Hospitals & Asylums
International Day for Disaster Reduction HA-12-10-05
United Nations agencies are
working around the clock, are sending supplies and teams of emergency workers
to the survivors of an earthquake that left an estimated 30,000 dead and 40,000
injured in Pakistan. While 1 million people are in need of acute, life-saving
assistance, 2.5 million people have been left homeless, and 4 million
affected. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has planned an airlift of 200 metric tons
of high energy biscuits, which are vital in the days following a natural
disaster, because survivors cannot cook their own food. The World Health
Organization (WHO) is providing essential medicines to cover 210,000 people for
one month, in addition to equipment for 1,000 surgeries. The United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees has begun distributing supplies for up to
100,000 people, such as family tents, blankets and stoves, drawn from existing
stockpiles. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) warned that tens of
thousands of women in the affected areas are currently pregnant, and has begun trucking
in medical supplies. The earthquake,
which measured 7.4 on the Richter scale, inflicted massive destruction in Pakistan’s North
West Frontier Province, Jammu and Kashmir States on the morning of 8 October. More than ten
aftershocks had magnitudes of 5.2 to 6.3. The quake also left 200 dead in
northern India and caused minor damage in Afghanistan. The relief effort
is being hampered by rain and mudslides, making access to the affected areas
very difficult. Hansjoerg Strohmeyer
of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that
the relief effort was currently dependent on helicopters, as the affected area
could only be reached by one small road, incapable of handling heavy truck traffic.
OCHA has set up emergency relief coordination centers in the capital Islamabad, as well as an on-site center in the Muzaffarabad
area.
Our planet is experiencing natural
disasters on an unprecedented scale. The consequential negative socioeconomic
and environmental impacts slow down and at times hinder and stall the
sustainable development of countries. The international community has a
distinct moral obligation to assist those countries which are mostly affected
by such disasters, through the enhancement of its mechanisms for
capacity-building, including technology transfer for natural disaster
prevention and humanitarian assistance, in cases when such cataclysmic
phenomena occur. Worldwatch
Institute reported in 1999 by the Dealing with
Disasters release that worldwide economic losses from weather related
disasters has risen suddenly from an estimated $8 billion in 1980 to $30
billion in 1990 to $90 billion 1999.
Natural Disasters and Vulnerability A/RES/59/233
of 22 February 2005 expresses concern over the
increasing negative impact of severe natural hazards, including
earthquakes, extreme weather events and associated natural disasters, which
continues to hinder social and economic progress, in particular in developing
countries.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s message on the International Day for Disaster
Reduction, to be observed on 12 October: The lesson we must draw is encapsulated
in the theme of this year’s International Day for Disaster Reduction:
“Invest to prevent disaster”. We cannot stop natural calamities, but we
can and must better equip individuals and communities to withstand them.
Those most vulnerable to nature’s wrath are usually the poorest, which
means that when we reduce poverty, we also reduce vulnerability. These are the type of innovative approaches
called for in the Hyogo Framework
for Action 2005-2015, adopted at the World
Conference on Disaster Reduction in 18 to 22
January in Kobe, Japan, and reaffirmed in September at the World Summit
at United Nations Headquarters in New York. On this International Day,
after a year in which we should all have learned profound lessons, I call on
Governments at all levels, international organizations, civil society groups,
and the private sector to implement this framework and invest in poverty
reduction and disaster prevention, in order to build resilient communities and
save lives. By resolution 44/236 (22
December 1989), the General Assembly designated the second
Wednesday of October International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction. The International
Day was to be observed annually during the International Decade for Natural
Disaster Reduction, 1990-1999. In 2001,
the General Assembly decided to maintain the observance of the International
Day for Natural Disaster Reduction on the second Wednesday of October (resolution 56/195 of 21 December), as a vehicle to promote
a global culture of natural disaster reduction, including disaster prevention,
mitigation and preparedness.
One of the distinctions between
how developed and developing States respond to and recover from disasters is in
the availability of vital and sound infrastructure, which plays a large role in
disaster management and can mean the difference between the deaths of several
dozens and hundreds to thousands of people. The push for sustainable
development may help create infrastructure, but regulation of building
standards that govern their day-to-day use will also help to build stronger
structures. Poorly designed
infrastructure could increase rather than mitigate potential hazards, and
poorly planned economic development could turn a recurring natural phenomenon
into a human economic disaster, said Ms. Arnold. “Allowing dense populations on
flood plains or permit-ting poor building codes in earthquake zones is as
likely as a natural event to cause casualties and losses.” Japan and the United States stand as examples of how regulatory measures can affect
the safety of citizens. Both Kobe and Los Angeles are areas that are highly susceptible to earthquakes. In
the recorded past, the deaths of denizens reached levels similar to developing
countries. Over time, both areas implemented and modified their building codes
to make them more resilient to earthquakes. Although the loss of life in the
1995 Kobe earthquake reached 5,000, a report by EQE International
showed that many of the structures that met the current building standards
withstood the force of the quake.
As reconstruction in southern Asian countries
has commenced, they are at a crucial point in their development. The rush has
begun to rebuild the region so that people can return to their daily lives.
While there is a need for expediency to return people to more permanent
shelters and restore the economy, it is also a moment to pause and examine what
role infrastructure will play in disaster management and implement needed
hazard-reduction standards. Development looks to the future, but it is also
important that it is durable enough to last at least until its use has come and
gone.