Download the file - United Nations Rule of Law

Mitigating the impacts of disasters291Box 12.11 Early warning in a multi-hazard risk environment: Experience from MexicoMexico is exposed to a wide range of hazards. Forexample, Mexico City is at risk from earthquakes,volcanoes and floods, while settlements in the south,west and east of the country may also be exposedto hurricane and storm surge hazards. Recognizingthe need to build risk reduction into development,Mexico has produced a national development planand a National Risks Atlas as a basis for risk and developmentplanning. Funds for emergency managementand for disaster prevention are available.Early warning systems for volcanic eruptionsand tropical storms are coordinated by national civilprotection authorities, while earthquake earlywarning is coordinated by a civil association. Eachsystem relies upon close collaboration betweenfederal, state and municipal levels for the timelySource: Guevara, 2006communication of warnings. Warnings are sent usinga simple three-tier ‘traffic light’ indicator system forseverity of risk. This prevents confusion along thecommunication chain. Multiple methods of communicationare available to help spread warningmessages, including telephone and pager messaging,the internet and local civil authorities. The trafficlight system indicates severity and also triggersactions to be taken by civil protection agencies, aswell as by the population.Lessons learned from the Mexican experienceare:• While it is appropriate for different agencies tobe involved with early warning and response forparticular hazards, it is useful to have a coordinatingbody (the National Civil ProtectionAuthority in Mexico’s case).• Coordination between state and local levels isessential.• There should be consistency in the ways inwhich warnings for different hazards arepresented.• Different alert levels for different hazardsshould be clearly defined and shouldcorrespond with specific actions to be taken bynamed authorities and the public.• The traffic light system has proven effective as acommunication tool.• Warning systems and responses should betested.information spread through word of mouth may be effective,little research has been undertaken on the effectiveness ofsocial networks as an information system for early warningand preparedness among marginalized urban populations.Cities often face multiple hazards and present acomplex distribution of vulnerabilities and capacities. Thispresents a challenge for early warning, which has developedas a linear science where single hazard types are monitored.The integration of multiple hazard monitoring systems is acurrent challenge for urban disaster risk managers. Datarequirements are beyond the current capacity of manymunicipalities. Simple multi-hazard risk assessmentspresented in GIS are perhaps a first step; but investment inmonitoring equipment and communication systems that canreach the most vulnerable are proving more difficult toachieve. Box 12.11 presents a reflection on the status ofMexico’s early warning systems, which have to cope with amulti-hazard environment.Knowledge for actionExperience shows that, following a warning, in order foraction to be effective, knowledge on what preparednessactions to take is needed by people at risk and emergencyservices. This section discusses the potential for developingtwo strategies for building capacity: public education andparticipatory mapping.Knowledge of hazards and resources is essential forsuccessful evacuation. Box 12.12 recounts experiences fromthe evacuation system put into operation for Hurricane Ritaduring 2005, which made landfall on the Texas–Louisianaborder on the Gulf Coast of the US. This was the fourthmost intensive Atlantic hurricane recorded and causedUS$10 billion in damages and 120 deaths. This case studyunderlines the importance for advance preparation to enablethe best actions to follow from scientific information andearly warnings.Public information campaigns can seek to target thegeneral population and have dedicated strategies for reachingless accessible social groups – for example, by presentingmaterial in multiple languages. Successful public informationcampaigns also often include working with keycommunity groups to disseminate messages, and to build, inadvance, the cooperative relationships that are the bedrockof an effective disaster response. Key groups include schools,businesses, community groups, fire and police departments,local governments and the media.The media can be very helpful in educating thepublic on disaster preparedness and recovery programmesafter disaster strikes. However, disaster managersfrequently complain that the media distorts information,often sensationalizing warnings or turning disasters into aspectacle. Forging links with local and national media andindividual journalists and reporters is time consuming, butis valuable in fostering more responsible media coverage ofdisasters.Innovative media strategies include the use of radiosoap opera (Radionovelas) to promote hurricane preparedness,the creation and broadcasting, by the InternationalFederation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)and the European Union (EU), of calypso-style songs on thesubject of disaster preparedness in Central America, and aweekly 15-minute radio programme on humanitarianconcerns from Nepal Red Cross. 49 Some of the most successfulinnovations, such as Radionovelas, combine mediamessages with hands-on workshops or self-led exercises. TheRadionovelas initiative has, to date, been delivered in CentralAmerica with 20-minute programmes being delivered eachday over a month during the hurricane season. 50Many aspects of participatory risk mapping have beendiscussed already both in Chapter 8 and earlier in thischapter; but an additional benefit of this tool is that localactors are able to share information with one another andexternal actors to help identify where vulnerable people,such as the frail or isolated elderly, live. If evacuationbecomes necessary, this data is useful for planning andThe integration ofmultiple hazardmonitoring systemsis a currentchallenge for urbandisaster riskmanagers