Disaster Management Journal Vol 1 No 4

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 will be guiding efforts in disaster risk reduction for the next 15 years.

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Contents

Official Journal: Disaster Management Institute of Southern Africa Cover

International Day for Disaster Reduction 2015

This year’s IDDR highlights the value of

Upcoming events

31

Disaster and risk reduction events across

traditional, indigenous and local knowledge

the globe

DMISA President's message

DMISA office

32

Contact details

2

Dr Johan A Minnie

DMISA Councillor: Journal 3

Schalk W Carstens

Volume 1 No 4

10

Head of the NDMC’s message 4

Ken Terry

News 6

Sendai Framework action under way

- by Jonathan Fowler 7

Kenya ramps up support for DRR legislation

- by Ann Weru 8

Santam enters phase two of its BAAM project

The National Disaster Management Centre

10

The National Disaster Management Centre

Storm surge early warning system

16

Storm Surge Early Warning System for South

16

Africa - by Johan Stander

Land Forces and Disaster Management

Africa 2015

19

Land Forces and Disaster Management Africa

2015 conference held in Thaba Tshwane

Seismic risk symposium

22

Seismic risk symposium held in the Western

Cape - by Marius Bartlett

Disaster risk management

24

Disaster risk management: A strategy for the

24

health sector in the African region - by Kalula Kalambay, Tarande Constant Manzila, Francis Chisaka Kasolo, Olushayo Olu and Ngoy Nsengaiii

Disaster risk assessment in practice

29

Utilisation of disaster risk assessment in

practice: the Western Cape model - by Nabeel Rylands Volume 1

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Disaster Management | 3

DMISA President's message like to thank them for their hard work producing this publication.

DMISA President Dr Johan A Minnie

All other things being equal, this publication should be available at the annual conference of the Institute, Disaster Risk Reduction 2015, which will be hosted in the lovely Hartenbos resort in the Mossel Bay Municipality, situated in the Eden District within the Western Cape Province of South Africa.

The annual DMISA conference is known to be a meeting of minds, an opportunity for sharing experience and thoughts and a place to build professional networks and friendships among people who are passionate about reducing risk and softening the impact of disasters.

Deputy President Bafana Mazibuko Councillor: Portfolio - Journal Schalk W Carstens Disaster Management Journal Editor Lee Raath-Brownie lee@fireandrescue.co Cell 082 371 0190 Journalist edit@fireandrescue.co Cell 071 641 3884 Advertising advertising@fireandrescue.co Cell 071 641 3884 Design and layout Marc Raath marc@fireandrescue.co Finance Noddie Knibbs accounts@fireandrescue.co Circulation Vicki Jacob subs@fireandrescue.co Secretary Vicki Jacob Administration Mirriam Moroane Contributions Ken Terry Jonathan Fowler Ann Weru Johan Stander Marius Bartlett Nabeel Rylands Publisher Lee Raath-Brownie FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL Tel 011 452 3135/6 Fax 086 671 6920 Box 8299 Greenstone 1616 www.fireandrescue.co Subscriptions 6 editions per annum South Africa R145 per annum incl VAT Non-subscribers R25 incl VAT per issue Southern Africa (airmail) R265 per annum International (airmail) R350 per annum Copyright All rights reserved 4

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Dr Johan A Minnie

E

ffective disaster management requires a great deal of effective communication.

Communities need to receive communication on the hazards they are exposed to if they are not yet aware of them but communities also need to be able to communicate hazards that they themselves identify to the relevant authorities. Vulnerability and capacity should be communicated between citizens, civil society and representatives of government.

Risk reduction advice should be communicated and preparedness and response plans and activities should be communicated.

Often, despite having a multitude of communication channels available, we still fail in effectively communicating before, during and after disaster. We fail to spread understanding of disaster risk and how risk can be reduced and we fail to communicate effectively in the face of imminent danger.

This Disaster Management Journal is an attempt to improve communication on the issues that disaster management practitioners face and to establish a platform for communicating the latest developments and perspectives in disaster management.

I would like to congratulate our publisher, Lee Raath-Brownie and our DMISA EXCO member responsible for this magazine, Schalk Carstens, on another edition of this important communication tool.

Quality of content and the reach of the publication are important to both Lee and Schalk and on behalf of the members of DMISA, I would

We are looking forward to an interesting learning and networking opportunity in a relaxing setting and we plan to create many opportunities for good communication.

It might interest readers to know that this journal will be included in the continuous professional development (CPD) system that will be implemented by DMISA as part of the professionalisation of Disaster Management within South Africa under the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) professional designation dispensation.

Much progress has been made by DMISA in terms of the professionalisation process and we will be communicating about this at Conference 2015.

This publication of the Disaster Management Journal contains interesting news and perspectives about disaster management and it is my sincere hope that readers will enjoy and learn from the content and take the communication further to wider groups of disaster management stakeholders.

The first of the four key priorities of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015 - 2030 is “Understanding Disaster Risk” – a priority closely linked to risk communication. I hope that this publication can contribute towards this first key priority and support the other three priorities of the Sendai Framework. I would like to invite practitioners to actively participate in this publication in future by contributing thoughts, perspectives and experiences. A lesson learnt and shared is truly valuable.

Happy reading and communicating!

Dr Johan Minnie President, DMISA Volume 1

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DMISA Councilor: Journal

T

he Disaster Management Amendment Bill is currently in the National Parliament going through its required phases. Herewith, I personally, want to extent a word of sincere appreciation to the staff of the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) for their role in this process and with special reference to the Head of the National Disaster Management, Mr Ken Terry, as well as for Ms Ané Bruwer and Mr Jurgens Dyssel for their hard work and dedication in this regard. There are, however, a few concerns previously mentioned, during DMISA conferences and publications, that if not adequately addressed, will have negative implications for disaster management and will only add more hurdles for disaster management professionals to overcome in the future. Views on these concerns are herewith highlighted.

The first one is the lack of implementation of the legal requirements of the Disaster Management Act (2002) and its subsequent Framework. It is important that all spheres of government take up their disaster management responsibilities as required in legislation and maybe more important, that all the relevant institutions, which have been mandated through the same legislation, to execute their tasks as intended in the Act. Ultimately it is these responsibilities, which in the past, should have been allocated to individual stakeholders and these joint responsibilities, could have resulted in the establishment of safer and more disaster resilient communities throughout the country.

With the current National Parliamentary process, where the Disaster Management Amendment Bill is being discussed, the importance of all the relevant institutions to take up their disaster management responsibilities, is again to be emphasised. The “Amended Bill” is still not very clear who exactly (what entity/entities) will be responsible for reducing the risks of a specific hazard and the subsequent consequences thereof.

It is also important that any other role an organ of state (entity/entities) might have to play, in a supportive capacity when dealing with the consequences of disasters, also be identified and that they are mandated.

To add to the above viewpoint, the costing and funding model of ‘disaster management’ is still not clearly defined.

As mentioned above, if an organ of state is allocated the appropriate responsibility for a hazard and/or its supportive role in disaster management,

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the relevant funding and or costs for that specific (hazard/support) function should be determined and then to be officially allocated through the appropriate funding mechanisms.

These funding mechanisms or sources should be mandated and regulated from a political platform and this is where the Inter-Governmental Committee on Disaster Management, instituted as per Section 4 of the Disaster Management Act, plays a pivotal role. Section 4 requires the President of the Country to appoint the members of the above mentioned committee; therefore this might be the appropriate platform, which could be utilised as to determine the funding arrangements of each of the different stakeholders as appointed by the President.

The different funding sources that are currently being utilised for the purposes of disaster management have to be streamlined as a matter of urgency.

Currently there are several such funding sources identified as follows: • Own threshold funding (as per • Enabler 3 of the Disaster • Management Framework); • National Disaster Relief Fund and • Fund Raising Act; • Temporary housing and emergency • sheltering as per chapter 12 of the • National Housing Policy; • Division of Revenue Act (DORA); • Utilising section 16 and 25 of PMFA; • The Conditional Grant funding • for immediate relief (provinces and • municipalities) as coordinated by the • National Disaster Management Centre; • The National Emergency Reserve • Fund and; • The National Central Contingency • Fund.

All the above funding sources could be utilised for disaster management response and recovery purposes and it is not clear where disaster risk reduction funds will ultimately be derived from.

The disaster management fraternity would like funding for disaster management to be clearly defined and would also prefer standard operation procedures (SOPs) and or minimum standards to be developed. These SOPs have to determine where and what funding sources should be utilised, for what purpose, as to holistically deal with disasters and the implementation of adequate risk reduction measures in the field of disaster management.

As the proposed Amended Act is currently still under discussion and with

Schalk Carstens

the understanding that some the above mentioned problem areas might already be resolved in the Final Amendment Act, it is however important that the DMISA members register and highlight their concerns and also that DMISA members avail themselves to provide the necessary support in this regard.

This all should result in a ‘Disaster Management Amended Act’ which is functional, efficient, effective and the most important of all, funded.

Another aspect that needs to be addressed is the provision of essential services in South Africa. Recently the country has experienced problems with the provision of electricity and is currently, in some areas, experiencing problems relating to the provision of potable water for human and household consumption.

In some municipal areas and provinces, the problem to deal with the lack of provision of essential services has landed on the lap of disaster management officials. The questions that now have to be posed is what is disaster management’s role in this regard, as to ensure that essential services are provided in times of distress and/or for the management of the lack of the provision thereof?

To further highlight this point, I would like to refer to the Civil Protection Amendment Act of 1990, where the definition of a “disaster” had to be amended to ensure that Civil Protection contingency plans, during that specific period in the past, also included the provision of essential services. The amendment to the definition of the term “disaster” has resulted in the Disaster Management | 5

Head of the NDMC’s message disasters is by the integration of resilience in the daily service delivery, poverty reduction and sustainable development programmes.

South Africa has, with the implementation, transformed the way in which we respond to and assist disaster stricken communities. This is not only limited to the material aid given but also the way in which we have put risk reduction measures in place and the emphasis that is put on assisting communities to help themselves. Risk reduction is a key element of our legislation and the capacity building of the public in reducing risk has been key in the past ten years.

Ken Terry

E

leven years ago the Disaster Management Act, 2002 was implemented in South Africa.

This was a special milestone for the country as this legislation was to become internationally recognised as the standard that all other countries would use as the basis for their Disaster Management legislation.

Like many other developing countries, South Africa faces increasing levels of disaster risks. It is exposed to a wide range of hazards, including drought, fires, cyclones and severe storms that can trigger widespread hardship and devastation. The negative impact of these disasters leave the country to deal with issues such as loss of lives, damages to infrastructure and the environment, disrupted livelihoods, schooling and social services. The best way of reducing the effect of

effective planning of the Y2K preparedness activities, which at the time, was thought to be necessary with the change of the millennium in the year 2000. In this specific Civil Protection Amendment Act, the definition of a “disaster” was amended to also include the following: “Or the disruption of essential services, including the provision of water, electricity and gas, sewerage or refuse removal services, health services or the transportation of person or goods” (Civil Protection Amendment Act, 1990: Act No.82 of 1990).

All we as the disaster management fraternity need to know now, is who is 6

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Disaster Management

Disaster risk reduction (DRR) and management is a cross cutting issue, which affects all sectors of government and society.

To this end, key stakeholders in disaster management have come to a realisation that no amount of effective service delivery, poverty reduction and sustainable development can be realised without the parallel implementation of the disaster reduction agenda. This is evident in the manner in which the function is taking a central position in the discussions and programming within various sectors, spheres of government and other disciplines.

