Disaster Management: Pre-Impact Strategies

Disaster Management Continuum: Pre-Impact

• General Objective: Enhance knowledge of disaster resilience by implementing effective prevention, mitigation, and preparedness strategies, ensuring safety, minimizing risks, and promoting community and individual readiness.
• Specific Objectives:
  • Prevention / Mitigation:
    • Understand international disaster reduction frameworks like UNISDR and the Hyogo Framework, integrating global best practices into local disaster risk management.
    • Learn about Hazard, Risk, and Vulnerability Analysis (HRVA) to identify potential hazards and assess site-specific risks for targeted mitigation efforts.
  • Preparedness:
    • Learn general preparedness strategies for various disasters like fire, earthquakes, floods, and extreme weather events.
    • Establish effective communication plans, including universal emergency codes and family strategies, to ensure coordination during crises.
    • Promote home disaster survival by assembling emergency kits, learning preparedness skills, and implementing survival strategies.
    • Utilize PACE planning (Primary, Alternate, Contingency, Emergency) to adapt to different emergency scenarios, including sheltering in place or evacuating safely.

United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR)

• The UN created UNISDR as a global approach to reduce disaster risk and help communities build resilience.
• UNISDR recommends countries use disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategies to prevent or lessen the effects of natural catastrophes like hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes.
• Objective: Assist countries and communities in minimizing disaster risk by improving preparedness, increasing resilience and planning through improved policies and disaster management systems to reduce fatalities, economic loss, and social impacts.
• Strategy: Established by the UN General Assembly in 2000, it has grown into a global multi-stakeholder mechanism.
• Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction: A biennial forum, and global assembly for stakeholders involved in disaster risk reduction, facilitating experience sharing and progress assessment.
• Secretariat: Located in Geneva, Switzerland, that coordinates international efforts in disaster risk reduction, with regional offices ensuring tailored support at regional and national levels.
• Regional and sub-regional meetings and organizations: Collaboration aims to develop, monitor, and implement regional disaster risk reduction strategies.
• National Platforms for Disaster Risk Reduction: Multi-stakeholder committees that coordinate and advocate for disaster risk reduction at the country level, integrating it into national policies and development planning.
• Monitoring Process and Global Assessment Report: UNISDR publishes a biennial report providing analysis of global disaster risks and risk reduction efforts.
• Other partnerships: Engagement with diverse stakeholders, including UN agencies, financial, civil society, private sector, and scientific communities.
• Hyogo Framework for Action (2005-2015): An earlier UNISDR initiative that set a global standard for disaster risk reduction strategies.
• Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030): A current framework focusing on reducing disaster risks through prevention, preparedness, and response.
• Regional Applications: Countries in high-risk regions, like the Philippines and Indonesia, use UNISDR guidelines to strengthen disaster response systems and provide education on disaster preparedness.
• Key Features:
  • Risk Reduction: Reducing factors that make individuals vulnerable to disasters.
  • Capacity Building: Enhancing communities, health systems, and governments' ability to manage disasters.
  • Resilience: Identifying long-term rebuilding and rehabilitation.
  • Global Cooperation: Promoting cooperation in responding to the threat of disaster.

HYOGO Framework for Action (2005-2015)

• The Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) served as a global blueprint for disaster risk reduction (DRR).
• It was accepted at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR) in 2005 in Kobe, Japan.
• It served as the first framework to systemically reduce disaster risks worldwide.
• Overarching goal: To build the resilience of nations and communities to disasters, achieving the reduction of disaster losses by 2015, in lives and social, economic, and environmental assets.
• Cross-Cutting Issues:
  • Multi-Hazard Approach: Integrates disaster risk reduction into sustainable development policies.
  • Gender Perspective and Cultural Diversity: Advocates integrating gender perspectives and considering cultural diversity, age, and vulnerable groups.
  • Community and Volunteers Participation: Promotes empowerment in managing and reducing disaster risk.
  • Capacity Development and Technology Transfer: Underscores the need for enhancing capacities at all levels through knowledge, technology, and expertise.
• Strategic Goals:
  • Integrating disaster risk considerations into sustainable development policies, planning, and programming.
  • Developing and strengthening institutions, mechanisms, and capacities at all levels, specifically at the community level.
  • Incorporating risk reduction approaches into emergency preparedness, response, and recovery in affected communities.
• Featured Priorities:
  • Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and local priority by developing policy and strengthening instruments.
  • Identify, assess, and monitor disaster risks for early warning.
  • Using knowledge, innovation, and education to build a culture of safety.
  • Reducing underlying risk factors.
  • Strengthening disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels.
• Implementation and Follow-up: Entails actions by States, regional and international organizations in collaboration with civil society and stakeholders.

