Advances in Disaster Management That Are Shaping the Future in Every Issue 3 the Director’S Letter 4 Letters to the Editor 5 Contributors

VOLUME VI WINTER 2013-14 | WINTER

LIAISONA JOURNAL OF CIVIL-MILITARY DISASTER MANAGEMENT & HUMANITARIAN RELIEF COLLABORATIONS CONTENTS Features 7 Comfort makes

betterLessons learned Doctors during the Haiti medical response that can enable other organizations By Navy Capt. Miguel Cubano, M.D.

13 One Drop at a Time Sri Lankan hospitals find life-saving water solution By Kusum Athukorala

16 From the Ashes The city of Higashi Matsushima, Japan rebuilds after tsunami By Shuya Takahashi

21 Advancing the Agenda Urban Risk Reduction in Bangladesh By Mohammad Sifayet Ullah

25 Interview with Richard Hough U.S. Agency for International LIAISON Development VOLUME VI 21 WINTER 2013-14 | WINTER 456 Hornet Avenue | JointPearl Base HI 96860-3503 Harbor-Hickam, TEL 808.472.0518 | FAX 808.472.0382 LIAISONA JOURNAL OF CIVIL-MILITARY DISASTER MANAGEMENT & HUMANITARIAN RELIEF COLLABORATIONS PROGRESS: Advances in Disaster Management that are Shaping the Future In Every Issue 3 The Director’s Letter 4 Letters to the Editor 5 Contributors

VOLUME VI On the cover: There have been 73 Calendar of Events | WINTER 2013-14 countless advances in disaster management in the last decade. This collage of photos highlights just a few that are represented within the issue. 49 1 Departments Partners Military-Military Cooperation on 28 HA/DR in the Indo-Pacific Region: JSDF’s Perspective By Col. Nozomu Yoshitomi Pushing Humanitarian Logistics 34 to the Edge: The Purple Shovel Story Technology Technology & Disasters: Technology 37 Integration for Performance Measurement in Training for Disaster Management By Raghavendra Polakonda, Subhashini Ganapathy, Ph.D., Kristen M. Barrera and James R. Gruenberg Building Disaster Resilient 44 Communities using Science and Technology By Jamie Swan Building with Compressed 47 Earth Blocks By Susan Heilig Flying High: The Use of Expendable 49 Civil Drones after Typhoon Haiyan By Imes Chiu, Ph.D., Chuck Devaney and Ted Ralston Reseach & Science 7 Nepal’s approach to Risk 55 Resilient Development By Sudhir Kumar Protecting Cultural Heritage during 63 Disasters: Prevention, Mitigation and Response By Elizabeth Varner ‘Japan changed everything:’ Advances 70 in tsunami modeling and simulation 70 37 since 2011 2 The Director’s Letter LIAISON Dr. Pamela Milligan Editor elcome to the latest Katryn Tuton edition of Liaison, the Art Director Center for Excellence Brian Miyamoto in DisasterW Management and Hu- Staff Writer manitarian Assistance (CFE) publica- Michael Hallett tion highlighting recent trends and accomplishments in international Please direct all inquiries to: disaster preparedness and response. Center for Excellence in Disaster Management This publication provides a forum & Humanitarian Assistance (CFE-DMHA) for international disaster managers 465 Hornet Avenue to present articles aimed toward the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam practitioner to share important new improved national capabilities Hawaii, 96860-3503 findings, technologies, programs throughout the Asia-Pacific region Phone: 001.808.472.0401 Fax: 001.808.472.0382 and success stories, and to highlight the disaster management community Website: http://www.cfe-dmha.org lessons learned and best practices in will increasingly depend on a collab- the field. orative civil-military relationship to LIAISON is a publication of the Center for As CFE transforms itself to be the achieve optimum results. Excellence in Disaster Management and Department of Defense’s premier Military involvement in disaster Humanitarian Assistance (CFE-DMHA) and organization focused on building in- response has grown with the increase serves to inform its diverse audience of current and ternational humanitarian assistance in frequency and intensity of disas- emerging issues related to civil-military relations and disaster management capability, ters. Strengthening this response across the broadspectrum of disaster relief in order this publication will also transform through improved civil-military to enhance understanding among civilian and to remain relevant and useful to civil relations is the primary mission and military practitioners and policy makers. Content is prepared in accordance with the disaster managers, military organiza- focus of CFE. In future editions, we Associated Press Style Guide. tions, humanitarian and nongovern- will be emphasizing this relation- Contributions are welcomed and highly mental organizations. It is our goal to ship and providing insight into new encouraged. The editor reserves the right to make this publication an extension research, programs and opportuni- make editorial changes to any material submitted of our partnership and collaboration ties to build stronger civil-military as deemed necessary. with the disaster management com- disaster response programs. munity and a forum for important We welcome your recommenda- The authors in this issue of LIAISON are entirely information sharing. tions, participation and contributions responsible for opinions expressed in their articles. This edition focuses on advances to this journal. The next edition will These opinions are not to be construed as official in disaster management practices focus specifically on partnerships and views of, or endorsed by, CFE-DMHA, any of its partners, the Department of Defense, over the past decade. From water collaborations in building disaster or the U.S. Government. solutions in Sri Lanka to improve- resiliency. I encourage you to share ments in disaster response in both your stories and programs with us In addition to the editorial staff and contributing Nepal and Bangladesh, this edition and our community. It is an exciting authors, the editor thanks the following people highlights both technological and time at CFE and in the field of inter- whose efforts made this publication possible: Dr. Pamela Milligan, Pervaiz Meer, Alberto programmatic advancements. It is national disaster response—it is our Morales, Jr., James Kenwolf, Col. Jun Kamiosako, through these advances that both pleasure to share this time with you Venus Graves, Douglas Wallace, Mick Korman, disaster management capability and and to be a resource for you. Capt. Billy Croslow, Senior Master Sgt. April capacity within many countries has Please visit our new website at Pastroius, Jim Welsh, John Miller, Joyce Blanchard, increased significantly, ensuring www.cfe-dmha.org to learn more Mike Sashin, Jobe Soloman, Mara Langevin, Judith Maurer, Isagani Bangui, Rochelle Nae’ole-Adams, better response mechanisms and about CFE. Dr. Imes Chiu, Alan Aoki, Andrea Dos Santos, preparedness. Andres Mukk, Hilton Lim, Allison Leslie, By all indications, we are going Warmest Aloha, Tammy Makizuru-Higa, Monique Wheeler, to need these advanced capabilities. Rod Macalintal, Dante Mercado, Lloyd Puckett, Dominic Sparacio, Heather Walker, Karen Michel, Report after report indicates there Michelle Ibanez and Dr. Vecenzo Bolletino. has been a significant rise in the frequency of natural disasters over the past two decades and even with