In our efforts towards the development and strengthening of institutions, mechanisms and capacities at all levels, in particular at community level, that can systematically contribute to building resilience to hazards; • The respective national, provincial and municipal disaster management advisory forums

the current custodians of these essential services on a national level, who is responsible to fund the lack of these services and what is the role of disaster management has to fulfil in ensuring the continuation with the delivery of these essential services? Maybe we need a workshop or another conference to deal with the answers for the questions posed above?

Herewith I wish to convey my sincere appreciation to all who have contributed towards this edition as well as hearty thanks for our publisher, Lee RaathBrownie, who is making it possible

(NDMAF/PDMAF/MDMAF) serve as a platform for sharing information and exchanging ideas on DRR issues.

• A lot of work is also being done around building disaster management capacity and awareness through structured councillor workshops across the country.

• The country also participates in regional and sub-regional (African Union (AU) and Southern African Development Community (SADC)) matters as they relate to DRR. All this work is done with a very special type of public servant, within the disaster management fraternity, that does this work as a calling rather than a job as they are on call 24 hours a day and there are no time constraints to what they do when out there helping others; usually some very trying circumstances.

All the disaster management practitioners, emergency staff, members of the South African Defence Force (SANDF), South African Police Services (SAPS) and all other organisations out there, are always ready to heed the call for assistance and ready to go beyond the call of duty.

We all have a duty to assist and protect the most vulnerable and poor in society who are usually the most affected by disasters.

We also remember and salute those who have paid the highest sacrifice of all in their endeavour to help others.

Ken Terry Head: National Disaster Management Centre

for DMISA to have its own publication platform. Without Lee’s continued support and hard work, this publication would not be possible.

Special word of thanks to our President, Dr Johan Minnie and his EXCO team who supported Lee and myself to publish this journal. Without the enabling environment this publication would cease to exist.

To all our members and readers, please submit your articles. Thanks also to all our sponsors as well as members for your continued support.

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DiMTEC – Disaster Management Training and Education Centre for Africa GLOBAL CHALLENGES REQUIRE GLOBAL SOLUTIONS.

W

hen disaster strikes, all living creatures naturally react with fight-or-flight. But what if you’re not strong enough, or have nowhere to run? It is then when suffering sets in. Hunger, death, degradation, loss, damage, destruction, distraught. Since 2001, DiMTEC had the vision to reduce disaster risk – because we can!

Happy birthday DiMTEC! In 2006 DiMTEC became an independent centre within the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural science – therefore we celebrate our 10 year anniversary during 2015! In celebration of this milestone, DiMTEC will address nine key disaster management themes throughout the year by means of workshops, seminars and lectures. The themes are: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Disaster droughts and insurance Community capitals framework and disaster risk reduction NATECH disasters & Disaster management financing The media, communication and disasters Disasters and the environment Disaster response Disaster trauma and post-traumatic stress Safety-net financing for disasters Unmanned Aerial Vehicle utilisation Join our mailing list to stay informed about these events.

Send your email address to dimtec@ufs.ac.za

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Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction

Sendai Framework action under way

By Jonathan Fowler, UNISDR based and practical guidance for implementation, in close collaboration with countries and through mobilisation of experts, a process that will also reinforce a culture of prevention.

Photo: UNISDR

To ensure that the guides are as specific as possible, UNISDR has broken them into 33 categories, from local government and the private sector to ecosystems management and risk assessment.

Among the others is health, which enjoys far more focus in the Sendai Framework than in previous disaster risk reduction agreements.

T

he United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) has added new momentum to the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, a 15-year international plan to curb deaths and economic damage caused by natural and man-made hazards.

The 'Words into Action' process, launched on 18 August 2015, will gather experts from around the globe to shape by the end of 2016 a series of thematic guides on how to apply the life- and assetsaving Sendai Framework. They will be an important tool to capture practice, learning and progress over the next decade and a half.

"The Sendai Framework sets the course for disaster risk reduction for the next 15 years. We now need to transform this international agreement into concrete action that will substantially reduce disaster mortality and economic losses," said UNISDR’s head, Margareta Wahlström, special representative of the UN secretary-general for disaster risk reduction. "'Words into Action' will be important for the Sendai Framework, offering practical guidance to support implementation, ensure engagement and ownership of action by all stakeholders and strengthen accountability in disaster risk reduction," she added.

The 2015-2030 framework was adopted in March at the Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in the city of Sendai, a community hit hard by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami but is also a model of recovery.

Despite a gradual shift over the past two decades from seeing disasters through the lens of humanitarian relief to confronting risk head on, economic losses have risen steadily, exacerbated by climate change, unbalanced urbanisation and growing inequalities.

Losses from disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones and flooding now average US$250 billion to US$300 billion a year, according to UNISDR’s 2015 global assessment report.

The Sendai Framework aims to drive better governance and understanding of risk, greater investment in resilience and enhanced preparedness for effective response, recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction.

It hinges on seven global targets including substantial reductions in disaster mortality, numbers of people affected, economic losses and damage to critical infrastructure.

UNISDR has been tasked with supporting the implementation, follow-up and review of the framework by generating evidence-

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The plan is to produce user-friendly pocket guides. For example, a guide on critical infrastructure could describe the issue from a Sendai Framework lens and include sections targeting national and local authorities, the private sector and other relevant stakeholders, such as the education, health, transportation, energy and water sectors. Users will be steered to online discussions, resources and contacts.

To develop the guides, UNISDR is issuing a call for participation, working with the partners who organised sessions in Sendai, with 3 September the deadline for initial expressions of interest.

The aim is to identify the target groups for each topic, take stock of existing material and determine the process for developing each guide, including reviews of their impact down the line.

A similar process was used in the implementation of the Sendai Framework’s 2005-2015 predecessor the Hyogo Framework for Action. In 2007, after broad consultations, UNISDR published ‘Words into Action: A Guide to Implementing the Hyogo Framework’, which distilled a wealth of experience.

Words into Action: Implementation guides for the Sendai Framework The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction charts the global course over the next 15 years. During the consultations and negotiations that led to its finalisation, strong calls were made to develop practical guidance to support implementation, ensure engagement and ownership of action by all stakeholders and strengthen accountability in disaster risk reduction.

Paragraph 48 (c) of the Sendai Framework calls upon “the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), in particular, to support the implementation, follow-up and review of this framework through […] generating evidence-based and practical guidance for implementation in close collaboration with States and through mobilisation of experts; reinforcing a culture of prevention in relevant stakeholders […]”. In order to support the process, a number of targeted Sendai Framework implementation guides shall be developed.

These implementation guides build upon the experience of the development and use of the similar “Words into Action” guide created during the Hyogo Framework for Action decade, which ran from 2005 to 2015.

Mindful that the guides should support the Sendai Framework implementation, the “Words into Action” guides may focus on a specific topic, sector, or stakeholder group. For example, there is a demand for further guidance on: aligning and measuring targets and indicators; meeting the priorities for action; development of risk-informed plans and strategies; investment opportunities; areas for innovative action and implementation since HFA; working with relevant partners and stakeholders.

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Kenya ramps up support

News

for DRR legislation

By Ann Weru, reporter, United Nations

T

he Government of Kenya and its partners are engaging to create an enabling environment for implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, a 15-year global plan to curb deaths and economic losses caused by natural and man-made hazards.

On 20 August 2015, Kenya’s Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government hosted a meeting to sensitise top civil servants from across the country’s administration about the importance of disaster risk management policy at the highest level. The ministry is at the helm of Kenya’s efforts to reduce risk. “The range of threats we see cut across all government ministries,” said Ambassador Dr Monica Juma, its principal secretary. In the Kenyan system, a principal secretary is the key civil servant in a ministry, one notch down from a minister.

The Sendai Framework was adopted in March at the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. Dr Juma highlighted the agreement’s four priorities: understanding disaster risk, strengthening disaster risk governance, investing in disaster risk reduction and enhancing disaster preparedness.

She also underlined Kenya’s commitment to implementing the framework, demonstrated by the fact that President Uhuru Kenyatta led his delegation World Conference in the Japanese city of Sendai.

support from the legislature. “Parliament is well sensitised. We need the ministry to bring forth the policy and our Caucus will fast-track it.”

The meeting also proposed that ministries should provide budgetary support for disaster risk reduction.

“Each ministry should have a disaster risk management cell or sub-department and adequate resources allocated to it. There is a whole range of investments that we can dedicate to this priority area,” said Dr Juma.

The meeting was among a series held in Kenya and in the rest of East Africa since the adoption of the Sendai Framework. In June, Kenya’s National Action Plan for 2015 to 2018 was proposed to strengthen the national platform on disaster risk reduction. An East African Disaster Risk Reduction Parliamentarian Platform was established the same month.

The Sendai Framework aims at the substantial reduction of 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 from 2015 to 2030.

Kenya suffered losses estimated at US $12,1 billion after the prolonged droughts in the Horn of Africa region from 2008 to 2011. Its economic growth slowed to an annual average of 2,8% over that period.

According to Kenya’s action plan submitted for December’s UN climate conference in Paris, droughts and floods alone cause economic losses estimated at 3,0% of the country’s gross domestic product.

Participants at the meeting – also including Government officials, members of parliament and UN and academic sector representatives, highlighted the role of early warning systems such as timely weather forecasts and advocacy on disaster risks as key to enabling communities and other stakeholders understand risks and boost preparedness.

There was a call for the enactment of Kenya’s Disaster Risk Management Bill, which has stalled for over a decade. The lack of a legal framework means that a central disaster management coordination body cannot be operationalised with the necessary mandate and resources.

At present, various institutions housed in different ministries are tasked with disaster risk management, including the National Disaster Operation Centre, the National Disaster Management Unit, the National Drought Management Agency and the Directorate of Special Programmes.

“We hope that the policy document which has been prepared and waiting Cabinet approval will get approved soon and later be presented to Parliament for debate,” said Dr Juma.

Hon Wilbur Ottichilo, co-chair of Kenya’s Parliamentary Caucus on Disaster Risk Reduction, reassured participants of Volume 1

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Disaster Management | 9

News

Santam enters phase two of its BAAM project

S

outh Africa's insurance risk pool is affected by a number of trends and changes that have materially impacted risk profiles and claims patterns. It has been important to adapt underwriting and risk management strategies to take account of these to achieve Santam's strategic objectives.

Some of the more important drivers of change were: • A greater incidence of weatherrelated catastrophes, flooding and hail in particular; • Weakening fire fighting capacity in local municipalities in South Africa as well as weakening standards of fire safety certification for commercial properties; and • Improved availability of information and technologies to prove, track and reward superior risk management.

Santam has responded proactively by:

• Improving its risk assessment

capabilities and rewarding clients;

• Geocoding property risk to enhance landscape-based risk assessment;

• Providing support to local authorities in the areas of fire and flood risk management; and Driving industry initiatives to set and encourage adherence to appropriate national standards for fire safety to name only a few.

•

Santam believes that key to managing these systemic risks is an integrated approach to managing long-term sustainability through the improved management of systemic risk which is aligned with the strategic drivers of the business. Through their strategic actions and participation in local and global associations, the company aims to promote sustainable insurance that is essentially about reducing risk, developing innovative solutions, improving business performance, and contributing to environmental, social and economic sustainability.

A key stakeholder to embed this is municipalities as they bear the responsibility of managing the ramifications of volatile weather conditions and climate changerelated disasters. The insurer's involvement and partnerships 10

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Disaster Management

with municipalities across South Africa provide a platform to create awareness of how best to address climate risk, to acknowledge the successes of municipalities, and help increase their capacity to manage disasters and assess risks.

