Seychelles Damage, Loss, and Needs Assessment (DaLA ... - GFDRR

44
Seychelles Damage, Loss and Needs Assessment (DaLA) 2013 Floods
ing than in the past. Furthermore, structural measures
often provide people with a false sense of security and
unawareness about the risk that remains.
Investing in nonstructural measures is often less costly
and provides many additional benefits. For example,
instead of investing in massive infrastructure, the city
of Curitiba, Brazil, decided to implement floodplain
regulations and tax incentives for protection of green
space and restricted land occupation in flood-prone areas
of the city. It created retention ponds, parks, and
recreational areas along the main river that are widely
used by the population.
Institutional emergency coordination at
the government and community levels
Strengthening the coordination principles for flood disaster
response and recovery focuses on the role of local
authorities, communities, and other locally relevant
stakeholders. In the process, it is essential to build the
capacity of these stakeholders to build resilience and be
able to more effectively respond to future disasters. Reducing
vulnerability to floods and disaster needs to be
taken seriously by all appropriate sectoral ministries, especially
those involved in infrastructure investments and
planning. Communities should be an integral part of any
flood risk management program. The participation and
involvement of the community are essential, since the effects
of a disaster are first felt at the level of the community,
and the community is the first to respond to a disaster.
Usually, the greatest numbers of lives are saved during the
first few hours after a disaster occurs, before outsiders
arrive. Communities that are prepared are better able to
provide an effective response and to reduce the impact
of a disaster. Involvement of local people promotes selfreliance
and ensures that emergency management plans
meet local needs and circumstances.
engineering, social sciences, government, news media,
and the public. The melding of scientific, managerial,
technological, and social components is critical. Emergency
response education toolkits can be developed
that can be easily disseminated and implemented at
school and community levels, encouraging planning,
simulation drills, and community participation in early
warning, disaster response, and recovery.
Risk transfer and insurance mechanisms
Due to the increase in frequency and intensity of flood
disasters, it is important to design mechanisms to finance
relief and recovery investments. Opportunities
can be explored for the gradual implementation of effective
risk transfer mechanisms to reduce impacts of
disasters and to support individuals to expedite recovery
from flood events. Insurance mechanisms should be
designed in a way that they encourage beneficiaries to
avoid occupation of high-risk areas, comply with building
standards, and further implement flood-proofing
and other mitigation measures. When a disaster occurs,
the key concern is what to do, how to do it, and
how to fund it. Funds are needed immediately. Contingency
funds enable timely and adequate financial
resources for emergency purposes. In this regard, it is
recommended that the government consider the establishment
of a Development Policy Loan with a Catastrophic
Deferred Drawdown Option (CAT DDO) (see
appendix 8 for more information) to ensure adequate
resources are available just after the occurrence of a
natural disaster.
Action Plan
Based on the above analysis and key recommendations,
a possible implementation plan includes the following
short- to long-term actions:
Emergency preparedness and response
Flood forecasts are just a small piece in the early warning
chain. In case of flash floods, such systems play
a very crucial role in saving lives. A successful warning
system not only depends on forecasts, but has to
connect many specialties and organizations, including
Short-Term Actions (1 Year)
■■
Repair and clean up the damaged houses and infrastructure,
including roads, drainages, schools, and
police station, and recover agriculture production.
■ ■ Conduct a workshop to assess the effectiveness,
efficiency, strengths, and weaknesses of the Janu-