countries. Nevertheless they come
with a catch the effects and brunt of climate change on natural hazards to the
urban communities. It has been projected that in the next three decades over 60%
of the world's urban population growth will occur in Asia meaning a greater
segment of the future possible victims will comprise those from this
region.
Acknowledging that any natural calamities and disasters will
impact more on the urban population and communities, it becomes vital for the
urban dwellers to be more aware of the impact and penalties, and make
preparations thereof to reduce risks.
Building community resilience of
these urban population calls upon an integrated systems approach in enhancing
their capacity to handle the natural disasters. The vulnerability of the urban
poor living in areas where the infrastructural services are less significant is
much more acute compared to those staying in more affluent areas.
The
dangers facing the urban population in this region are likely to be greater
compared to those in the rural areas due to their higher population density.
Comparatively, the urban poor and other vulnerable groups will be the one at
most risk against the natural hazards.
With the pace of urbanization
picking up briskly, demand for land becomes such that communities build houses
in areas which are environmentally unstable, with risks of landslides, flash
floods, and cave-ins. The situation is further compounded as seasonal disasters
perpetuate the poverty of the urban poor through the regular damage to their
livelihood and lives. The natural disasters undermine endeavours towards
sustaining improvements to the poor urban communities. Reducing their
vulnerability for the long-term calls for implementing practical community
centred risk mitigation measures.
A principal step in these measures is
the conduct of Risk Assessment, involving the active participation of the urban
community, which identify the scope of vulnerabilities, capacities of
institution, communities, infrastructure, and the main hazards. The approach
allows the development of action-oriented initiatives with sustainable risk
reduction measures, the structure easily forming into a community action plan.
Developing these measures through Action Planning Exercises with the involvement
of all stakeholders i. E. State authorities, NGOs, national societies (Red Cross
Red Crescent), and community members may pave the way towards disaster risk
reduction and also contribute towards developing community
resilience.Urban Vista Floorplans
The Urban Risk Assessment will eventually provide indicators
of the magnitude, characteristics, coverage and spread, causes and the available
options to mitigate the potential hazards. Awareness and understanding of the
risks involved is essential in formulating risks reduction strategies, action
plans, and contingency plans. With technological advances notably in it, its now
feasible to carry out 3d visualization of Urban Risk which has positive
advantages for urban planning and disaster management.
The UN ISDR
recently launched a two-year global campaign for urban disaster risk reduction
supporting the objectives of the Hyogo Framework for action (HFA) in urban
areas. Urban risk reduction efforts nevertheless face a number of challenges
including centralized approach, funding constraints, inadequate institutional
capacity and insufficient technical resources. These initiatives led to the
creation of the Partnership for Urban Risk Reduction (PURR) for implementation
of Urban Risk Reduction (URR) and enhancing local authorities capacity to put
into operation urban risk reduction practices in their respective localities.
The long-term objectives aimed at achieving mainstreaming of Disaster Risk
Reduction in urban governance and urban development.
How do we
operationalise local action in URR?. Joint initiatives led by the state
institutions in establishing local campaigns in partnership with local
authorities, civil society organizations, Red Cross Red Crescent, NGOs, and the
private sector would be an encouraging prospect.
The UN ISDR recently
launched a two-year global campaign for urban disaster risk reduction supporting
the objectives of the Hyogo Framework for action (HFA) in urban areas. Urban
risk reduction efforts nevertheless face a number of challenges including
centralized approach, funding constraints, inadequate institutional capacity and
insufficient technical resources. These initiatives led to the creation of the
Partnership for Urban Risk Reduction (PURR) for implementation of Urban Risk
Reduction (URR) and enhancing local authorities capacity to put into operation
urban risk reduction practices in their respective localities. The long-term
objectives aimed at achieving mainstreaming of Disaster Risk Reduction in urban
governance and urban development.
Recognising the threats these urban
risks pose to the communities:Urban Vista Price
Concerned, the Asia Regional Task Force on
Urban Risk Reduction is actively promoting urban DRR in on-going activities in
the Asia-Pacific region. Meanwhile a global Hotspot Study for Urban areas is
being reviewed by the World Bank. Concerns over urban risks have prompted ISDR
to develop a note on environmental aspects of disaster management. Even the
possibility of opening urban risk reduction training is being considered. In the
same context the RTF would conduct a regional mapping of urban risk reduction
initiatives and it will be good to see how well we fare on actions
taken.
Taking the discussions from here, subsequent posts will look into
issues pertaining to Contingency Planning, Community Based Risk Reduction, and
related matters of concern.
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