Santam has achieved significant success through its Business Adopt-aMunicipality (BAAM) programme, which identifies vulnerable municipalities and provides support in addressing disaster management more effectively.

BAAM is a strategic partnership between Santam, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) and the private sector to assist municipalities to improve sustainability and service delivery in respect of fire-fighting, flood and storm water management.

The insurer remains committed to working in partnership with local government to strengthen the institutional capacity of local municipalities to deliver basic services to communities, hereby assisting government to achieve the principles of the back to basics programme. The company further partners with various organisations to look at innovative solutions to mitigate higher levels of risk and prepare communities as well as possible for potential disasters, such as flooding or hail storms.

The success of the BAAM initiative has now enabled Santam to expand this work to include 10 further district municipalities throughout South Africa, which comprises 54 local municipalities. Focusing on these high risk areas will enable Santam to drive risk mitigation and risk reduction interventions and initiatives in areas where the business has historically suffered huge losses due to flooding.

The primary focus would be to mitigate the potential of insurance losses and where such losses have occurred, to potentially reduce their total value.

Santam set out to work in partnership with the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency (MISA) and the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) to identify the drivers

of flooding, capacitate the district municipalities and pro-actively build resilience in the landscape to reduce the impact of flooding on lives, municipal infrastructure and assets that Santam underwrites.

Municipal areas To date, Santam has been working with five municipalities: Mahikeng (Mafikeng) Local Municipality (North West); Thulamela Local Municipality (Limpopo); Ulundi Local Municipality (KwaZulu-Natal); Mbombela Local Municipality (Mpumalanga) and Eden District Municipality (Western Cape). Fire and flood damage insurance claims in the municipal areas chosen have been high and the first phase saw training and fire fighting equipment being presented to these municipalities. Santam has also worked towards building their capacity in fire fighting and disaster management and phase two of BAAM sets out to understand the drivers of flooding, evaluate the capacity of the municipalities and communities to deal with the impact of floods effectively, and propose recommendations to assist in dealing with these events more effectively.

This will extend into 2015.

Further impact at municipal level Santam expanded into further districts by launching in Ehlanzeni District (Mpumalanga), which will cover the following local municipalities: Bushbuck Ridge, Thaba Chewu, Nkomazi, Umjindi and Mbombela Local Municipality. The company experienced large claims as a result of flooding in this district over the past few years and believes that proactively identifying flood risk mitigation actions with these municipalities will assist the business to reduce the extent of the losses incurred in that area in future.

Ultimately, through their efforts the insurer aspires to maximise socio-economic welfare, enhance stakeholders' sustainability and build a more resilient South Africa through the provision of risk solutions to our clients.

They believe the work that they are doing does not only benefit the insurance industry in managing the national risk pool but also helps to save lives, and build national resilience.

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KINGJAMES 29578

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2014/03/13 3:44 PM

The National Disaster Management Centre

The National Disaster Management Centre

The NDMC’s disaster response fleet

D

isaster Management Journal visited South Africa’s National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) and had the opportunity to talk to head of centre, Ken Terry.

The purpose of the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) is to promote an integrated, coordinated and multi-disciplinary disaster management and fire services. The NDMC is responsible for the administration and implementation of two pieces of legislation, ie the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No 57 of 2002) and the Fire Brigade Services Act, 1987.

The NDMC recently moved into its new premises in Centurion, Gauteng. “The new premises enabled the NDMC to be strategically located in close proximity to major access routes (road, rail and air) and some of our key partners including the National Joint Operational Centre (NATJOINTS) and South African Weather Service (SAWS),” stated Ken. Background The NDMC was established on 1 April 2004 in the Department of Constitutional Development and was initially staffed 12

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by the three members of the then Directorate: Disaster Management located in the Department.

Since 1994, the South African government’s approach to dealing with disasters has changed significantly.

One of the main objectives was to bring the law into the modern era so that it would be in line with international best practice in the field of disaster risk management. In addition, the government intended to systematically mainstream disaster risk reduction into developmental initiatives at national, provincial and municipal levels.

Extensive consultative processes resulted in a very broad conceptual framework, the Green Paper on Disaster Management, which was published in 1996. The content of the Green Paper was then narrowed down and consolidated into key policy proposals, which were published as the White Paper on Disaster Management in 1999. The seven key proposals captured in the White Paper formed the foundation for the Disaster

Management Bills, published in 2000 and 2001 respectively. The Disaster Management Act was promulgated in 2003 as the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act no 57 of 2002).

Once the Disaster Management Act was passed, the process expanded again as policies were developed to implement the new Act. The first step was to develop a National Disaster Management Framework (NDMF), which was gazetted in 2005.

One of the key features of the Disaster Management Act is that it recognises that the function of disaster risk reduction cannot be done by government alone. It requires cooperation and collaboration on the part of all spheres of government, civil society and the private sector.

However, the Disaster Management Act also acknowledges that the involvement of such a diversity of role players and stakeholders brings with it the challenge of achieving consistency in approach. In order to address this and other challenges, the Disaster Management Act prescribes Volume 1

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The National Disaster Management Centre One of the main reasons for South Africa’s Disaster Management Act being recognised internationally as a model for disaster risk management best practice is that it gives effect to the concept of mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into development through legislation. The Act places statutory responsibilities for disaster risk reduction on every organ of state in each of the three spheres of government and gives a mandate for the establishment of disaster management centres in all the spheres.

Head of centre, Ken Terry a national disaster management framework to provide a coherent, transparent and inclusive policy on disaster risk management for South Africa as a whole.

The Act also mandates each province, district municipality and metropolitan municipality to establish and implement a policy framework that is consistent with the NDMF and is aimed at ensuring an integrated and uniform approach to disaster management in its area.

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The NDMC is responsible for establishing effective institutional arrangements for the development and approval of integrated disaster management policy. One way of achieving this is through the functioning of intergovernmental structures.

The NDMC also organises and manage all disaster incidents that require international coordination.

Organisational structure The National Disaster Management Centre consists of five chief directorates, ie Disaster Risk Reduction, Capacity Building and Intervention; Legislation

and Policy Management; Integrated Provincial Disaster Management Support, Monitoring and Evaluation Systems; Fire Services; and Information Technology, Intelligence and Information Management Systems.

Chief Directorate: Disaster Risk Reduction, Capacity Building and Intervention Purpose: To coordinate disaster interventions and emergency support and facilitate disaster recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction including disaster management capacity building and community awareness programs.

Chief Directorate: Legislation and Policy Management Purpose: To develop, strengthen and manage the regulatory framework and oversee institutional arrangements relating to disaster management.

Chief Directorate: Integrated Provincial Disaster Management Support, Monitoring and Evaluation Systems Purpose: To develop and oversee the implementation of an integrated provincial support, monitoring and evaluation system for disaster management.

Mohanuoa Mabidilala

Anè Bruwer

Modiegi Sethusha

Lesetja Mathiba

Moses Kgangale

Jurgens Dyssel

Dechlan Pillay

Malerata Macheli

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The National Disaster Management Centre risk assessments and the dissemination of early warnings. These organisations include but are not limited to, the South African Weather Services, the Agricultural Research Council, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Council for Geoscience.

Staff The programme has a funded establishment of 33 posts and two posts are currently vacant. Of these, eleven are senior managers, eight managers, six deputy managers, three administrators and five executive/administrative assistants.

When asked whether the NDMC has a sufficient staff complement, Ken answered, “Posts are not currently adequately funded. There is, however, a firm commitment to increase funding for additional capacity as the financial situation improves.

The NDMC main boardroom Chief Directorate: Fire Services Purpose: To oversee and manage the fire services established in terms of the Fire Brigade Services Act. Chief Directorate: Information Technology, Intelligence and Information Management Systems Purpose: To provide information technology and communications management systems for disaster management.

Challenges The main challenge lies in achieving full compliance with the legislative prescripts of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 and the National Disaster Management Framework.

Areas that require particular attention, revolves around the development and implementation of disaster management plans by organs of state, information communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and information analysis and management.

In all of the above, within the constraints of the SA economy, funding is not always available across the spheres and sectors of government to adequately support disaster management initiatives.

Another major shortfall in the process is that a national disaster management information system has not yet been fully implemented across the country.

Budget The NDMC received a budget allocation of R53 561 000 for the 2015/16 financial year of which R21 470 000 is for the compensation of staff.

Partnerships The NDMC partners with various specialist organisations on a number of projects and initiatives in terms of conducting

Mr Ken Terry Deputy Director General National Disaster Management Centre Ms Mohanuoa Mabidilala Chief Director: Integrated Provincial Disaster management Support, Monitoring and Evaluation Systems Ms Anè Bruwer Chief Director: Legislation and Policy Management Ms Modiegi Sethusha Chief Director: Disaster Risk Reduction, Capacity Building and Intervention Mr Lesetja Mathiba Chief Director: Information Technology, Intelligence and Information Management Systems

The capacity of the NDMC, both in terms of having adequate warm bodies and the wide range of skill sets required to fulfil the requirements of legislation, remains challenging. This is a not limited to the NDMC only but is government wide based on the current financial situation in the country.

Areas relating to risk assessment, the assignment of roles and responsibilities to sector departments, identifying and implementing disaster risk reduction programmes, responding to disasters efficiently and ensuring that reconstruction and rehabilitation takes place within reasonable time can also be highlighted.

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The nerve centre Volume 1

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The National Disaster Management Centre Ms Rhoda Maponya Director: Disaster Management Monitoring and Reporting Mr Moses Khangale Director: Fire Services Mr Jurgens Dyssel Director Policy Development and Regulatory Frameworks Mr Dechlan Pillay Director: Early Warning and Capability Management Systems Ms Malerata Macheli Director: Disaster Risk Management, Education, Training, Awareness and Research Ms Motlalepula Pitso Director: Disaster Risk Reduction and Planning Operations Disaster management in South Africa consists of a labyrinth of cross-cutting facets that requires the participation of a host of sectors and disciplines not only from within the spheres of government (national, provincial and local) but involving the private sector, civil society, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community-based organisations (CBOs), research institutions and institutions of higher learning, to name but a few.

The cornerstone of successful and effective disaster management is the integration and coordination of all these role-players and their activities into a holistic system aimed at disaster risk reduction.

The NDMC is responsible for the administration of the matters set

There are several meeting rooms in the centre that are linked to the operations centre out in Chapter 2 (sections 2 and 3), Chapter 3 (sections 4 to 7), Chapter 3 (sections 8 to 27), Chapter 6 (sections 56 and 57), Chapter 7 (section 58) and Chapter 8 (section 59) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002.

“The extent to which a country responds in emergency situations depends largely on the state of readiness which enables organs of state and other institutions involved in disaster management, private sector, communities and individuals to mobilise, organise and provide relief measures to deal with an impending or current effects of a disaster,” stated Ken. “In this regard, each of the spheres of government has clearly defined statutory functions to ensure effective coordination of disasters in the country.”

Disaster risk reduction initiatives such as the quantification of risk assessments and the dissemination of early warnings are managed by the NDMC and also contributes to preparedness.

The NDMC monitors the preparedness and response efforts by provincial and municipal organs of state and supports these efforts through the processing (and allocation) of the respective disaster relief or reconstruction grant applications.

The NDMC, as a custodian of disaster management legislation, plays a strategic, more than an operational role.

It has an important oversight and support responsibility to fulfil in preparing and responding to disasters. However, when a national disaster is declared, the operations and relief processes are managed from the NDMC. The Centre can be activated to operate on a 24/7 basis as and when the need arises. Currently, there is close collaboration between the NDMC and the NATJOINTS to ensure that any crisis that may arise is dealt with immediately.

