MODULE 3

DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT

Disaster risk management is the application of disaster risk reduction policies and strategies to
prevent new disaster risk, reduce existing disaster risk and manage residual risk, contributing to
the strengthening of resilience and reduction of disaster losses.

Annotation: Disaster risk management actions can be distinguished between prospective disaster
risk management, corrective disaster risk management and compensatory disaster risk
management, also called residual risk management.

Prospective disaster risk management activities address and seek to avoid the development of
new or increased disaster risks. They focus on addressing disaster risks that may develop in future
if disaster risk reduction policies are not put in place. Examples are better land-use planning or
disaster-resistant water supply systems.

Corrective disaster risk management activities address and seek to remove or reduce disaster
risks which are already present and which need to be managed and reduced now. Examples are the
retrofitting of critical infrastructure or the relocation of exposed populations or assets.

Compensatory disaster risk management activities strengthen the social and economic
resilience of individuals and societies in the face of residual risk that cannot be effectively reduced.
They include preparedness, response and recovery activities, but also a mix of different financing
instruments, such as national contingency funds, contingent credit, insurance and reinsurance and
social safety nets.

Community-based disaster risk management promotes the involvement of potentially affected

communities in disaster risk management at the local level. This includes community assessments
of hazards, vulnerabilities and capacities, and their involvement in planning, implementation,
monitoring and evaluation of local action for disaster risk reduction.

Local and indigenous peoples’ approach to disaster risk management is the recognition and use of
traditional, indigenous and local knowledge and practices to complement scientific knowledge in
disaster risk assessments and for the planning and implementation of local disaster risk
management.

Disaster risk management plans set out the goals and specific objectives for reducing disaster
risks together with related actions to accomplish these objectives. They should be guided by the
Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015‑2030 and considered and coordinated within
relevant development plans, resource allocations and programme activities. National-level plans
need to be specific to each level of administrative responsibility and adapted to the different social
and geographical circumstances that are present. The time frame and responsibilities for
implementation and the sources of funding should be specified in the plan. Linkages to sustainable
development and climate change adaptation plans should be made where possible.

What do you think the Sendai Framework means for disaster risk reduction?

The Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030) is an ambitious agreement that
sets out the overall objective to substantially reduce disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods
and health and in the economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental assets of persons,
businesses, communities and countries.

CORE ELEMENTS AND PHASES OF DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT

THE 4 PHASES OF DISASTER MANAGEMENT

Mitigation

Preparedness

Response

Recovery

Phase 1: Mitigation

Meaning: To prevent future emergencies and take steps to minimize their effects

The “mitigation” phase occurs before a disaster takes place. Here, an organization will take steps
to protect people and property, while also decreasing risks and consequences from a given disaster
situation. The organization’s main goal is to reduce vulnerability to disaster impacts (such as
property damage, injuries and loss of life).
Examples of “mitigation” may include conducting a property inspection to discover ways to
fortify the building against damage. The organization may also revise zoning and land-use
management to further prevent or reduce the impact of a disaster.

Phase 2: Preparedness

Meaning: To take actions ahead of time to be ready for an emergency

The “preparedness” phase also occurs before a disaster takes place. Here, an organization attempts
to understand how a disaster might affect overall productivity and the bottom line. The
organization will also provide appropriate education while putting preparedness measures into
place.

Examples of “preparedness” may include hosting training, education, drills, tabletop exercises
and full-scale exercises on disaster preparedness. This ensures that stakeholders know what to do
in the event of an emergency. Organizations may also assemble a business continuity team to
assemble a strategic plan that allows the business to recover after a crisis. The team will create a
business continuity plan outline and list of resources needed to recover from a disaster.

Phase 3: Response

Meaning: To protect people and property in the wake of an emergency, disaster or crisis

The “response” phase occurs in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. Organizations must focus
their attention on addressing immediate threats to people, property and business. Occupant safety
and wellbeing largely depends on its preparedness levels before disaster strikes.