3 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 Letters to the Editor

LIAISON provides an open forum for stimulating discussion, exchange of ideas and lessons learned – both academic and pragmatic– and invites active participation from its readers. If you would like to address issues relevant to the disaster management and humanitarian assistance community, or share a comment or thought on articles from past issues, please submit them to [email protected]. Please specify which article, author and issue to which you are refer- ring. LIAISON reserves the right to edit letters to the editor for clarity, language and accuracy.

iStocks

LIAISON welcomes article submissions LIAISON is a journal of civil-military disaster management and humanitarian relief collaborations and aims to engage and inform readers on the most current research, collaborations and lessons learned available. If you are interested in submitting an article for consideration, please email your story idea to [email protected].

•Format. All submissions should be emailed to •Copyrights or licenses. All work remains the prop- the editor as an unformatted Microsoft Word file. erty of the author or photographer. Submission of Footnotes are the preferred method of citation, if an article or photograph to LIAISON magazine implies applicable, and please attach any images within the authorization to publish with proper attribution. document as separate files as well. •Supporting imagery. Original imagery supporting •Provide original research or reporting. LIAISON any and all articles is welcome. Please ensure the im- prefers original submissions, but if your article or ages are high-resolution and can be credited to the paper is being considered for publication elsewhere, photographer without license infringement. Images please note that with the submission. Previously should be attached to the submission separately, not published articles or papers will be considered if embedded within the Microsoft Word document. they are relevant to the issue topic. •Biography and photo. When submitting an article, •Clarity and scope. Please avoid technical acronyms please include a short biography and high-resolution and language. The majority of LIAISON readers are photo of yourself for the contributors’ section. from Asia-Pacific nations and articles should be addressed to an international audience. Articles should also be applicable to partners in organizations or nations beyond that of the author. The aim is for successful cases to aid other partners of the DMHA community.

Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 4 CONTRIBUTORS Navy Capt. Miquel Shuya Takahashi is the chief Cubano, M.D. is presently the of the Reconstruction Policy Sec- medical director for Tricare Area tion and Environmental Future Office Pacific. He is board certi- City Promotion Office of the Re- fied in general surgery and has construction Policy Department, been a Fellow of the American Reconstruction Policy Division College of Surgeons since 2002. for the city of Higashi Matsushi- From 2008 to 2010 he served as ma, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. He the U.S. Southern Command was born in Higashi Matsushima surgeon, the first naval officer to and has worked within different hold the position. During that departments of the local govern- time he directed the largest military medical disaster response ment since 1984. He joined the Reconstruction Policy Division in U.S. history during Operation Unified Response after the soon after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 and is in devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The same year he also co- charge of establishing and managing the Secretariat for Disas- ordinated the U.S. military medical response to the earthquake ter Reconstruction Headquarters. He is also responsible for in Chile. In addition to his 30-year service in the navy, Cubano reconstruction plans, progress management and progress of the is an avid airplane and helicopter pilot. His awards include the design for the Environmental Future City program. Defense Superior Service Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal and the Naval Commendation Medal.

Col. Nozomu Yoshitomi is Sudhir Kumar is a disaster Chief of Division for Strategy/ risk reduction specialist for the Concept, Ground Research and United Nations Development Development Command, Japan Programme in the Philippines. Ground Self Defense Force. Pre- He has more than 12 years of viously, he has served as a profes- disaster risk management experi- sor for the School of Defense ence and has worked with Asian Sciences at the National Defense Disaster Preparedness Center, Academy of Japan, a commander Bangkok for five years, handling of the 1st Surface to Ship Mis- a number of projects ranging sile Regiment, JGSDF, and a from mainstreaming disaster risk councilor of the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office. He management to community-based disaster risk management. graduated from the National Defense Academy in 1983 with In Nepal, he spent two years involved in technical assistance a major in international relations, and completed Command and capacity building to ministries at the national and district and General Staff Course and Advanced General Staff Course level on risk resilient development planning. He also worked at the JGSDF Staff College. He received a master’s degree in with UNDP, India for three years and was involved in drafting international security from the Graduate School of Takushoku disaster risk management related policy documents and capac- University and completed the doctoral program in 2012. He ity building, and has worked with the Government of Gujarat, has written and spoken extensively on civil-military affairs and India in the post-Gujarat earthquake R&R Program. He was international cooperation in disaster relief. His most recent involved in housing reconstruction and risk transfer issues. He works include: “Military-Public-Private Cooperation in Di- worked in Afghanistan with UNDP and GIZ to prepare disaster saster Relief: Lessons Learned from the 2011 Great East Japan planning guidelines and capacity building. His several papers Earthquake” (Liaison, 2012); “Enhancing Trilateral Disaster have been published in Indian journals. His areas of interest Preparedness and Relief Cooperation between Japan, U.S. and include recovery, knowledge management and mainstreaming. Australia: Approaches from Various Civil-Military Perspec- Kumar holds a master’s degree in rural management from the tives” (Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies, July 2013). Institute of Rural Management, India.