The main office space is designed to allow for overflow from the operation centre Volume 1

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Currently, the centre is equipped with a nerve centre that can be used to share and collaborate information onsite. The nerve centre is equipped with high-end all-in-one desktops, capable of multi-tasking with the added advantage of touch screens.

These computers have the latest operating systems including Windows 10 and are internet connected to the centre domain, ie www.ndmc.gov.za for cross sharing of information. Each desk is also equipped with a voice Disaster Management | 17

Storm surge early warning system

Storm Surge Early

Warning System for South Africa

By Johan Stander, regional manager, South African Weather Service

S

an early warning document for the issuing of storm surge alerts in line with standard processes of the multi-hazard early warning system as applied in South Africa. This will also act as a guideline for the dissemination and communication of such information. This storm surge Early Warning System (EWS) forms part of the South African Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (MHEWS). In line with the general principles of effective EWS, the storm surge EWS needs to address four elements, namely (1) risk identification, (2) monitoring and warning system, (3) warning dissemination and (4) response actions. These guidelines will address specifically the second and third elements, namely monitoring and warning system as well as warning dissemination.

The remaining two elements, namely risk identification and response actions are equally important, but need to be addressed separately.

outh Africa’s communities are becoming increasingly vulnerable due to intense coastal development. Storm surges of the recent past have underlined how vulnerable South Africa’s coastal communities are to such storms. Thus, there is clearly an urgency to develop

proactive actions to mitigate the effects of future storm events.

over internet protocol (VOIP) phone managed by a Mitel private automatic branch exchange (PABX) system.

environment. The centre is also WiFi enabled with access points that cover the entire floor for handshake between devices. The wide area network mostly comprises of Cisco equipment. There are two Cisco firewalls for redundancy and the system use a Cisco layer three switch to manage the demilitarised zone (DMZ) and connectivity between the Centre and the State Information Technology Agency (SITA).

The onsite Cisco router managed by SITA manages the 2Mbps internet data line to the virtual private network (VPN) server situated at the server farm in SITA Centurion.

The most common incident/emergency scenarios that the NDMC encounters include flooding, severe weather ie drought, hail, tornado’s, wind and snow, veld/wildfires and informal settlement fires.

The NDMC is working in close cooperation with the NATJOINTS structures, especially on operational matters that also have security implications. The recent attacks on foreign nationals as well as matters relating to the effects of prolonged electricity outages are some examples.

The disaster operations centre as such has not been activated since the NDMC moved to Centurion.

Technology and equipment The NDMC server room or data centre mainly comprises Hewlett Packard (HP) switches and servers for the local area network (LAN). The core switch is a layer three switch, which manages the virtual LANs together with edge edge switches to connect to the rest of the 18

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Scientific research on storm surge has only recently received committed local attention, thus current knowledge on the subject is incomplete. The South African Weather Service (SAWS) developed

For our disaster recovery (DR), the Centre has invested in a PlateSpin Forge solution via SITA to enable replication of the core 10 servers to this offsite server, which is housed at the server farm.

PlateSpin Forge is a disaster recovery hardware appliance.

For the purposes of redundancy where possible, the centre comprises of physical HP G8 servers together with an HP 3PAR storage area network (SAN) for the virtual environment.

There are duplication/replications between physical and the virtual SAN

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) is the legally mandated institution as per Weather Service Act

environment for business continuity.

Almost 95% of the servers are managed by Windows Server 2012 R2 for the operating system. A file transfer protocol (FTP) service is in place to retrieve data from key stakeholders for the early warning systems.

The NDMC utilises the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) suite of software to provide geographic information systems (GIS) capabilities.

This spatial analytical capability provides the foundation of indicative risk profiles, situational awareness during disasters, inputs to an early warning platform and post disaster monitoring and evaluation.

Describing the ultimate disaster management centre (with no budget constraints) Ken answered, “A wellequipped and capacitated 24/7 centre that can respond to the disaster management demands of the country to meet the needs of the most vulnerable of our communities,” said Ken. “Processes are currently under way to establish the NDMC as a Government component that will ultimately result in a more effective and efficient organisation,” concluded Ken. Volume 1

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Storm surge early warning system responsible for the issuing of alerts in South Africa. The complexity of storm surge alerts requires a multidisciplinary approach. It is thus recognised that the contribution and collaboration of other institutions is key to the effectiveness of this early warning system.

There are sections of our coastline that are not protected from waves either naturally by natural barriers, or constructed barriers. Where constructed barriers exist, this hard engineering employed has not necessarily had the desired effect of protecting the coastline (refer to Ballito Bay case study).

The reality is that intense development has made our already exposed coastline more vulnerable. The coastline has become artificial and in many cases completely transformed, resulting in lost space for ecosystems to remain functional. Developers and private landowners are also economically driven and the absence of adequate legislation around control of development, setback lines, the coast is a ‘free for all’.

Local authorities and government have not demarcated coastal setback lines in all areas or given any guidance as to where the safe limit of development is. There are no rules that govern development. While the Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) Act could roll out setback lines, it will reduce risk on new developments only, not on existing developments.

As a result of inappropriate development, we are losing ecosystems and services they provide, especially buffer systems.

This has been highlighted by studies used to determine Cape Town’s Coastal Protection Zone. Climate change and

an increase in storm surges, makes the developed coastline particularly vulnerable. Removal of and interference with natural buffer systems result in infrastructure being at risk and with it ensuing complications.

It is necessary to consider the vulnerability of low lying areas that may be removed from the coast but are along estuaries or are made vulnerable by the possibility of natural barriers or lines of defences being removed by storm surges.

In considering the above the Department of Environmental Affairs, Oceans and Coast, expressed the following desired long term outcomes of the storm surges workshop as the following: • The prevention of any further inappropriate coastal development

• The implementation of an operational •

storm surges Early Warning System for the entire coastline There is a need to link hazards to vulnerability and socio economic studies could further offer insight into community responses and motivation in terms of settlement and response early warnings.

The South African Weather Service with relevant stakeholders focussed on the implementation of an operational storm surges Early Warning System for the entire coastline.

The need to develop an effective storm surges EWS is urgent but research around storm surges needs to be developed. On the one hand extraction and collation of all related data needs to be combined to come up with some answers on the impact of storm surges (scientific research and data process). On the other, collation of all the best practices undertaken by municipalities is necessary.

Combining all of this information into user-friendly support tools could be a starting block to provide a generic guideline to end-users.

In the end, there will need to be clear assignment of responsibilities for all aspects of the EWS, including the assessment of its on-going operational effectiveness. This process involves primary the SAWS and the national and coastal disaster management centres.

The South African Weather Service developed and implemented, with success, a Storm Surge Early Warning System for South Africa.

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Storm surge early warning system estimated from the relations (1), (2) and (3) and the table of refraction coefficients.

• When the value of the forecast offshore significant wave height Hs exceeds three metres and the pressure effect is substantial, the storm surge value ∆S can exceed 0,5m. If there is an astronomical spring high tide at that time, the actual level of the spring high tide plus the storm surge value will then exceed 1,3m above the mean level of the tide. This will constitute an extreme sea level event and a storm surge alert should be issued.

A concise definition of storm surge can be expressed as follows: “An abnormal rise of the sea level generated by a storm, over and above the astronomical spring high tides.” Such a storm surge will occur as a result of extreme weather effects in the region.

In the interim, until such time that a storm surge model is developed, the following criteria will be used as a guideline for the issuing of a storm surge alert:When a combination of the following items occurs, a storm surge alert may be considered.

• Astronomical spring high tide conditions, when the water level is expected to be between 0,8 and 1,0 metres above the mean level of tides along the coast (South African Tide Tables, 2011).

• A deep-sea significant wave height of at least three metres, as an interim guideline, is forecast by an official numerical wave model in operational use or from coastal observations.

This would typically be associated with: (i)The passage of a well-established or deep cold front (mid latitude cyclone). (ii)The presence of a slow moving tropical or extra tropical surface low pressure system below 1004hPa in close proximity to the coast. (iii)Rapid cyclogenesis of a deep low pressure system.

• The following effects can be used to

estimate the increase in water level above the tide level, which will then comprise the storm surge value. (a) The effect of the waves approaching the shore: An approach, described by Goda (2000) is applied to estimate the increase in the water level as a result of wave setup. (b) The effect of the local atmospheric conditions: The atmospheric setup is

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taken into account by using the inverse barometer approximation which translates to an increase of about 1cm for every 1hPa decrease in atmospheric pressure.

This will compensate for wind as well as pressure, (Van Ballegooyen, 1995).

These two effects will be felt on the open coast, with reduced values in sheltered environments.

Taking these components into account, the following relationship was introduced in the absence of a dedicated numerical storm surge model: ∆S = H’0 * Ws + (P1– P)* C (1) where ∆S = Storm Surge Value in metres P1 = Average sea level pressure of 1013 hPa H’0 = Equivalent significant wave height (metres) Ws = Wave setup factor P = Forecast / Observed sea level pressure in hPa C = Inverse barometer ratio in cm per hPa For the purposes of this estimation, the Equivalent significant wave height (H’0) is related to the observed off-shore wave height (Hs) through the following relationship: H’0 = Kr * Hs (metres) (2) where Kr is a refraction coefficient.

The refraction coefficient Kr is a function of wave direction, wave period and the impact region of the South African coastline. The Wave setup factor (Ws) is a function of the wave period Tp, and can be estimated using an approach presented by Goda (2000) for the following wave period range: Ws = 0.13 for Tp ≤ 11 s (3) = 0.15 for 11 s < Tp ≤ 12 s = 0.16 for Tp > 12 s The storm surge value ∆S can then be

In summary, if the offshore significant wave height is expected to exceed three metres at the time of a spring high tide, and the calculated storm surge value exceeds 0,5 m, then a storm surge alert should be issued. It should be noted that this extreme sea level event will actually occur at the time of the spring high tide, at around 4am and 4pm on the day.

Most global wave models produce the wave conditions for the offshore area, where the waves are not influenced by water depth. Based on the offshore wave condition, the near-shore wave condition can be determined inside a protected bay or close to the shore. This is performed by wave generation and refraction models which take into account the sea floor terrain (bathymetry).

The SAWS is the main institution in South Africa responsible for weather and climate forecasting.

SAWS provides maritime weather and warning forecasting services for the vast oceans around Southern Africa extending to Antarctica, covering the world’s second largest Safety of Life At Sea (SOLAS) area, known as METAREA VII. Observation networks and forecasting services in the meteorological ocean environment have been developed, maintained and expanded in fulfilment of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) vision. This further enables the SAWS to carry out its international obligations on Global Marine Distress and Safety System (GDMSS) around subSaharan Africa as per the International Maritime Organisation guidelines.

Inputs in the form of real-time data are ingested into forecaster workstations and models to assist with the formulation of storm surge forecasts.

Dissemination of severe weather alerts will be conducted in accordance with SAWS and the Disaster Management Acts an alert will be generated for a virtual point approximately 45km off each local municipality around the coast.

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Land Forces and Disaster Management Africa 2015

Land Forces and Disaster

Management Africa 2015 conference held in Thaba Tshwane

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he Land Forces and Disaster Management Conferences 2015 ran concurrently at the Heartfelt Arena in Thaba Tshwane, South Africa on 6 and 7 July 2015. Land Forces and Disaster Management Africa is a biennial conference where senior military officials, government, defence industry representatives and agencies involved in security and emergency response gather to meet, share and learn about the challenges and opportunities in their sector.