The most notable example of the “response” phase is to ensure that people are out of harm’s way.
The organization will then move on to assess damage, implement disaster response plans, triage
cleanup efforts and start resource distribution as necessary. Businesses will also need to navigate
building closures, preliminary damage assessments and hampered communication with
stakeholders (like staff, vendors and suppliers) due to shutdowns

As the response period progresses, focus will typically shift from immediate emergency issues to
conducting repairs, restoring utilities, re-establishing operations and cleaning up. The organization
will also need to begin planning the reconstruction of damaged infrastructure.
Phase 4: Recovery

Meaning: To rebuild after a disaster in an effort to return operations back to normal

The “recovery” phase takes place after a disaster. This phase is the restoration of an organization
following any impacts from a disaster. By this time, the organization has achieved at least some
degree of physical, environmental, economic and social stability.

The recovery phase of a disaster can last anywhere from six months to a year (or even longer
depending on the severity of the incident).

An example of “recovery” is creating strategic protocols and action plans to address the most
serious impacts of a disaster. An organization will work to obtain new resources, rebuild or create
partnerships, and implement effective recovery strategies. The organization will also want to take
steps to reduce financial burdens, rebuild damaged structures and reduce vulnerability to future
disasters

What is disaster risk reduction?

Historically, dealing with disasters focused on emergency response, but towards the end of the
20th century it was increasingly recognized that disasters are not natural (even if the associated
hazard is) and that it is only by reducing and managing conditions of hazard, exposure and
vulnerability that we can prevent losses and alleviate the impacts of disasters.

Since we cannot reduce the severity of natural hazards, the main opportunity for reducing risk lies
in reducing vulnerability and exposure.

Reducing these two components of risk requires identifying and reducing the underlying drivers
of risk, which are particularly related to poor economic and urban development choices and
practice, degradation of the environment, poverty and inequality and climate change, which create
and exacerbate conditions of hazard, exposure and vulnerability.

Addressing these underlying risk drivers will reduce disaster risk, lessen the impacts of climate
change and, consequently, maintain the sustainability of development.
 MEASURES FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION

Risk reduction measures are prevent management activities designed to either directly enforce or
empower local actors to contain local human vulnerability and hazard, and enhance adaptive
capacity and actions in the long and short term. Several steps can be taken to address heatwave
risk and the following input variables are assessed for their relevance in evaluating such risk
management systems.

1. Hazard and vulnerability considered in land use and urban planning:

Hazard and vulnerability consideration in the urban planning and the construction of new
infrastructure can greatly reduce vulnerability resulting from the built environment. Although such
actions have limited impact in mitigating hazard-related risk in the context of cities such as London
where changes in existing land use and urban design are financially untenable, management of
land use and urban planning can be a key input variable for assessing long-term risk reduction in
other contexts.

2. Policy and financial support for alleviating risk or retrofitting buildings in high risk areas

The infrastructure of public buildings and assets such as community spaces and transport networks
are often not easily adapted to an increasing risk of climate-related hazards. This includes the
network of hospitals and residential care buildings in which those that are already vulnerable
reside, thereby amplifying the risk posed by hot weather. The provision of financial support or
policy initiatives to undertake adaption measures to make public infrastructure more resilient to
heatwaves or drought events can be critical in reducing vulnerability.

3. Public education on risk

The predominantly human impact of heatwaves and drought hazards makes behavioral changes
important in reducing vulnerability. Widespread dissemination of information on drought and
hazard risk is needed to influence the diverse range of social, financial, ecological, cultural, and
institutional activities affected. Public guidelines on adopting alternative practices and updating
infrastructure can assist in the long-term resilience to hazard events. Early warning systems are a
potent component of public information since heatwaves and drought are both preceded by days
of hot or dry weather. This allows time for issuing health warnings and information before the
possible onset of extreme temperatures and water scarcity.

4. Regulation of safety measures

Monitoring and regulation of safety processes and procedures in place to mitigate and reduce
vulnerability to climate change hazards such as drought and heatwaves need to be carried out in
order to ensure relevant and robust risk management.

DISASTER PREVENTION

Mitigation and prevention efforts aim to reduce the potential damage and suffering that disasters
can cause. While disaster management cannot prevent disasters, it can prevent them from
becoming compounded as a result of neglecting causal factors and manageable risks. Mitigation
specifically refers to actions taken that can lessen the severity of a disaster’s impact. Investing in
measures that limit hazards can greatly reduce the burden of disasters.