5 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 Elizabeth Varner is the Kusum Athukorala is the executive director of the National founder and president of the Art Museum of Sport, adjunct Network of Women Water professor at Indiana University Professionals, Sri Lanka (NetW- Robert H. McKinney School water) which in turn is one of the of Law, co-editor-in-chief of four founding members of the the Cultural Heritage and Arts Women for Water Partnership Review and vice president of the (WfWp) based in the Nether- Lawyer’s Committee for Cultural lands. She is currently the chair Heritage Preservation. She has a of the Sri Lanka Water Partner- B.A., University of North Caro- ship, the local affiliate of the lina, Chapel Hill; M.A., History of Decorative Arts, Smithson- Global Water Partnership that is leading a South Asia regional ian Institute-Corcoran College of Art+Design and J.D., Tulane capacity building program for women water professionals. She University Law School. She completed the Art and Business first joined the Steering Committee of the Global Water Part- Program at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London, American nership in 1996 and has spent a large part of the past decade Decorative Arts Program at Winterthur Winter Institute and establishing and growing an array of national and international Victorian Society Newport Summer School. She is a former organizations related to water management. She has published Colonial Williamsburg Antiques Forum Scholar and editor- nationally and internationally on research areas including in-chief of the Tulane Journal of Technology and Intellectual water education, governance, river sand mining, water trans- Property. She has presented and published articles on cultural fers out of agriculture and water pollution. In 2012, she was heritage law, international law, military law, arbitration and the recipient of the International Water Management Institute museum administration. ‘Women in Water’ award.

Mohammad Sifayet Ullah is the disaster management portfolio manager for the Compre- hensive Disaster Management Programme-II, the flagship disaster risk reduction program of United Nations Development Programme – Bangladesh, which coordinates with the Government of Bangladesh and six development partners to identify and address risk reduction within the country. He has significantly contributed to major policy development initiatives such as the Disaster Management Act, Disaster Management Plan and revision of the Standing Orders on Disasters. Additionally, he is responsible for the assurance functions of the Early Recovery Facility of UNDP – Bangladesh. Previous experience includes major organizations like the United Nations, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and international nongovernmental organizations. Ullah holds master’s degrees in environment and development from The London School of Economics and Political Sciences and anthropology from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 6 Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Eric C. Tretter/ U.S. Navy

Haitian fishermen look toward the Military Sealift Command hopitial ship USNS Comfort

ComfortLessons learned during the Haitimakes medical response that better can enable other organizations doctors

By Navy Capt. Miguel Cubano, M.D., Medical Director for Tricare Area Office Pacific n the last two decades it seems anytime and overwhelm the capacity earthquake that may apply to all that every time we turn on our of any country to prepare for, protect types of disasters, and the steps we TVs, or look at news online, against, respond to, recover from, need to take now in order to improve thereI is another disaster developing and mitigate all hazards. By defini- our global disaster response. My ex- somewhere in the world. Who can tion, a disaster is a sudden event that perience comes from a lifelong inter- forget the terrorist attacks of Septem- can disrupt a community or an entire est in disaster response and disaster ber 11, 2001, or the 2004 earthquake country by causing human, material, training, and my direct involvement and tsunami in the Indian Ocean economic and environmental losses in the coordination of the largest that killed 230,000 people, or Hur- that exceed the region or country medical disaster response after the ricane Katrina, Haiti’s earthquake, ability to cope using its own resourc- earthquakes in Haiti and Chile while the tornados in Joplin, Mo., Chile’s es. The unique nature of a disaster serving as command surgeon of earthquake, the Boston bombing, does not preclude an appropriate re- United States Southern Command Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, sponse that could save lives, decrease (USSOUTHCOM). and Japan’s earthquake that triggered suffering and accelerate the recovery After the January 2010 earthquake a tsunami responsible for the Fuku- of the affected areas. in Haiti, the United States mili- shima nuclear reactor meltdown? My goal in this article is to high- tary conducted Operation Unified As we can see, all disasters are light five medical lessons learned Response (OUR), the longest and different, they can strike anywhere, during my response to the 2010 Haiti largest U.S. military relief effort in