The two-day conference and exhibition had an overarching theme of ‘Interoperability’ and sought to facilitate collaboration between international, regional and local forces through presentations, panel discussions, case studies, demonstrations and technical workshops. Subjects featured included

Ken Terry Volume 1

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Colonel Theo Ligthelm of the South African Medical Health Service in South Africa discussed the Ebola virus in an operational environment.

In the Disaster Management Africa’s break away session chaired by Colin Deiner, chief director, Western Cape Disaster Management, mass casualty evacuation: the Nigerian church collapse was presented as a case study by the operational people involved in the Lagos-based Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) disaster. Ken Terry, head of the National Disaster Management Centre in South Africa, discussed the initial assessment detailing the difficulties in the diplomatic arrangements of deploying to another country. Terry described the Lagos government system, the taxing weather conditions and explained the reasons for moving the operations to a hotel. He said that although cooperation between governments, especially in Africa ie through the African Union, is good,

Lt Col Dr Rob Bedford

Brigadier Leone Ras

African Union peacekeeping, counter insurgency, border security, disaster management and technology and innovation and was supported by the South African Military Health Service and Armaments Corporation of South Africa (ARMSCOR).

ARMSCOR’s CEO, Kevin Wakeford, chaired the first session and the introduction and in his opening remarks, Vice Admiral (Ret) RJ Mudimu, Chairman of ARMSCOR, said, “It is only through a keen understanding of what makes our people tick, that we can understand the dynamics of Africa. I dream of a better Africa.”

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Land Forces and Disaster Management Africa 2015

Colonel Theo Ligthelm

Colin Deiner

Herman le Roux

internal dynamics within countries and states are very complicated. “No one size fits all,” Terry said. He also paid tribute to the late Dr Peter Fuhri, who contracted malaria during the incident.

The repatriation of mass bodies from a foreign country was the topic of Colonel (Col) Theo Ligthelm of the South African Medical Health Service.

The Lagos church collapse presented unique restraining issues hindering the repatriation of the bodies from Nigeria.

“We need to look at this event within the challenges of mass evacuating bodies during an Ebola outbreak,” said Col Ligthelm. “Most importantly, go in with everything you require,” continued Ligthelm. “We could not rely on any in situ resources.” He described the challenges created by the risk of Ebola and transport in a city with exceptionally hectic traffic.

Lagos is the busiest city traffic wise in Africa. “We could only move the bodies in the middle of the night, as there was less traffic then.” The operation was joint military and civilian and as such, shared command. Two aircraft was chartered, an Antonov 124 cargo plane carrying four forensic pathology vehicles and four support vehicles and an Airbus A320 for the 81-strong team. Water and fuel supply was a challenge so it was flown in as was generators, amongst an array of other essential equipment, assuring self-sufficiency. He described the challenges faced by the team while processing the bodies, wearing three layers of personal protective equipment (PPE) in soaring temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius and a very high humidity, generally over 80%. Psychologists debriefed the reconnaissance team from the beginning. Body bags were colour coded per province and then loaded into the relevant mortuary vans.

the USA and said the USA can deploy to anywhere in the world within four hours. He explained the workings of the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG), which was established in 1991 by United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA). Deiner presented a historic overview of USAR and said the USAR task force concept started in the 1980s following the Armenian, Kobe and Mexico City earthquakes. There was a massive increase in USAR teams post 9/11. The magnitude 7,0 Haiti earthquake that occurred on 12 January 2010 at 23h53 South African time, 25km from Port-AuPrince, killed approximately 230 000 people while displacing 800 000 to one million. Deiner detailed the immediate challenges, the international response, initial operations and highlighted the intricacies of air traffic control during a multi-country response. “The US Air Force’s Air Combat Control teams managed air traffic control operations for 12 days and orchestrated the largest single-runway operation in history with 4 000 take-offs/landings; one every five minutes. US Air Force Chief Master, Sergeant Antonio D Travis was named one of the top 100 most influential people of 2010 by TIME Magazine for his role in this,” said Deiner. “The resources offered by military support are priceless. We need to build these relationships. Are we all on the same page?” questioned Deiner.

Long distance mass casualty evacuations from a foreign country were discussed by chief flight surgeon, Lt Col Dr Rob Bedford of the Institute for Aviation Medicine, South African Military Health Service (SAMHS).

Dr Bedford described the meticulous planning that went into the preparations for the evacuations, detailed the team composition and said it was certainly an interesting logistical exercise. He also described the layout of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft and said that although it could carry 72 patients lying down, the equipment they needed to transport to enable them to work independently made space a premium.

He also described the execution of the evacuation including patient preparation, loading, the intensive care units, departure and the monitoring of the patients during the flight. The team only managed to get some sleep after 36 hours.

Brigadier Leone Ras, section head of Forensic Identification, South African Police Service (SAPS) and Chairman of the Interpol Victim Identification Workgroup, discussed mass victim identification during the Lagos incident.

She provided the procedures used to positively identify deceased victims of a multiple fatality event. She detailed the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) and the SAPS’ role in deceased victim identification (DVI) and described the DVI process in detail, the primary and secondary identifiers and the data collection process. Brigadier Ras detailed the intricacies of the Lagos incident and the valuable lessons learnt in dealing with a different country’s mortuaries.

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In the following session chaired by Ken Terry, the case study presented by Colin Deiner focussed on the Haiti operations and discussed the role of defence forces in disaster management missions. Deiner highlighted the importance of immediate deployment. He briefly outlined urban search and rescue (USAR) response in

Herman le Roux of the Centre of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) introduced CMORE, a software eco system that facilitates collaboration, shared situational awareness, interoperability and real-time analysis in the safety and security and emergency response domains, South Africa.

An exhibition formed part of the conference and included an explosive sniffer dog demonstration.

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Seismic risk symposium

Seismic risk symposium held in the Western Cape

By Marius Bartlett, technical intern, Directorate: Disaster Risk Reduction, Western Cape Government

The seismic risk symposium that was held in Cape Town

T

he Western Cape Branch of the Institute of Disaster Management of Southern Africa (DMISA) in conjunction with the Western Cape Disaster Management Centre held a seismic risk symposium on 25 August 2015.

Major earthquakes can lead to largescale loss of life and property due to building collapses, fires and landslides on unstable slopes and catastrophic disruption of dam walls and water mains and roads, railways and fuel pipelines.

Due to the prevailing seismic disaster risk in South Africa as well as in the Western Cape, the Western Cape Disaster Management Centre in collaboration with the Western Cape Region of the Disaster Management Institute of Southern Africa (DMISA) decided to host a seismic risk

themed symposium event at the Santam auditorium in Bellville, Western Cape.

The symposium brought together various experts of this specific field to share their knowledge and expertise on this matter.

The symposium was hosted by head of centre of the Eden District Disaster Management Centre, Gerard Otto and he opened the floor by welcoming the various guest speakers of the day.

Professor Andrzej Kiko from the Natural Hazard Centre of the University of Pretoria gave an overview of the seismic risk of southern Africa. He first gave a brief synopsis on seismic hazard analyses and a brief differential discussion between deterministic and probabilistic seismic hazard assessing. Seismic hazard analyses

Nabeel Rylands, Western Cape Provincial Disaster Management Centre and DMISA WC Exco Member; ??, Santam; Prof Andrej Kijko (University of Pretoria); Prof Wium (Stellenbosch University), Dr Vunganai Midzi, Council for Geoscience; Dr Chris Hartnady (Umvoto Africa); Gerhard Otto, DMISA WC Chairperson and Eden District Disaster Management 24

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involve quantitative estimation of groundshaking hazards at a particular site. Seismic hazards may be analysed deterministically, as when a particular earthquake scenario is assumed or probabilistically, in which uncertainties in earthquake size, location and time of occurrences are explicitly considered. He moved over with a brief overview of major earthquakes that occurred in Southern Africa in the past.

The South-Western Cape has one of the highest levels of seismicity in South Africa characterised by its dual source of seismicity comprising of mine related events and tectonic origin earthquakes.

Historically, the most severe earthquake of magnitude 6,3 occurred on 29 September 1969, 100km northeast of Cape Town. The event resulted in 12 lost lives and numerous damaged buildings in the town of Tulbagh. On September 1809, a seismic event estimated at magnitude 6,3 occurred at the Milnerton Fault, a mere 10km from Cape Town central business district (CBD) and the location of where the Cape Town Stadium is currently situated. The largest minerelated event in the history of South Africa occurred on 5 March 2005 in Klerksdorp (Stilfontein) gold mining district, 200km west of Johannesburg, which reached a magnitude of 5,3. According to Prof Kijko, the Western Cape can expect a maximum earthquake close to magnitude 7.0, it is just a matter of when. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Once it happened, it could happen again,â&#x20AC;? he concluded.

Dr Chris Hartnady of the Umvoto Africa Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Satellite Centre was up next and discussed the seismic risk in the Volume 1

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Seismic risk symposium Western Cape with a very insightful and comprehensive presentation. He warned that although it’s a very slow process, the tectonic plates of the Earth’s crust are increasingly active on the Eastern African rift’s fault lines and this could pose an earthquake threat to South Africa.

“A major earthquake disaster in the region is inevitable because wide areas of southern Africa are affected by the slow, southward spread of the East African rift system.” It’s still very difficult to predict the exact moments when earthquakes will hit, however, scientists have been able to build up an average estimate of the areas where earthquakes may occur soon due to science’s abilities to detect activities inside the earth’s constantly moving tectonic plates system. “The problem for geologists in Africa is that there is no long-term recorded oral history of earthquakes”.

Jan Wium of the University of Stellenbosch gave a very interesting presentation on the seismic risk implications for structures and human settlements. He said that when it comes to the assessment of multi-storey unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings in Cape Town Metropolitan, a method is required to prioritise locations for investigation and for remedial action if necessary. He gave an in-depth overview on the Earthquake Risk Assessment Model, which provides a procedure to assess the earthquake risk of URM building and takes into consideration the seismic risk and also the relating social-economic environment into account. This approach was adopted to identify the local factors that influence the earthquake risk of multi-storey URM buildings and their residents, including the importance and priority of each of these factors as well as a rating scale that is used to measures the state/condition of the local factors. “This is purely a functional model for comparison purposes and not aimed at developing risk assessment procedure with an absolute value” he said. They assessed typical multi-storey URM buildings found in the Cape Town metropolitan area. He concluded that the five most influential factors that were found were peak ground acceleration (PGA) with a 500-year return period, the population density of the building, the percentage of individuals from vulnerable age groups, the income of each individual and the liquefaction susceptibility of a building.

Dr Vunganai Midzi discussed the role that the Council of Geoscience (CGS) plays in seismic risk. After a comprehensive background discussion, the main activities of CGS were discussed in depth. The core essence of their activities is to mitigate the effects of earthquakes through effective monitoring by creating a comprehensive database, making a constant effort to Volume 1

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locate events accurately and also to determine their sizes accurately. The CGS also advises the public on occurrences of earthquakes, conduct site-specific seismic hazard assessment studies to provide information used in the safe design of critical structures and also conduct research to assist in the mitigation of earthquakes.

After the first four presentations were given a panel discussion opened, which allowed audience members to ask various questions. A take on the response side of earthquakes followed.

Neville van Rensburg from the Western Cape Emergency Management Services (EMS) displayed how a coordinated international disaster response model in the form of urban search rescue would look like to the audience. “It is the defined as the science of responding, locating, reaching, medically treating and safely extricating victims entrapped by collapsed structures,” he said. “If you cannot think for yourself then you mustn’t go because there’s not one structure that works. Every situation requires a different approach,” he said added humorously.