Hazard, Risk, and Vulnerability Analysis (HRVA)

• A systemic approach used in disaster management to identify potential hazards, assess their risks, and determine vulnerabilities of populations and infrastructure.
• HRVA enables healthcare professionals to anticipate likely disasters, assess impacts on health systems, and identify vulnerable populations.
• Critical considerations:
  • General preparedness for various disasters
  • Establishing effective communication plans
  • Promoting personal and home disaster survival by assembling emergency kits and learning essential preparedness skills
  • Utilizing PACE planning (Primary, Alternate, Contingency, Emergency) to adapt to emergency scenarios
• Hazard Focus:
  • Analysis and identification of different hazard types.
  • Categorization:
    • Natural Hazards: Earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and pandemics.
    • Technological Hazards: Chemical spills, nuclear accidents, transportation failures.
    • Human-induced Hazards: Terrorism, armed conflict, cyberattacks, mass casualty incidents.
• Site-specific: tailoring HRVA to particular sites ensuring emergency preparedness plans account for unique vulnerabilities and risks.
  • Geographical: address coastal regions vs. seismic zones
  • Healthcare Facilities: potential power outages, supply chain issues, and possible surges in patients
  • communities with high populations: potential for larger emergencies, especially those with specialized care needs

Preparedness

• Recognizing its vulnerability to natural disasters, the Philippines has set up a comprehensive framework, based on legislative efforts, strategic planning, and collaboration.
• Key components include:
  • Legislative Framework: RA No. 10121 established the NDRRMC
  • NDRRMP 2020-2030: Outlines the country's strategic direction for DRM, integrating climate change adaptation and human security.
  • Institutional Mechanisms: The OCD serves as the implementing arm of the NDRRMC.
  • Community Engagement: The Philippines has invested in programs that enhance local capacities such as the "Ready to Rebuild Program".
  • Early Warning and Technological Integration: Developing advanced early warning systems like the ECBS to disseminate emergency alerts.
• Additional Key Factors:
  • Fire Preparedness: Workplace fires are preventable by identifying potential ignition sources, using proper handling and storage procedures, and ensuring proper housekeeping practices.
  • Emergency Plans: Emergency Action and Fire Prevention Plans include requirements for emergency preparedness, work procedures, maintenance, emergency alert notifications, and training.
  • Emergency Exits and Routes: Emergency exist routes contain permanent, unobstructed routes out of a building that should remain unblocked, unobstructed, and adequately wide to allow proper evacuation
  • Emergency Alarms: Being able action and having understanding the various conditions, different signals is crucial to reacting responsibly.
  • Earthquake Preparedness: Depends on Seismic zones, understanding of risk and Structural mitigation

Communication Plans

• A structured approach to ensure effective information exchange during a disaster in nursing.
• Key Elements:
  • Chain of Command – Identifies key personnel responsible for communication.
  • Modes of Communication – Includes radios, mobile phones, emergency alerts, and written reports.
  • Emergency Contact List – Ensures quick access to critical contacts.
  • Message Clarity & Consistency - Ensures accurate and timely information sharing.
  • Backup Plans – Alternative communication methods in case primary systems fail.
  • Training & Drills - Regular practice to ensure readiness in emergencies.

Personal and Home Disaster Survival

• Focuses on actions individuals and families can take to prepare for and respond to emergencies, ensuring safety and survival in the event of natural or man-made disasters.
• Key components include:
  • Preparedness Planning: Involves organizing resources, supplies, and strategies to effectively to prepare for emergencies, with assembling an emergency kit as the fundamental step.
  • Effective Kits: Come down to key factors such as compactness and portability, durability, accessibility, and customization.
  • Learning Preparedness Skills: Involves acquiring knowledge and abilities necessary to respond effectively to emergencies and disasters
  • Survival techniques: To stay alive in life-threatening situations, whether in natural disasters, extreme environments, or emergencies
  • Fast solutions: Efficient way to addresses emergency with with local and natural resources.
• Examples:
  • General Preparedness: Maintaining weather updates, emergency plan, emergency contact details etc..
  • Environmental Awareness: Rising waters, animals fleeing an area etc
  • Technological: Using the Emergency broadcast alert, mobile notifications etc

Navigation and Signals

• Crucial actions
  • Implementing survival strategies
  • Identification of early/impending signs through the human behavior, technology, and environmental observation
  • Communication of information effectively with dissemination to public and rescue efforts