7 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 a foreign disaster operation to date. any type of disaster response. disaster. As a result, my involvement At the peak of the relief efforts, the as medical director of Tricare Pacific Department of Defense had deployed Lesson One: Have a Disaster was limited. more than 22,000 personnel, with Response Plan Haiti’s disaster response was not 8,000 on the ground, and the remain- the first time USSOUTHCOM was der on 58 aircraft and 23 vessels. Disaster response starts with a involved in a disaster response in the The USNS Comfort (T-AH local, regional, and national plan, but region, but it was the first time we 20) hospital ship departed from depending on the magnitude of the had to develop a complete disaster Baltimore within 72-hours of the disaster, the country in question may plan for the country assisted. Once disaster and received the first Hai- request assistance from the interna- Haitian President René Preval made tian casualties by air Jan. 19. A day tional community. The earthquake an official request for help from later, the ship had dropped anchor in Haiti was unprecedented in our the United States and the interna- off the coast of Port-au-Prince. The hemisphere and exceeded the capac- tional community, a plan was drafted total number of patients treated by ity of the island to appropriately within hours to include search and U.S. military personnel was 9,758, respond to the needs of its citizens. rescue, water, food, medical assis- of which 1,025 had some type of The functioning government in tance, security and a command and surgical procedure. At the peak of control element. The plan also had to operations, the military medical personnel numbered 1,110. The 7.0-magnitude quake killed an estimated 223,000 people and injured more than 300,000. Approximately 1.5 million people were left homeless and displaced by the quake. The cost of the disaster was approximately $8 to 14 billion (which is more than Haiti’s GDP).1 In comparison, the earthquake in Chile was an 8.8-magnitude but killed only 507 people; the majority of the deaths were secondary to the tsunami. Our medical military involvement in Chile (as requested by the government) was a U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Medical Support (EMEDS) unit manned for one month by U.S. person-

nel and eventually donated to Astrid Riecken/ ProjectHOPE the Chilean Ministry of Health. A child is treated in the critical care unit onboard the USNS Comfort. The total cost to U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Haiti immediately after the disaster incorporate force health protection was approximately $8.6 million, was extremely limited, in contrast against malaria, dehydration, diar- which included transportation and to the other disasters describe in the rheal diseases, psychological issues the month-long management of the introduction where a government and the need of protective gear for unit. was still coordinating the interna- potential exposure to asbestos and The medical involvement of U.S. tional assistance. For example, in the silica dust during rubble clearing military personnel in Haiti was much Philippines, the government has a operations. more extensive. In the following disaster response plan; their request One of the initial challenges in our sections I will describe five lessons did not included U.S. military medi- plan was the incorporation of non- learned that I consider important in cal assets, so the medical assets avail- governmental organizations (NGOs), able were strictly for the care of the interagency and United Nations 1 Pascal Fletcher, “Haiti reconstruction cost may.” Reuters, 16 Feb 2010, www.reuters.com. military personnel deployed to the health clusters. In order to establish

Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 8 command and control of the large military forces ex- response plans to the multinational exercises we do every pected to assist in the disaster response, USSOUTHCOM year around the globe (e.g. exercises Cobra Gold and established Joint Task Force - Haiti (JTF-H) on Jan. 14 Panamax). The other suggestion to improve medical di- to conduct humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in saster responses globally is to incorporate a disaster plan support of the lead agency, USAID.2 component to the medical readiness training exercises According to Rachel Donlon, author of Haiti Earth- (MEDRETE) and medical civil action programs (MED- quake and Response3, the plan had significant challenges, CAP) done around the world by our military, in order to due to lack of communications within the country, loss of increase capacity building of the local community during electric power and damage to the infrastructure. a regional disaster. Combatant commands need a plan The medical response plan included the USNS Com- that incorporates NGOs, interagency and civilians when fort, a 32-member Disaster Assistance Response Team responding to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (DART), Air Force EMEDS, multiple medical elements operations in their area of responsibility. from the combat ships first on the scene, and eventually medical personnel from all branches of the military. One Lesson Two: Logistics, Logistics, Logistics of the most significant elements of the One of the most medical plan was to important elements designate the indi- in a disaster response viduals in charge of is logistics. The main triaging the casualties contribution of the prior to arriving on military during a the USNS Comfort disaster response is to ease processing the vast logistical to the appropriate capability not found medical departments. in the civilian sector During the first two - the ability to move to three days, those goods and personnel individuals were not from point of origin able to appropriately to the final destina- triage patients on tion. According to the ground because Van Wassenhove, a large numbers of Henry Ford profes- patients were simply sor of manufacturing, flown onboard for “disaster relief is 80 care; however, once percent logistics,” so onboard the USNS Figure 1 the proper execution Comfort the patients of the logistical ele- were triage appropriately and those requiring laboratories, ment in a disaster response can be the difference between radiology or surgery were routed accordingly. success and failure.5 A good example of a medical plan combatant com- Opening the airport, clearing roads and utilizing mands should include in their region is included in a helicopters to transport water, food and medical supplies larger plan developed by USSOUTHCOM in preparation to the affected population within the first 24 to 48 hours, for the 2010 rain and hurricane season. Figure 1 shows was one of the logistic success stories during OUR. Dur- the elements required in the first 24- to 96-hours in Haiti ing the early hours, the lack of situational awareness made if a hurricane or severe rain moved toward the island after it difficult for us to know the requirements and priorities the earthquake. The plan is a guide that includes what regarding medical care. assets are needed to protect approximately 1.2 million The third day after the disaster, the Argentinian hospi- displaced citizens.4 tal medical director called me and asked me to help him One of my recommendations to build our partners get supplies. The Argentinian hospital was part of United medical planning capabilities is to incorporate disaster Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti and was the only operational hospital immediately after the earthquake. 2 P. Ken Keen, “Foreign Disaster Response; Joint Task Force-Haiti Observations.” Military Review, 2010: 85-96 The field hospital had used a month worth of medical 3 Rachel Donlon, “Haiti Earthquake: Crisis and Response.” In Haiti Earthquake and Response, New York: Nova Science Publisher, Inc, 2011, 1-67. 4 U.S. Southern Command, Operation Unified Response: Support to Haiti Earthquake 5 Van Wassenhove, “Humanitarian aid Logistics: Supply chain management in high gear.” Relief 2010. May 1, 2010. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 2006: 475-489.