Prof Trevor Pape, senior engineering

geologist from Aurecon, offered the audience a fascinating look at the Christchurch earthquakes that occurred in 2013. Aurecon Cape Town was sent to New Zealand to deliver geotechnical reports of damaged homes in Port Hills area, South of Christchurch, after several sequencing earthquakes and aftershocks occurred in the area.

The symposium was followed by a DMISA Western Cape annual general meeting (AGM) and was closed off by Dr Johan Minnie, president of DMISA, who also gave some feedback on the professionalisation of disaster management.

This was most certainly a very successful symposium and, by the look of the audience, a clear reflection that an interest on such matters definitely exist beyond the brackets of only disaster management.

This is definitely one of the best ways to reach out to the various stakeholders that exist outside the parameters of disaster management and where unawareness exists of such risks. This can be the perfect platform to create that sense of awareness and on that note more symposiums will most certainly follow.

Nabeel Rylands; Trevor Pape, Aurecon; Neville van Rensburg, EMS disaster management coordinator Metro Western Cape; Erica Wicomb, Santam; Gerhard Otto, DMISA WC chairperson and Eden District Disaster Management

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Disaster risk management

Disaster risk management:

A strategy for the health sector in the African region By 1Kalula Kalambay, 1Tarande Constant Manzila, 1Francis Chisaka Kasolo, 2Olushayo Olu and 3Ngoy Nsengaiii 1World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo; 2WHO Regional Office for Africa, Intercountry Support Team for Eastern and Southern Africa 3WHO Regional Office for Africa, Intercountry Support Team for West Africa

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he WHO African region continues to be challenged by frequent natural and man-made emergencies causing injury, death, population displacement, destruction of health facilities and disruption of services, often leading to disasters.

The frequency and magnitude of emergencies and disasters have increased since the adoption, in 1997, of the Regional Strategy on Emergency Preparedness and Response. In addition, several global initiatives developed since 2005, including the World Health Assembly resolution WHA64.10 (Strengthening national health emergency and disaster management capacities and resilience of health systems) adopted in 2011, have focused on disaster risk management (DRM) as the approach to containing and minimising the impact of emergencies.

WHO has recognised the need for member states to formulate policies and legislation and develop capacities in order to institutionalise DRM in the health sector. An assessment conducted in 2011 revealed that most countries in the region lack these policies, capacities and legislation.

This regional strategy proposes that member states strengthen DRM by developing appropriate laws and policies; building adequate capacities in ministries of health; assessing and mapping the risks from a health sector perspective; assessing the level of safety of and applying standards to, hospitals and other health facilities; building community resilience; strengthening preparedness; developing national standards for response and strengthening evidence and knowledge management. This will ensure that the health system has been prepared and will be able to provide adequate health sector response to emergencies and reduce their likelihood of becoming disasters.

In 2011, 35 countries in the African region reported emergencies, defined as “threatening conditions that require urgent action”. An emergency often escalates into a disaster, which is “serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society, causing widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses exceeding the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources.”

Recent disasters in the region include the 2007/2008 post-election violence

In 2011, 35 countries in the African Region reported emergencies 26

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in Kenya, which displaced over 300 000 people; the large cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe in 2008 with more than 11 000 cases and high mortality; the 2009 Horn of Africa drought that affected about 13 million people; the November 2010 post-election violence in Côte d’Ivoire that displaced over 900 000 persons; the 2010/2011 floods in nine countries of southern Africa that affected around 150 000 people and destroyed farmlands, housing and social infrastructure including health facilities; the recent crisis in the Sahel sub region affecting over 15 million persons in nine countries; and recently in 2012 and early 2013 a total of 17 significant events were reported from 33 countries including drought, floods, disease outbreaks, armed conflicts and an armoury blast that affected over 60 million people.

Some of the most significant events included the Sahel food crisis involving nine countries in West Africa, floods in Nigeria, Cameroon, Comoros, Mozambique and Congo; cholera outbreaks in Uganda, Congo, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo totalling 95 000 cases; Ebola haemorrhagic fever in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda; the Marburg haemorrhagic fever in Uganda and dengue fever in Seychelles. Armed conflicts affected Mali and the Central African Republic and have remained protracted in the Democratic Republic of Congo. These events can be classified as mainly related to climate change (60%), disease outbreaks (30%), armed conflicts (9%) and accidents (1%) and have a huge potential in disrupting the socioeconomic development in the region beside the losses in human lives.

Recognising the importance of emergencies, the Forty-seventh session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa, in 1997, adopted resolution AFR/ RC47/R1, on the Regional Strategy for Emergency and Humanitarian Action. The five-year strategy focused mainly on emergency preparedness and response. However, recent major disasters, including the tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004 and the Pakistan and Haiti earthquakes have increasingly emphasised the importance Volume 1

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Disaster risk management of addressing disaster risk, as defined in the Hyogo Framework for Action 20052015. Lessons learnt from the 2011 Horn of Africa crisis show that the scale of deaths and suffering, and the financial costs, could have been reduced had a risk management approach been applied. It was recommended, therefore, that all actors “manage the risks, not the crises”. This approach was reinforced in 2011 by the Sixty-fourth World Health Assembly in its resolution WHA64 urging member states to strengthen health emergency and disaster risk management programmes.

Disaster risk management encompasses prevention, “the outright avoidance of adverse impacts of hazards and related disasters”; mitigation, “the lessening or limitation of the adverse impacts of hazards and related disasters”; preparedness, “the knowledge and capacities developed by health system and communities to effectively anticipate, respond to and recover from, the impacts of likely, imminent or current hazard event or conditions”; and response, “the provision of emergency services and public health assistance during or immediately after a disaster in order to save lives, reduce health impacts, ensure public safety and meet the basic subsistence needs of the people affected.” Preparedness and response are covered by the 1997 strategy. In addition to these, however, DRM encompasses an element of prevention by enhancing the ability of the health system, community or society exposed to hazard to resist or absorb the effects of a hazard through interventions based on risk analysis.

Disaster risk management is defined as the systematic process of using administrative and organisational directives, operational skills and capacities to implement strategies, policies and improved coping capacities in order to lessen the adverse impact of hazards (phenomena or substances that have the potential to cause disruption or damage to humans and their environment) and the possibility of disaster. In order to implement DRM, countries will require an enabling environment (policy and legislation; information and communication; training; research and funding). Certain capacities also need to be built, namely capacities for: coordination in the health and other sectors; risk assessment; making health facilities safer; minimizing the event impact (preparedness and response); post-disaster rebuilding of the health system (recovery) and strengthening local resilience (community support). This underscores Volume 1

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Between 2007 and 2011, the African Region required an average of over US$3,2 billion annually to respond to disasters the need to develop a regional strategy that comprehensively addresses DRM. Situation analysis and justification The African region is struck, year after year, by natural and man-made disasters, with direct and indirect impact on mortality, the disease burden and health care delivery, needless to mention the adverse implications for economic growth and attainment of most national development goals. In 2010 the African continent experienced 69 disasters affecting 9,9 million people.

In 2011, the Horn of Africa experienced a disaster that affected more than 13 million people and claimed an estimated 50 000 to 100 000 lives. In 2012 and early 2013, a total of 17 significant events were reported including drought, floods, disease outbreaks, armed conflicts in 33 countries in Africa that affected over 60 million people.

Between 2007 and 2011, the African region required an average of over US$3,2 billion annually to respond to disasters and, of that amount, an average of US$288 million was for health sector response.

Emergencies and disasters exert negative economic impact on countries.

According to the World Bank, natural disasters resulted in damages constituting between two and 15% of an exposed country’s annual GDP; and that the cost of natural disasters could have been reduced by US$280 billion if US$40 billion had been invested in preventive measures. The discounted total economic loss resulting from disaster-related deaths in the region in 2007 was US$117,2 million.

Despite the prevalence of emergencies and disasters and their negative health and economic impact, baseline assessment of an enabling environment and the capacity for DRM, conducted in 32 countries in the region in 2011 showed that the health sector in the assessed countries lacks relevant policies and capacities for DRM. The health sector roles outlined in multi-sectoral national disaster acts and policies have not been adequately translated into health-specific policies and practice. National health acts and policies cover DRM issues in only seven and ten of the assessed countries respectively.

Clear gaps in the health sector’s capacity to perform intrasectoral and intersectoral coordination have also been identified.

Only 14 of the 32 surveyed countries have a unit in the ministry of health (MoH) with responsibilities for DRM. There is a national multisectoral disaster management committee in 25 countries but the health sector subcommittee exists in only 13 of them.

All countries have yet to establish health facility resilience building programmes based on assessment results, using the hospital safety index. Communitybased activities related to DRM, often implemented through NGOs, are not coordinated and structured according to community-specific risk assessment.

Health sector disaster response plans do not consider all potential hazards in the countries and are based on risk assessments in only four countries. In only six countries do these response plans undergo the recommended processes of table-top exercises, simulations and periodic review based on lessons learnt. None of the surveyed countries has established all the four Disaster Management | 27

Disaster risk management key elements of optimal emergency and disaster response and operations readiness (business continuity plan, standard operating procedures, triage system and evacuation procedures).

The capacity to enforce national standards during response to an emergency or disaster remains inadequate. There are several humanitarian actors operating in the field, each employing different strategies and technical guidelines that, in many cases, are not in line with national standards. Member states’ allocation of resources for emergencies remains inadequate and most countries rely mainly on donor funding which is largely focused on acute response. Disaster prevention and preparedness and postdisaster health system recovery remain under funded.

The previous regional strategy, adopted in 1997, focused mainly on emergency preparedness and response. However, recent developments within and outside WHO at the global level following recurrent major disasters have created a paradigm shift towards disaster risk management. This is articulated in World Health Assembly resolution WHA64.10 urging member states to strengthen health emergency and disaster risk management programmes. In recognition of this commitment and in line with the Hyogo Framework of Action (HFA) and the Africa Union’s Regional Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) 20052015, the Sixty-second session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa adopted, through resolution AFR/RC62/ R1, a ten-year regional strategy on DRM for the health sector (currently being implemented). This new regional strategy therefore has to focus not only on response to emergencies and disasters and mitigation of their consequences but also on preventing them through strengthening risk management in accordance with the above resolution.

The interventions of DRM for the health sector are targeted at the components of the health system including leadership and governance, building resilience of health facilities as well as preparedness in line with the six components. A strengthened health system will not only be able to provide an adequate health sector response during emergencies but will also have beneficial effects outside emergency periods.

The regional strategy Aim, objectives and targets The aim of the current ten-year DRM strategy is to contribute to human security and development through improving the health sector’s management of disaster risks, including 28

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providing a comprehensive health response to emergencies and disasters.

The specific objectives are to:

• Ensure the availability of relevant • •

policies, strategies and capacities to guide health sector interventions in DRM; Reduce the number of emergencies turning into disasters by managing risks and improving preparedness and response; and Strengthen the use of evidence for emergency and disaster early warning, preparedness and response.

Targets By the end of 2014 all member states in the African region would have: a) Identified, assigned responsibility to and equipped a unit in the MoH to coordinate the implementation of DRM interventions for the health sector; b) Established functional health sector subcommittees in national multisectoral coordination committees on DRM; and c) Incorporated DRM into their national health legislation, national health policies and health sector strategic plans.

