Making Cities Resilient Report 2012

Mass awareness campaigns
Mass public awareness campaigns are encouraging changes in household-level behaviours toward risk
reduction and ensuring that early warnings are acted upon. Some campaigns are conducted annually,
such as cyclone awareness campaign in Cairns (46). Other cities focus on a particular hazard facing the
city. These include Bangkok’s flooding campaign (43); Cape Town’s urban sustainability ‘Smart Living
Campaign’ (33); and Overstrand’s water conservation awareness effort to reduce the risk of drought (21).
Many campaigns use a combination of print, audio, and online materials to disseminate information.
Saijo City distributes hazard booklets to government bodies, public halls and libraries (48); Makati airs a
disaster risk reduction radio programme (31); Makassar has a disaster risk management website (38); and
Bhubaneswar publishes a newsletter. Some cities also offer incentives to encourage public engagement
in risk response. For example, the St John’s Ambulance Service in Kisumu runs a local first aid competition
that feeds into regional and national-level competitions (40).
Several cities use national or global disaster risk reduction events to heighten public engagement. For
example, both South Africa and the Philippines celebrate World Disaster Reduction each year, while Nepal
and Japan both observe the annual anniversary of a significant national disaster.
Box 4.10 : Public awareness and education in Bhubaneswar, India
[Essentials 5, 7]
The city of Bhubaneswar began working on disaster risk reduction in 2003 with an urban risk assessment to
identify priority risk areas. Early on they recognised the challenge of low-level public awareness of disaster
risk reduction, which extended to staff in the disaster management department.
Public awareness: Extensive mass awareness campaigns and formal training courses have included
training for doctors (mass casualty management); community health workers (first aid); engineers,
architects and planners (earthquake vulnerability and rapid visual screening to identify the earthquakeresistant
capacity of structures); masons (earthquake-resistant construction); and women from self-help
groups (urban risk reduction). Training courses for volunteers have focused on emergency response,
including search and rescue, first aid, relief management, water and sanitation, damage assessment,
and debris management. Community risk assessments have been conducted to increase community
engagement and awareness and capture ground-level information on risks.
Trainings in schools: Disaster preparedness and response has been introduced into the curriculum at
primary, secondary and university level, including training teachers in school disaster management
and planning, training school-based disaster management teams in search and rescue and first aid,
preparation of school safety plans, and awareness activities for students. To date, 3,000 students have
been educated in disaster risk management planning and safety tips, and a school safety programme has
been implemented in 35 schools. Mock drills have been held at city, ward, and community levels as well
as in schools and colleges, involving ODRAF, the State Fire Service, the National Disaster Response Force
(NDRF) and community volunteers.
Building political will through education – and through local champions among city workers, planners
and engineers. This has played a significant role in building political will, momentum and a culture of
commitment to disaster risk reduction. Key to this has been the education of local government officials
about urban risk management issues. Bhubaneswar was the first municipality in the state of Orissa to
sign on to the Campaign in 2010, and its leadership position has been confirmed by the large number of
municipalities who later signed up at a 2011 Campaign event, committing to amend construction bylaws,
raise awareness and improve school and hospital safety.
58 | Making Cities Resilient Report 2012