Strategies that disaster management professionals implement to protect vulnerable

communities and limit hazards include the following:

 Raising awareness about potential hazards and how to address them

 Educating the public about how to properly prepare for different types of disaster
 Installing and strengthening prediction and warning systems

Managing hazards and risks means planning to minimize a community’s vulnerability to

disasters. This can involve:

 Encouraging community members to buy appropriate insurance to protect their properties

and belongings
 Educating families and businesses on how to create effective disaster plans
 Promoting the use of fire-retardant materials in construction
 Advocating for capital works initiatives, such as the construction and maintenance of
levees
 Building partnerships between sectors and agencies at the federal, state, and local levels to
collaborate on mitigation projects
 DISASTER MITIGATION

Disaster Mitigation is the cornerstone of emergency management. It’s the ongoing effort to lessen
the impact disasters have on people and property. Mitigation involves keeping homes away from
floodplains, engineering bridges to withstand earthquakes, creating and enforcing effective
building codes to protect property from hurricanes, and more.

Mitigation is defined as “sustained action that reduces or eliminates long-term risk to people and
property from natural hazards and their effects.” It describes the ongoing effort at the federal, state,
local and individual levels to lessen the impact of disasters upon our families, homes, communities
and economy.

HOW DISASTER MITIGATION CAN HELP YOU

Through the application of mitigation technologies and practices, our society can ensure that fewer
Americans and their communities become victims of natural disasters. For example, mitigation
measures can be applied to strengthen your home, so that your family and belongings are better
protected from floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural hazards. They can be utilized to
help business and industry to avoid damage to their facilities and remain operational in the face of
catastrophe. Mitigation technologies can be used to strengthen hospitals, fire stations, and other
critical service facilities so that they can remain operational or reopen more quickly after an event.
In addition, mitigation measures can help reduce disaster losses and suffering so that there is less
demand for money and resources in the aftermath.

In practice, mitigation can take many forms. It can involve actions such as:

 Promoting sound land use planning based on known hazards

 Buying flood insurance to protect your belongings
 Relocating or elevating structures out of the floodplains
 Securing shelves and water heaters to nearby walls.
 Having hurricane straps installed to more securely attach a structure’s roof to its walls and
foundation.
 Developing, adopting, and enforcing effective building codes and standards
 Engineering roads and bridges to withstand earthquakes
 Using fire-retardant materials in new construction
  Developing and implementing a plan in your business or community to reduce your
susceptibility to hazards

DISASTER RESPONSE

Disaster responses are the set of activities taken during a disaster or immediately following a
disaster, directed towards saving life and protecting property.

The activities that deal with the effect of disaster may include medical care, evacuation, search
and rescue, provision of emergency water, food and shelter, debris removal and stabilization of
unsafe buildings and landforms.

The Objectives of Disaster Response

 Disaster response is aimed at providing immediate assistance to maintain life, improve

health and support the morale of the affected population.
 It is focused at meeting the basic needs of the people until more permanent and sustainable
solutions can be found.
 Disaster response depends on the adequacy of preparedness prior to the disaster,
considering the scope of responses required.
 According to Carter, response operations are often difficult to implement considering the
disruptive and sometimes traumatic conditions disasters present.
 Thus, the success in responding appropriately depends on early planning, organization and
training.
 Disaster response preparedness are the pre-disaster activities that are undertaken to
minimize loss of life, injury and property damage in a disaster, and to ensure that rescue,
relief, rehabilitation and other services can be provided following a disaster.
 Preparedness for the first and immediate response is referred to as “emergency
preparedness” (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
[UNOCHA] guidelines for disaster management in Asia and the Pacific).

Requirement for Effective Response

Information and resources are two (2) essential requirements for effective response without which
plans and efforts at responding will not yield the anticipated results.
Information
 An early warning system provides vital information for effective response operation
despite the unpredictability of some disaster events.
 An effective warning system must be robust to transmit warnings as early as practicable.
 Information gained from these systems could help in the planning and decision-making as
well as inform the general public.
Resources
 Resources form an essential component of disaster response.
 The need for disaster management organisations to be resource ready cannot be over
emphasised considering the untimely occurrence of disasters, which most often is on short
notice.
 The ability to mobilise the needed resources on short notice is most often hampered by
many factors. Its effect on systems gives little room for procrastination of actions.