By the end of 2017, at least 90% of Member States in the African region would have: a) Conducted health disaster risk analysis and mapping in a multisectoral approach; b) Instituted a preparedness planning and management process that includes plan development, pre-positioning of essential supplies, resource allocation, simulations, evaluations and annual updating based on all risks prevalent in the country; c) Incorporated emergency and disaster early warning, preparedness, response and recovery indicators into the national surveillance and health information systems; d) Instituted health facility and community resilience building, and preventive interventions based on disaster risk analysis and mapping; and e) Established emergency and disaster response and recovery operations, based on national standard operating procedures.

By the end of 2022 all Member States in the African region will be fully implementing all the interventions of the regional strategy.

Guiding principles The guiding principles of this strategy are: • Gender and human rights principles that ensure incorporation of gender equity and human rights perspectives into policies and programmes as well as neutrality and impartiality in humanitarian response.

• Equity in access to services, with

special focus on highly vulnerable population groups including migrant populations and people living in small islands and developing states.

• Country ownership, with governments coordinating and ensuring that all interventions by partners are in line with relevant national guidelines.

• Participation, with the involvement of communities and civil society.

• Strengthening partnerships within the health sector, using the humanitarian reform principles.

• Fostering sustainable intersectoral collaboration at local and regional levels.

Priority interventions The interventions proposed below are the minimum required by each country in order to establish the necessary enabling environment and capacities to manage disaster risks. The strategic approach is to consider all potential hazards and all potential contributing factors that may affect health including: health determinants, climate change adaptation interventions, and action involving all MoH departments. The strategy may not require the development of new documents and structures, but an updating and strengthening of what exists. The following are the proposed interventions, the prioritisation of which would depend on country context and specificities.

Develop appropriate policies, strategies and regulations to facilitate risk management. This would involve updating the existing health legislation, national health policies and health sector strategic plans to incorporate provisions on prevention, preparedness and readiness, as well as response to the health impact of all potential hazards in the country. The revisions should be congruent with national multisectoral legislation, policies and plans on DRM. Provide adequate capacity for risk management in the health sector. The MoH should be given responsibility and adequate authority, capacity and resources to coordinate all health actions before, during and after emergencies and disasters. The health sector should participate in all decisions and actions of the national multisectoral committee on DRM, through a functional health sector subcommittee. Resources should be allocated “from the national budget to fund DRM activities in the health sector.”

Education and training programmes at undergraduate and graduate levels as well as continuing professional education and research on DRM should be developed and funded. The training should be aligned Volume 1

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Disaster risk management with the regional standard package on emergency training. Development of networks and communities of practice on DRM should be encouraged.

Conduct assessments and map risks.

Vulnerabilities and capacities of the health sector should be assessed in conjunction with other sectors in order to measure and map the risks to health and health care delivery. The structural and functional capacity of existing health facilities to withstand and respond to the impact of hazards should be assessed, using the health facility safety index.

Risk assessment and mapping should be updated regularly, based on changes in hazard and vulnerability profiles.

Implement resilience-building interventions in health facilities and at community level.

This will imply designing the structural, non-structural and functional requirements of new health facilities to enable them to with stand the impact of hazards and be functional in emergencies. Existing health facilities should be retro-fitted to increase their resilience, based on the results of risk assessments. Health facility disaster plans should be developed and tested. Community leaders and health workers at the community level should be engaged in risk assessment, planning and preparedness to build on local knowledge, experience and capacity. Community members should also play decisive roles in the execution, monitoring and evaluation of DRM intervention at community level.

Prepare and provide timely and adequate response to emergencies. Preparedness should be strengthened by developing, evaluating and revising response plans based on comprehensive risk analysis taking into account all prevalent hazards.

The plans should involve identifying rapid

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response teams at local and national levels including sources of surge support; prepositioning medical supplies and other logistics; designating isolation units and safe areas; and organising mass casualty management services. Procedures should be regularly tested through desktop exercises and simulations. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) for health response and recovery operations should be developed to determine what needs to be done, by whom and how, before, during and after emergencies and disasters, in order to minimise related casualties. Postdisaster needs assessment should be conducted to foster continuity of service and rebuild public health services, as part of updated national health strategic plans.

Generate and disseminate evidence.

Information on the projected and actual health consequences of natural and manmade disasters including event-based surveillance should be generated and monitored, using appropriate indicators, through the national surveillance system.

This will provide early warning and guide preparedness and health response.

Information management including use of feedback should be strengthened.

Operational research should be conducted on changing risk patterns for various communities, including highly vulnerable groups such as migrant populations and persons living in small island developing states. Operational aspects of response and recovery, eg the quality and impact of response, should be assessed through regular monitoring and research to inform adaptation of strategies and actions.

Initial steps in implementing the strategy A number of interventions have already been initiated to implement the strategy.

As highlighted in the strategy document the major shift involves addressing the root causes of a disaster. It is therefore imperative to look into the whole disaster management cycle and develop appropriate tools to facilitate and inform countries in their efforts to design or develop policies, strategies and standards for effective disaster management. The following diagram depicts the whole cycle and the various components of disaster management.

Disaster management is a continuous process with different but complementary interventions in the different phases of the cycle. The magnitude of a given intervention may vary from one phase to the other.

However, all interventions contribute to managing the effects of a disaster. The continuous monitoring and evaluation of the DRM interventions should be mandatory to improve or strengthen disaster management skills using lessons and best practices from the previous disaster.

The Regional Office for Africa of WHO has developed a set of tools and guidelines that focus on interventions at all levels of DRM in order to guide countries in tailoring strategies and plans to their individual needs. The tools developed will address different phases of the disaster management cycle.

These tools include: 1. Country capacity assessment (CCA) 2. Vulnerability risk assessment and mapping (VRAM) 3. Safe health facility index (HSI) 4. Guideline for developing standard operating procedures (SOPs) 5. Recovery framework 6. Core competencies for DRM

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Disaster risk management Country capacity assessment (CCA) The CCA user guide is the master document used to develop road maps for strengthening DRM capacity at the country level. The purpose of the user guide is to describe the steps involved in conducting DRM capacity assessments and developing capacity strengthening road maps. The document is divided into two main parts: Part one describes the methodology for conducting the capacity assessments including the key activities which need to be implemented during the preparatory, data collection, analysis, reporting and road map development phases. Part two of the document (the annexes) contains definitions of key disaster terminologies and the important tools such as indicators, benchmarks and reporting formats which are needed to analyse and document the findings of the assessments.

Vulnerability risk assessment and mapping (VRAM) The guideline provides practical guidance on how to conduct VRAM within the health sector of African countries. It summarises the key steps involved in planning, implementing, coordinating, supervising, monitoring and using the outcomes of health sector VRAM to build health system and community resilience to the public health impact of disasters. It may be used as training material for staff of MoH who want to undertake VRAM, as a step-by-step guide for conducting VRAM within the health sector and also as an advocacy tool to sensitise policymakers on health sector disaster risk reduction (DRR).

The document begins by defining the key disaster and VRAM terminologies and describing the key challenges, objectives and guiding principles for health sector VRAM. It outlines the conceptual framework for VRAM in the health sector and goes on to give broad orientations on how to conduct hazard analysis and mapping, health vulnerability and capacity assessments and health risk analysis. The guidelines conclude by describing how the outcomes of VRAM can be used to strengthen health sector and community resilience and how to manage the VRAM process.

Safe health facility index (HSI) This is a guide for countries to develop national health facility index assessment tools to identify aspects of the health facilities that impact on the safety of and through the application of standards to hospitals and other health facilities: strengthening preparedness; developing national standards for response; and strengthening evidence and knowledge management.

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Emergency standard operating procedures (SOPs) Standard operating procedures are practical field-oriented procedures based on minimal essential standards and best practices to manage response to emergencies and disasters. This document provides guidance for the preparation of national SOPs for health response to emergencies and disasters and not the SOPs themselves. The document is designed for use by staff at all levels of the MoH and partners in the health sector. It is divided into eight chapters. Chapters one to four give a brief introduction to the document and key considerations in developing SOPs; sections five to seven provide useful guidance on how to develop SOPs for health coordination, response and recovery before, during and after emergencies and section eight addresses monitoring and evaluation of SOPs and emergency response.

Recovery framework The framework provides practical guidance on post-disaster/conflict health system recovery to health care managers, decision-makers, health systems specialists and emergency public health practitioners in MoH and health partners who are involved in health services planning and delivery during transition periods. It summarises the key principles and processes involved in planning, implementing, coordinating, supervising, monitoring and evaluating transition and recovery activities within the health sector.

It may be used for capacity building purposes (training of health workers on health system recovery), as a reference material during the post-disaster phase, as background information for DRM planning and implementation, and as an advocacy tool to sensitize policy-makers. Most of the activities and challenges described in this document are based on lessons learned from practical field experience in African countries in transition from emergency to development.

Core competencies for public health DRM HR staff Core competencies guide is a multidisciplinary tool that can be used by the national health authorities to develop inservice, pre-service and specialized training courses in in public health DRM. Further, the core competencies can be used to develop interview guides and job descriptions for professionals enrolling in DRM careers.

Roles and responsibilities Member states Member states should: a) Provide leadership and mobilise partners for the development of national

road maps for implementation of the key interventions outlined in this regional strategy; b) Mobilise and allocate the necessary human, material and financial resources for the implementation of interventions, including contributing to the African Public Health Emergency Fund which caters for response, prevention and preparedness to save lives; c) Identify the responsibilities of the various agencies and levels of government and set the criteria for decision-making; d) Establish mechanisms for networking and cross-border collaboration under the aegis of regional and sub-regional bodies; and e) Adapt or develop guidelines and norms for the implementation of interventions, including monitoring and evaluation.

WHO and partners Based on the proposed priority interventions, WHO and partners should: a) Develop and make available updated tools, standards and guidelines for implementation of interventions, including updating national health policies and plans; b) Provide the necessary technical guidance and support on DRM to member states at national, subnational and local levels; c) Strengthen collaboration with, and ensure coherence and complementarity of actions among, the relevant entities including those in the public, private, nongovernmental and academic sectors as part of support to countries; d) Strengthen the evidence base for disaster risk management, through operational research and impact assessments; e) Support capacity building at national and subnational levels; f) Establish a functional emergency database and build a roster of experts in the region; g) Advocate for resource allocation to DRM in the African region; h) Support the creation of regional networks on DRM; and i) Develop tools for estimating the cost of the interventions.

Resource implications Literature and experience regarding the cost of establishing DRM are scarce, considering that the approach is relatively new. The resources required for the implementation of the new strategy will depend on the context and specificities of individual countries, in terms of size, prevalence of hazards and existing capacities to manage disaster risks.

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Disaster risk Disaster assessment risk management in practice

Utilisation of disaster risk

assessment in practice: the Western Cape model

By Nabeel Rylands, deputy director disaster risk planning, Western Cape Disaster Management Centre

D

isaster risk assessment is the first step in the implementation of an effective disaster risk reduction programme by examining the likelihood and outcomes of expected disaster events. This would include investigating related hazards and conditions of vulnerability that increase the chances of loss. An additional element that needs to be considered is the ability of climate change to exacerbate and amplify the impacts of a range of hazards and their social and economic impacts.

The importance and institutionalisation of disaster risk assessments has never manifested itself in municipalities with many disaster risk assessments

Some of the proposed interventions in this strategy, including updating the legal, policy and strategic documents, could be covered by routine administrative costs and may not require large capital investments. According to the Financial Tracking Service of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA), the countries in the region required an average of over US$3,2 billion annually from 2007 to 2011 to respond to emergencies and disasters, about 9% (US$288 million) of which was for the health sector response. At least 10% of this should be used for risk management, preparedness and recovery, in line with the African position and high-level commitment to the global platform for disaster risk reduction. Introducing hazard-resistant design measures in constructing new health facilities and retro-fitting old facilities are some of the main resourceintensive components and should be incorporated into the health sector capital development budget. This would increase construction costs by 5 to 24% which, compared with the cost of reconstruction or damage repair after a disaster, is significantly lower.