Disaster Response Planning

 In disaster response planning, roles and responsibilities are defined, policies and
procedures are developed and generic tools for responses are identified and developed.
 The response plan is developed based on assumptions of risks and hazards, and does not
address specific disaster scenarios - as is the case for contingency plans.
 Plans thus, must be monitored, evaluated and adapted to the specific situation in times of
disaster.
Rationale for Disaster Response
Responses are mainly directed at:
 limiting casualties;
 alleviating hardship and suffering;
 restoring essential life support and community systems;
 mitigating further damage and loss; and
 Providing the foundation for subsequent recovery.

Disaster Responses
 Disaster responses include actions that embrace the following:
  Search and rescue
 First aid and emergency medical care
 Evacuation
 Evacuation centre management
 Development of Standard Operation Procedure (SOPs)
 Immediate repair of community facilities and services
 Relief delivery
 Coordination and Communication
 Psycho-social counselling and stress debriefing
 Medical services

Search and rescue

This activity is usually conducted by well-trained volunteers in finding disaster victims, that is,
lost, sick or injured persons in either a remote or difficult to access areas such as water bodies,
desert, forest or probably in the course of mass population movement. The search and rescue
operations are often directed at, locating endangered persons at an emergency incident, removing
those persons from danger, treating the injured, and providing for transport to an appropriate health
care facility.
First aid and emergency medical care
The need for first aid and emergency medical care arise in most disasters and response in this
direction is of essence. First aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually
performed by non-expert, but trained personnel to a sick or injured person until definitive medical
treatment can be accessed. Emergency medical care is immediate paramedic attention to severe
wounds and the rapid transportation of the ill or injured to a health facility.
Evacuation
The evacuation of communities, groups or individuals is a frequent requirement during response
operations but always needed. Evacuation is an organised movement of people from an area at risk
to a safer place.
Types of Evacuation
Evacuations could be:
 tions for reconstruction purposes
Services provided during evacuations include:

contacting family/friends

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

In making disaster plans operational, there is the need to develop SOPs which could guide the team
in effective operation. SOPs are the set of standard procedures that “operationalize” the disaster
response and/or contingency/ plans.
In other words, SOPs specify the way in which individuals or units will carry out their functions
under the plan (such as, mobilisation of response team, deployment of assessment team process
assessments, etc.)
The SOPs set out what should be done, how it should be done, who is responsible for implementing
what, and specifies available resources.
SOPs take cognizance of four stages of preparation and procedures:
During normal times

Rehabilitation
Relief Aid
This relates to any provision of assistance during an emergency that is meant to attend to a person’s
immediate requirements for survival or recovery. It may include food, clothing, housing, medical
care, necessary social services and security when a person is faced with circumstances beyond her
or his control. Relief aid must be targeted at the most vulnerable first: Vulnerable children or
orphans, female or child headed households, pregnant or lactating women, sick or elderly
populations

Coordination and Communication

Coordination is key to successful disaster response, and is essential in ensuring timely and
appropriate scaling-up of resources. Good coordination is crucial for combining resources
effectively and efficiently, in order to reach the disaster-affected more rapidly. It contributes to
better cooperation, reduces the level of duplication and helps to ensure a well-organised operation.
Coordination activities can take place at different levels and in different forms.
The coordination activities include:
 Meetings - Plan to hold regular meetings with Movement partners to determine activities
and roles;
 Information management - Information sharing on disaster impact, assessment and needs
through input into DMIS (Disaster Management Information System);
 Communication means - Plan for continuous information and communication flow;
Movement Coordination Frame works - Plan for strategic and operational coordination;
and
 Partnership agreements - Identify existing agreements and determine additional
agreements needed to meet needs.
Psychosocial Support
 Disasters come with grieving moments as many may lose not only properties, but also dear
ones with negative psychological outcomes.
 Impacts on psychosocial well-being can be both short term and long term.
 Psychological services play a crucial role in responding to crises that involve large
populations, as they cater for the needs of the majority of the affected population.
  They help in the recovery process and reduce the development of mental health problems.
Psychosocial support activities include identifying and referring individuals requiring
specialised support through professional mental health services.
Public Health Services
Public health services are required during disaster response. The relevance of medical services is
most felt in disasters when there are:

of shelter

food supply

The public health services required in responding to disasters include:

Managing and continuation of medication on chronically affected diseases

(HIV, TB, Leprosy, etc.)
 DISASTER RELIEF
 Disaster relief is the monies or services made available to individuals and communities
that have experienced losses due to disasters such as floods, hurricanes, earthquakes,
drought, tornadoes, and riots.
 A disaster may also be defined in sociological terms as a major disruption of the social
pattern of individuals and groups.
 Most countries have agencies that coordinate disaster relief and planning. Many have
statutes that define appropriate procedures for disaster declarations and emergency orders.
 Such statutes also empower relief agencies to utilize local resources, commandeer private
property, and arrange for temporary housing during an emergency.

Relief, globally, is guided by fundamental principles which disaster organisations and

 NGOs engaging in disaster relief response ought to apply. The principles require that:
 Response to disasters must have humanitarian imperative
 Aid is provided based on needs alone and must be done without discrimination of any kind
(race, creed or nationality of the recipients)
 Aid will not be used to further a particular political or religious standpoint
 Aid agencies do not to act as instruments of government foreign policy
 That culture and custom are respected in response and relief activities
 Disaster response is built on local capacities
 Ways be are developed to involve programme beneficiaries in the management of relief
aid

INTERNATIONAL RELIEF ORGANIZATIONS

Institutions for Disaster Relief and Response
Many organisations respond to disasters both locally and internationally. In the local front, the
leading government agency in disaster response is the National Disaster Management Organisation
(NADMO). NADMO was established by act 517 of 1996 to manage disasters and similar
emergencies in the country. Structured under the ministry of the interior, NADMO coordinate all
the relevant civil authorities at the national, regional and district levels. The security agencies, such
as the Police, Armed Forces, Navy, Air Force and the National Fire Service are also key in disaster
response in the country. They are mostly responsible for the security issues in disaster response.
Other governmental organisations such as the National Ambulance services provide health
emergency services. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society groups operating
within the area of impact may also respond depending on their mandate and capacity. Other para-
governmental organisations such as the Ghana Red Cross Society provide both health and relief
services during disasters. On the international front, many organizations provide relief response.

List of International Relief Organisations

The list of international organisations providing response and relief are enormous. They however
operate with specific mandate and in specific jurisdictions just as the localized organisations.
Knowing these agencies by their mandate, core business and areas of operation could help raise
the needed partners to addressing disasters in Ghana and beyond.
The list of international relief response organisations is as follows:
Action Against Hunger (AAH), CARE, Caritas Internationalis, Catholic Relief Services, (CRS -
USCC), Emergency Nutrition Network (ENN), Doctors Without Borders, Food For The Hungry
International (FHI), Food For The Hungry, Hunger Plus, Inc., Interaction, International Committee
of the Red Cross (ICRC), International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
(IFRC), International Organization for Migration (IOM), International Rescue Committee (IRC),
Lutheran World Federation, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), Mercy Corps (MC), Overseas
Development Institute (ODI), Oxfam, Refugees International, Relief International, Save the
Children, The Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), United Nations Children's Fund
(UNICEF), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), US Committee for Refugees (USCR),
World Vision International
http://www.careusa.org/
http://www.caritas.org/
http://www.crs.org/
http://www.dwb.org/
http://www.ennonline.net/
http://www.fh.org/
http://www.hungerplus.org/
http://www.interaction.org/
http://www.icrc.org/eng
http://www.ifrc.org/
http://www.iom.int/
http://www.theirc.org/
http://www.lutheranworld.org/
http://www.mennonitecc.ca/
http://www.mercycorps.org/
http://www.odi.org.uk/
http://www.oxfam.org/
http://www.refintl.org/
http://www.ri.org/
http://www.savethechildren.org/
http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/disaster_assistance/
http://www.unicef.org/
http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home
http://ochaonline.un.org/
http://www.refugees.org/

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