Monitoring and evaluation Progress towards the attainment of the targets set in this strategy will be evaluated in the medium term in 2017 and after ten years, in 2022. Data will be collected through surveys to monitor progress and identify constraints that hamper achievement of set targets.

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gathering dust in offices. Disaster risk is dynamic thus requiring disaster risk profiles to be reviewed and updated on a regular basis. Due to capacity and financial constraints, municipalities have neglected the maintenance of disaster risk profiles.

In an attempt to remedy this, the Western Cape Disaster Management Centre (WCDMC) has since 2011, provided financial and technical support to district and local municipalities in the province to undertake disaster risk assessments.

To date all district municipalities have been assisted. The most recent district disaster risk assessment is that of the Overberg, completed in March 2014.

Countries will be monitoring key indicators for DRM interventions at national and district levels, by using data from health information and surveillance systems, satellite forecasts, rapid health assessments and surveys.

Disaggregation of data to capture age, sex, social status and geographical differences will be emphasised. Predisaster monitoring will include general risk trends, health risks trends and event early warning. The monitoring before a disaster will capture details on the accessibility, quality, readiness and safety of health services. During response and recovery there is a need to monitor health outcomes focusing on the coverage of essential health services and interventions to mitigate diseases and behaviours that lead to poor health, such as antenatal care coverage. Other indicators to be monitored are severity of disaster, epidemic onset and evolution and nutrition indicators.

Conclusion Countries in the African region continue to be affected by emergencies, resulting in disasters with avoidable loss of life and significant socioeconomic costs.

The African Strategy on Emergency Preparedness and Response, adopted in 1997, focused on emergency preparedness and response. However, the World Health Assembly resolution WHA64.10, adopted in 2011, re-affirmed the current global focus on strengthening disaster risk management.

According to the Western Cape Disaster Management Framework, all disaster risk assessments must adhere to the criteria stipulated in South Africa’s “Policy Framework for Disaster Risk Assessment,” with specific reference to “Key Performance Area 2, Disaster Risk Assessment.”

By developing a provincial disaster risk profile that complies with the above mentioned criteria, a province and or a municipality will be able to prepare a disaster management plan that will include strategies, programmes and projects aimed at disaster risk reduction as well as disaster preparedness and response.

This regional strategy therefore proposes that member states strengthen disaster risk management by developing appropriate laws and policies; building adequate capacities in the MoH; assessing and mapping risks from a health sector perspective; assessing safety and applying standards to building of hospitals and other health facilities; building community resilience; strengthening preparedness; developing national standards for response; and strengthening evidence and knowledge management.

This would ensure a prepared health system capable of providing adequate health sector response and decrease the likelihood of emergencies turning into disasters.

The strategy was reviewed and adopted at the Sixty-second session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa. The regional committee recommended that the regional director: a) Provide the necessary technical guidance and support, including tools, to member states and partners for the implementation of the DRM strategy; b) Support national capacity building on DRM including strengthening the evidence base for disaster risk management; c) Lead the creation of regional networks on DRM; d) Communicate to member states on best practices on DRM implementation in the region; e) Advocate for resource allocation to DRM in the African region; and f) Report on progress to the regional committee in 2014, 2017 and 2022.

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Disaster risk assessment in practice also fosters ownership of the disaster risk profile by the municipality and provides communities with a sense of inclusion. This integrated risk assessment methodology has been rolled out to numerous district and local municipalities throughout the Western Cape with much success.

Risk map A local authority disaster management plan forms an integral part of the municipal integrated development plan (IDP), which endeavours to ensure that all development within the municipal area gets measured against the prevailing risk.

Due to the widespread use of consultants in the industry, the methodology used to undertake disaster risk assessments has varied quite significantly. To overcome this variation the WCDMC developed a standardised disaster risk assessment methodology, which is in line with the criteria stipulated in the framework under KPA 2. The methodology incorporates two components namely 1) scientific and 2) community based disaster risk assessment.

The scientific disaster risk assessment component involves extensive desktop research and interviews with hazards experts to ascertain the probability, frequency and severity of hazards. Key to this process is the inclusion of all line departments within a municipality to ensure buy in from the offset. This process also includes the study of

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coping capacity mechanisms that are in place to manage the hazard.

Geographical information systems (GIS) are extensively utilised during the disaster risk assessment process.

Overlay techniques employed in GIS are ideal to determine areas and communities at risk, thus allowing planners and disaster managers to make informed decisions.

Since all incidents occur and are felt at a local level, interaction with communities is essential during the disaster risk assessment process.

Community based disaster risk assessments (CBDRA) tap into the indigenous knowledge of communities and provides the practitioner with a view of how disaster risk is perceived at this level. In the Western Cape, CBDRA component is undertaken at a ward level within a workshop environment and involves the identification and mapping of areas impacted by specific hazards; critical facilities; vulnerable areas and communities on high resolution maps.

This process significantly contributes to the identification of specific disaster risk reduction projects and programmes aimed at reducing vulnerability and increasing capacity in the area. Transit walks are also a useful tool for gathering information as it provides practitioners with an opportunity to gather first-hand information that can be included in the disaster risk assessment.

By integrating the scientific research and the community based disaster risk assessment findings, one is able to test and ground truth information resulting in a more credible disaster risk profile for an area. This methodology

Globally a paradigm shift from disaster response to disaster risk reduction has taken place, which clearly emphasises the importance of having a credible disaster risk profile. However, having a credible disaster risk profile means nothing if it is not utilised. It is thus critical that disaster risk profile information is disseminated to all relevant stakeholders so that it can be institutionalised and integrated into all aspects of spatial and emergency planning within a municipality.

To ensure that the disaster risk profile and other critical datasets get disseminated to all relevant stakeholders, the WCDMC has developed the Disaster Management Decision Support Tool (DST). The DST is a web-based tool developed to ensure compliance with Section 17 of the Disaster Management Act, which states that the WCDMC must develop a database containing all data relevant to disaster management.

The DST contains a host of spatial datasets including locations of health facilities; schools; police stations; municipal infrastructure; hazard data; census; etc. All datasets are updated and maintained by the responsible department and located in a central repository managed by a transversal GIS unit. This ensures that all datasets are credible and up to date. Secure access to the DST has been provided free of charge to all municipalities throughout the Western Cape allowing disaster managers and spatial planners to make informed decisions.

The WCDMC has developed credible fire risk data, which is used annually to determine the placement of aerial fire fighting resources during the fire season. This support has contributed significantly in reducing the risk of fire in the Western Cape. The WCDMC has also utilised the disaster risk profile data to align its fire and flood awareness campaign to the prevailing risk, thus ensuring maximum impact.

Since all disaster management activities are underpinned and informed by a disaster risk profile, it is critical that it be updated and maintained regularly; institutionalised and integrated into development planning and disseminated to all relevant stakeholders.

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Upcoming events

Upcoming Events september - october 2015 31 August 2015 - 4 September 2015 Training course on Disaster Risk Reduction This one week course presented by Indepth Research Services (IRES) will provide hands-on training in DRR and the application of knowledge to decision making in DRR planning and management Venue: IRES Training Centre, Nairobi, Kenya For more information visit: www.indepthresearch.org 1 – 3 September 2015 AFAC 15: New Directions in Emergency Management The annual Australasian Fire and Emergency Services Authorities Council (AFAC) and Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre conference is Australasia’s largest and most important emergency services and public safety conference and trade exhibition Venue: Adelaide Convention Centre, Australia For more information visit: www.afac.com.au/events/conference2015 9 - 11 September 2015 30th Annual DMISA Conference The 30th annual conference of the Disaster Management Institute of Southern Africa The theme of the conference is inspired by the outcomes of the Sendai Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, which includes the 18 March 2015 release of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 Venue: Hartenbos, Western Cape, South Africa For more information visit: www.disaster.co.za/ 12 September 2015 International Day for South-South Cooperation 2015 On this day political leaders from different countries reaffirm their goals in working with UN leaders to reinforce or strengthen ties on their commitment to South-South cooperation in developing countries. In recent times a silent revolution has taken place among fast-track performers such as Brazil, China, India, Malaysia, South Africa, and Thailand.

For more information visit: www.un.org/en/events/southcooperationday/ 14-16 September 2015 United Nations International Conference on Space-based Technologies for Disaster Management: “A consolidating role in the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction - 2015-2030” The main aim of the conference is to produce an outcome document with guidelines to member states to integrate earth observation and geospatial technologies in implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction: 2015-2030.

Venue: Beijing, China For more information visit: www.un-spider.org/BeijingConference2015 21 - 25 September 2015 Training course on Disaster Risk Reduction This one week course presented by Indepth Research Services (IRES) will provide hands-on training in DRR and the application of knowledge to decision making in DRR planning and management Venue: IRES Training Centre, Nairobi, Kenya For more information visit: www.indepthresearch.org Volume 1

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4 - 7 October 2015 Third Global Risk Forum (GRF) One Health Summit 2015 The upcoming 3rd GRF One Health Summit 2015 aims to develop an international research and education strategy for One Health and to further develop and strengthen the One Health paradigm and its global movement as a trans- and inter-disciplinary approach Venue: Davos Congress Centre, Talstrasse 49a 7270 Davos Platz, Switzerland For more information visit: onehealth.grforum.org/home/ 7 - 9 October 2015 Sixth Annual Meeting of the European Forum for Disaster Risk Reduction (EFDRR) The purpose of the meeting is to facilitate discussion, exchanges and synergies towards disaster risk reduction activities in Europe and to provide inputs from European Forum Disaster Risk Reduction Focal Points to the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction Venue: Paris, France For more information visit: www.unisdr.org/we/inform/events/43847 12 - 16 October 2015 Sixth International Wildfire Conference Hosted by Korea Forest Service and the Korea Forest Research Institute, the conference will consider ways to limit the damage to forests caused by wildfires including through exchanging knowledge and experiences and strengthening the global wild land fire network. It will have a particular focus on the links between fires in forests and cultural heritage and practices.

Venue: Alpensia Resort, Pyeongchang, Gangwon, Korea For more information visit: www.wildfire2015.kr 13 October 2014 International Day for Disaster Reduction 2015 The theme for 2015 will focus on the use of traditional, indigenous and local knowledge.

22 October 2015 Fire Aid International Development and Humanitarian Aid Conference 2015 The conference is open to anyone who may have a direct interest in international development and humanitarian aid from within the fire and rescue service, from senior leaders and active practitioners to key supporters offering staff support and development opportunities Venue: London, UK For more information visit: www.fire-aid.org/ 26 - 30 October 2015 Training course on Disaster Risk Reduction This one week course presented by Indepth Research Services (IRES) will provide hands-on training in DRR and the application of knowledge to decision making in DRR planning and management Venue: IRES Training Centre, Nairobi, Kenya For more information visit: www.indepthresearch.org Disaster Management | 33

DMISA office contact details

The Disaster Management Institute of Southern Africa (DMISA)

DMISA office Contact details Tel: 011 822 1634

Fax: 011 822 3563

Email address disaster@disaster.co.za Postal address PO Box 7130 Primrose Hill 1417 Physical address Suite 5 123 Rietfontein Road Primrose Germiston, Gauteng South Africa Office hours 08h00 to 13h00 Website http: www.disaster.co.za Institute administrator Karin Muller Email: karin@disaster.co.za

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