9 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 supplies in just three days. I ask them to fax me a list with the medical supplies needed which I forwarded to the Veterans Affairs in Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rico National Guard was able to deliver 80 percent of the supplies requested within a day of the original call. We eventually did the same thing with the Cu- ban, Haitian and other hospitals that needed con- sumables to continue taking care of the injured. The movement of medical supplies from our warehouses to the different hospitals outside Port-au-Prince ac- celerated Haiti’s capacity to care for its own patients, setting the stage for the conclusion of OUR. In my opinion, this is the model to mimic in the future. During the acute phase of a disaster response,

we should be asking the leadership of the country Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Chelsea Kennedy/U.S. Navy what hospitals outside the disaster area are capable Military doctors work to place a skin graft on a Haitian patient’s leg during surgery of receiving patients and should be able to supply aboard USNS Comfort at anchor off the coast of Haiti Feb. 15, 2010. them with fuel, generators, medical supplies and temporary personnel (in Haiti’s case this meant orthope- pated in the military humanitarian operations aboard the dic surgeons for the large number of crush injuries) USNS Mercy during Pacific Partnership and aboard USNS until they are capable of sustaining themselves. Comfort during Continued Promise. The association with Focusing our efforts on fulfilling the medical supply Project Hope was important because the physicians they needs of already existing hospitals provides citizens bring aboard are credentialed and ready to work. with faster, more effective care in locations they are We also had a daily internal medical brief that included already familiar with. Supplementing medical care the Center for Disease Control (CDC), all branches of with specialty personnel should also accompany sup- the military, intelligence units, NGOs, a public health plies to bridge any gaps in capabilities. representative and a medical evacuation representative. The brief included information about each agency’s status. Lesson Three: Communication For example, the CDC would report any cases of malaria, cholera or any infectious disease trends; my deputy If you read any after action report from a disaster would report the overall patient status onboard the USNS response, you will see that the number one complaint Comfort and any other platform or ground medical unit; are issues with communication. The day after the the blood bank officer reported available or utilize units of USNS Comfort arrived, I instituted a telephone con- blood and their expiration dates. A report was produced ference that included 22 different medical individu- daily for the Chief of Staff to review and report at the daily als representing the White House, interagency and commanders’ meeting. different branches of the military. One of my require- One of the issues we confronted early on was the lack ments was that individuals representing a particular of a clear common operating picture (COP) and multiple agency had to have the authority to make decisions. command and control (C2) structures. In a way, it was This telephone conference was used the entire time understandable due to the magnitude of the disaster, the our forces were deployed in the disaster zone. The number of forces, NGOs, interagency and private citi- benefit of this type of communication is that many zens that wanted to help. One of the lessons learned was problems with transportation, equipment, supplies, to have a clear COP and a single C2 structure before the authorities and personnel were solved by one of the deployment of forces. individuals at the other end of the phone. After the A contribution of the Special Forces teams during first month, some units were excused if their involve- OUR was the distribution of 73,000 hand-crank radios to ment was no longer needed. the Haitian population in order to keep them informed of Other important sources of communication were the location of medical services, food and water distribu- our connection to USAID as our lead agency and the tion sites, and other pertinent information. There was a radio station broadcasting information to the population United Nations clusters. We were able to communi- 6 cate with many of the NGOs on the island via direct on a regular basis. Also, the USSOUTHCOM Command- communications or during the U.N. cluster meetings. er, Gen. Douglas Fraser, instructed officers to declassify as In particular, we worked very closely with the Uni- much information as possible and share it through blogs, versity of Miami’s Project Hope, which has partici- 6 Donlon, ““Haiti Earthquake,” 2011.

Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 10 social media and websites for the damaged roads and debris, but we care for patients. The Red Cross and benefit of all involved in the disaster didn’t want to injure anyone on the Project Hope provided the majority response.7 ground. of civilian personnel during the evo- During the early days of the Other vital information gathered lution. Even though the cooperation disaster I was making many of the by looking at the aerial pictures of the was unprecedented, there is opportu- decisions in coordination with one of buildings was the ability to see the nity to improve the collaboration by the medical planners in Haiti, Navy condition of the hospitals. In many having NGOs participate in military Capt. Michele Hancock, but it be- of the views, we observed a large humanitarian operations like Con- came obvious that we needed a joint number of beds with patients in the tinue Promise and Pacific Partner- task force surgeon to provide better hospital’s parking lot. We used that ship. In order to grow our partner- care to the people of Haiti; Rear Adm. information to calculate the number ship, designated officers should spend Alton Stocks was selected as the of patients, beds available and the time with our NGOs partners so both JTF-Haiti surgeon in order to have a location of those hospitals. organizations can understand each strong advocate to represent medi- One more technological tool you other better during the next disaster.8 cal capabilities during the everyday need during disaster response is a sat- One of the most accepted suggestions operations in country. ellite phone. In a disaster, cell phones is to develop an international disas- One last suggestion to finish this and landlines may not work due to ter response network that will help section on communication - please damage to the infrastructure. Satel- nations deploy civilians and military make sure that you have only one lite phones may be the only way for personnel cohesively in response to person from the medical sector talk- medical personnel to communicate disasters on foreign soil.9 ing to the media at the same time with one another in order to coordi- It would also be wise for academic each morning to report the number nate medical supply needs and ship- institutions preparing the next gener- of patients treated and deceased. This ments. If you are going to use radios, ation of doctors, nurses and military will prevent confusion of numbers you need the same type of radio and personnel to include a comprehensive and information that may erode to coordinate the frequency during guide in their curriculum on how to your creditability with the media the planning stage. plan and execute a disaster response and possibly your command. I spent In the months after the disaster, in conjunction with interagency hours explaining comments made our information technology depart- and NGO participation. This type of by medical personnel on different ment used computer simulation civil-military cooperation will save casualty numbers to my leadership; software for weather forecasting to lives and money in the next disaster comments that were well intentioned predict the cholera outbreak before it response by providing a seamless, but caused more confusion and in the happened. Their estimate was short synergistic cooperation.10 end wasted time and money. by only 5,000 cases. We also use Working with the NGOs will also Google Earth, Facebook and Twitter provide a good foundation to deal Lesson Four: Use of Technology to communicate with the populace, with the issue of an internally dis- but a word of caution – I recommend placed population. Military medical The use of technology was cru- that the use of social media be limited involvement should be in support cial during the entire evolution. The to sharing valuable information on of the NGOs in the form of logisti- U.S. Navy surveillance and the Air location and supplies for the public. cal support. The reality is that the Force unmanned aerial vehicles were I’ve seen good medical personnel internally displaced population poses instrumental in evaluating the dam- become unwanted during disaster a challenge that must be addressed as age of the buildings around Port- response as a result of harmless posts soon as possible in order to provide au-Prince. The unmanned aircrafts that were interpreted negatively. suitable solutions to the needs of help us detect early on the location large numbers of people.11 of internally displaced citizens. The Lesson Five: DoD & NGO Cooperation information was also use to set up Conclusion the distribution centers of food and Department of Defense and NGO water. The unmanned aircraft was cooperation during OUR has been The military’s medical community also instrumental in selecting the described by many on both sides has a definite role in the initial phase locations during the early stages of as unprecedented. The most sig- of disaster response, whether the the operation for aerial drops of food nificant cooperation was aboard the 8 James Terbush and Miguel Cubano, “DoD and NGOs and water. We needed to reach the USNS Comfort where translators, in Haiti; A Successfull Partnership.” World Medical and Health Policy, 2012: 1-6. population that was isolated due to physicians, nurses and support staff 9 Keen, “Foreign Disaster Response,” 2010. 10 Terbush and Cubano, “DoD and NGOs,” 2012. 7 Keen, “Foreign Disaster Response,” 2010. worked together under one roof to 11 Keen, “Foreign Disaster Response,” 2010.

11 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 disaster is within your own nation or you are responding to another country’s cry for help. The plan has to include a disaster assessment team that can quickly make recommendations regarding the immediate needs on the ground. The military medical response should be fast and modular, augmenting the existing platforms in the region or even augmenting

host country medical assets. Plan on Petty Officer 3rd Class Christopher Lussier/ U.S. Navy providing medical supplies to the local hospitals capable of treating patients and supplementing personnel as needed. The surgical teams should be presented like a Forward Resuscitative Surgical System (FRSS) or EMEDS; early surgical units are the key to saving lives within the first four days of a disaster, especially after an earthquake. If available, an amphibious assault ship is an ideal platform for a rapid medical response, because of the large flight deck capable of receiving multiple helicopters with casualties simultane- ously and the robust surgical assets as part of the crew. Establish channels of communication within your organization and with outside medical assets. We need to improve our cooperation, communication and understanding of the NGO’s and civilian personnel involved in a disaster response if we want to be successful. If we take advantage of each other strengths, we during port visits in Pacific Partner- will shorten the acute phase of the ship. In the Caribbean, the Mexican disaster, saving lives and money in hospital ship ARM Huasteco can do the process. port visits with the USNS Comfort The humanitarian missions in during Continued Promise. This type the Pacific and Caribbean provide of cooperation with representatives a unique platform for what I call from all countries of the region, as a humanitarian “unitas.” Unitas is well as NGOs, can develop relation- a multinational naval exercise to ships and refine common processes enhance security cooperation and needed for a successful global disaster understanding between participating response. navies. The concept of humanitar- There is no such thing as a “per- Petty Officer 3rd Class George Sherer, ian unitas is to invite nations within fect” disaster response, but every day a steelworker assigned to Amphibious the respective region to participate that we work together we are getting Construction Battalion Two installs in a regional humanitarian medical closer to that goal of saving lives, fencing material around the perimeter of the relief camp. ACB 2 is conducting operation. Nations like China, which mitigating suffering, and providing construction operations as part of the has a brand new hospital ship, could those affected by the disaster the best humanitarian and disaster relief to Haiti, work alongside the USNS Mercy opportunity to rebuild. Operation Unified Response.

Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 12 13 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 One drop at a time Sri Lankan hospitals find life-saving water solution By Kusum Athukorala, Chair of NetWwater and the Sri Lanka Water Partnership ater problems have plagued Retourschip Foundation, both of the USD) and the hospital’s monthly con- Sri Lanka for more than Netherlands, has implemented a rainwa- sumption of water averages 260,000 liters a decade. Extensive ter harvesting project to address the water (69,000 gallons), of which 120,000 liters droughts,W industrial pollution and poor problems in rural hospitals. The first are obtained from the National Water water management have all contributed system, a 8500-liter (2,245 gallons) Ferro Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB). to the issue, and third and fourth-order Cement Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) During the rainy season an additional affects are being seen in the rural regions. tank, was set up in Henawala District 140,000 liters are pumped from a nearby In particular, the rural hospitals in Sri Lanka are fed by nearby water sources through gravity schemes and ground water, but during the dry periods many water resources dry up dramatically. To exacerbate the problem, runoff due to heavy rains can cause silt blockages in water systems that are in place. This lack of a reliable NetWwater water supply degrades the capability of rural hospitals to provide the highest level of health services and can potentially cause the hospitals to shut down complete- ly. As a way to mitigate the challenge, rainwater harvesting systems providing supplementary water for health and hygienic purposes can help hospitals reduce their Rainwater harvesting tanks address water challenges in rural Sri Lankan hospitals. monthly water bills and reduce service interruptions due to an Hospital, Kadugannawa, Kandy, Central well every three or four days to a separate inadequate water supply. Province. water tank. The Network of Women Water The Henawala hospital reflects the av- The supplemental RWH tank is filled Professionals Sri Lanka, or NetWwa- erage target hospital due to its high water by rainwater conveyed from the gutters ter, a founding member of the Women consumption needs of daily admissions, of the ward building for use during the for Water Partnership, with support of patients and staff. The monthly water dry periods when the well is too low to the Soroptimist Club – Wassenaar and bill is 25,000 rupees (approximately $400 supply the water required. The rainwa-

Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 14 Patients Monthly Monthly Patients Treated Cost of Water Cost of Water Hospital Admissions Treated in Clinic (LKR) (USD)

1. Henawela 12600 72034 45008 25200 $217 2. Wattappola 4320 34200 25200 15000 $130 3. Dodamwela No wards 45456 18673 8000 $70 4. Hakgala 7200 34200 23400 10600 $92 5. Ududumbura 14500 57356 38320 12350 $107 6. Muruthawala 4320 39600 21600 8600 $75 7. Yakgahapitiya 5200 41800 26345 12560 $109 8. Pamunuwa 3456 23450 27340 14000 $122 9. Mampitiya 5231 36741 39425 14500 $126 10. Balana No wards 21600 41235 54960 $479 Total 57332 327537 422439 175570 $1527 Phase 1. Patient coverage of target hospitals (August 2009)

ter runs through the tank’s upper filter and is connected to the hospitals main water system through a discharge pipe. The water is then used for toilet flushing, hand washing, ward washing and gardening purposes. Rainwater harvesting has become an appropriate alternative solution for scarcity of water in most areas in Sri Lanka. During the last decade more than 10,000 rainwater tanks have been set up to grapple with the periodic drought-related water problems in many parts of the country. State support has been forthcom- ing with the formulation of a rain water harvesting policy, and as a result, RWH tanks have covered half the rural hospitals in Central Province to date. “Not even a single Crucial in the set-up of the RWH systems is the direct involvement of staff and doctors of the target hospitals and the raindrop should be close cooperation with the district authorities. NetWWater and the Department of Health have set now in motion the steps allowed to flow into the needed to ensure that the tanks will be included in the official de- partmental monitoring format. This means the use and status of the tanks will be covered in all monitoring visits by the provin- sea without having made cial authorities. This is essential as a recent study of Sri Lankan RWH systems carried out by the Lanka Rain Water Harvesting use of it for the Forum shows that 20 percent of the tanks studied are not being used due to poor awareness, lack of follow-up and poor main- benefit of the people.” tenance. The Department will also monitor decreases of water and electricity costs as reflected in monthly bills due to the RWH - Sri Lankan King tanks coming into use. So far, the Henawala hospital reports that they have a 10 percent saving on electricity and water. Parakramabahu the Great (1153-1186 AD)

15 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 From the Ashes The city of Higashi Matsushima, Japan rebuilds after tsunami

By Shuya Takahashi, Chief of the Reconstruction Policy Section and Environmental Future City Promotion Office for the city of Higashi Matsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan AP Photo/ Kyodo News

Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 16 n March 11, 2011 the had to be rushed to the hospital. Re- Great East Japan Earth- quests for food, blankets and heaters quake caused a massive were received in the days following tsunamiO that resulted in unprece- the disaster and supplies had to be dented damage. In the city of Higashi transported to each site in an efficient Matsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, manner. 1,109 people lost their lives and 25 Flooding affected 65 percent of people are still missing. the city’s acreage, the largest percent- In addition to the massive loss age in the country. At one point after of life and thorough destruction of the tsunami, the number of evacuees the city’s housing, the disaster also surpassed 20,000, nearly half the destroyed the urban infrastructure city’s population. Refugees were and industrial base. Many victims evacuated to 454 locations. Although remain homeless and lack the liveli- the city’s 350 officials were mobilized hood they relied upon prior to the and working to find more permanent earthquake and tsunami. However, solutions, many evacuees were forced the lessons learned from the earth- to remain at evacuation sites for quake challenge the traditional idea more than a month. of “reconstruction.” Together, the Transportation of the victim’s city’s residents are not merely restor- remains was performed concurrently ing Higashi Matsushima, but creat- with rescue operations. Initially a ing a town development plan that municipal gymnasium was prepared establishes a standard for disaster as a morgue, but with the high num- recovery. ber of casualties, the school gymna- Higashi Matsushima City sium was also used. By the end of the Higashi Matsushima Before and After recovery effort, four morgues were required. Higashi Matsushima is located For me the event was a personal between the cities of Ishinomaki matter – I lost my daughter in the and Sendai, slightly northeast of the disaster, but I had to work soon after Matsushima Bay. It has a popula- viewing my daughter’s remains. was developed to address solutions tion of approximately 43,000 and Many of my colleagues also lost fam- for regional issues. Each of the eight was growing prior to the earthquake. ily members and even more lost their councils began working toward solu- Many of the newer Higashi Matsu- homes, but we had to keep working tions for local concerns, and addition- shima residents took advantage of to respond to the disaster and aid in ally contributed to the overall plan. the convenient public transportation the recovery. As a result, everyone Each of the councils are located in and commuted to Ishinomaki and within the city staff was reaching their local civic centers and employs Sendai through the city’s eight rail their limits physically and mentally. residents as the personnel to deploy system stations. various programs including a city Tourism was also a significant The Power of Community planning event, continuing studies and draw for the city and represented the sport activities. city’s main industry. Overlooking the The local community and an After the catastrophe, the local com- Pacific Ocean, Higashi Matsushima inland municipal council played a munity showed significant strength. was known as one of Japan’s three major role in the emergency period Each area developed their municipal most beautiful sites. The other major immediately after the earthquake, councils in cooperation with one industries were seaweed and oyster and continue to provide support another along three phases: self-help, aquaculture, and agriculture with a during the recovery period. A Hi- mutual assistance and public-help. In focus on rice. gashi Matsushima Town Planning the emergency phase, these councils When the tsunami hit there were Council was created, which is unique deployed groups to each area in order nearly five centimeters of snow to Higashi Matsushima. It is a self- to help victims, distribute boiled rice covering the ground. The tempera- governing council of city residents and run soup kitchens, provide a ture was very cold for the middle of organized into eight municipal coun- change of clothes to those in need, and March and as a result, many of the cils by school district. Through this provide instructions from the govern- victims suffered hypothermia and council, a City Reconstruction Plan ment to the populace.

17 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 center residents and junior high school students. Each group ex- changed ideas and summarized their opinions. As a result, more than 2,000 people participated in the reconstruction plan workshops and a consensus was attained relatively quickly. An agreement was established which defined the new border for the tsunami disaster prevention zone area. Just over 80 percent of the votes were in favor of relocation, 10 percent favored local rebuilding, and approximately 10 percent were undetermined. Additionally, advice and guidance from an expert study was incorporat- ed into the final Higashi Matsushima Reconstruction Plan. The expert committee attended the workshops and community meetings, allowing for inclusion of professional recom- The city of Higashi Matsushima was devastated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. This residental area in Nobiru district was washed away by the tsunami. mendations at any time. Higashi Matsushima City During this one to three month period after the In the operation of the community emergency shel- disaster, the city government focused on administrative ters, there were also community organization officers that functions, but was also responsible for missing persons played a strong role. Each local officer aided the council searches, emergency shelter management, food security, meetings on discussion and development of restoration debris removal, construction of temporary housing, plans by obtaining the cooperation of the citizens staying certification issuance for home construction, death cer- in the shelters. tificates, grants for relief, and all other affairs pertaining to the earthquake aftermath. Due to the earthquake and The City’s Efforts for Recovery tsunami, about 30 new city representative “help” windows had to be constructed. One month after the earthquake, the goal was to raise Without the support of other local government offi- optimism in affected areas and begin the recovery as soon cials and private sector volunteers, the success of our city as possible. The Great East Japan Earthquake Rehabili- staff would not have been possible. The outpouring of tation and Reconstruction Guidelines were completed support created unbreakable national ties for which the quickly and supported this movement towards achieving citizens would like to express their sincere gratitude. progress toward reconstruction. Next, a working team was organized for a land use Outline of the Recovery Plan adjustment study at the city’s disaster response headquarters. The team formulated the Higashi Matsushima In the recovery plan, the top priority must be to collective relocation plan as a part of the overall recon- build a defense system that can protect life. For Higashi struction plan. The city government and its citizens Matsushima, this defense system must address a coastline agreed that a town meeting was needed to determine extending more than 20 kilometers, and regional charac- whether residents would rebuild where they lived prior teristics of a low-lying city at sea level, climbing to only to the earthquake and tsunami, or whether they would be three meters above sea level, with Japan’s longest canal relocated further inland. running through the town. As a result, we decided to At the discussions of the reconstruction plan, citizens develop a defense system that can protect citizens from a met face to face to exchange information directly. These once-in-a-1,000-years disaster and property from a once- discussions met at each of the eight municipal council in-a-100-years disaster by layering defense facilities such locations. The councils adopted a workshop method as a coastal levee and an inland high-banking structure. instead of a briefing system, dividing citizens into small In the area that suffered crushing damage, the plan- groups which included farmers, fishermen, evacuation ning is based on the experience of the disaster and

Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 18 Courtesy Photo More than 2,000 citizens participated in the reconstruction and relocation decisions.

emphasizes community evacuation. Evacuation and fire tion) was used, the debris would have a processing cost drills, and upgrades of the disaster prevention adminis- of about 60 billion yen. But, in Higashi Matsushima, trative radio and other systems, are all improvements to through the cooperation of the construction business the Higashi Matsushima disaster plan. community and the citizens, much of the debris was Currently, construction is in progress for seven resi- recycled, reducing the cost of disposal by about 20 billion dential complexes in the city. The locations are inland yen. Further, incineration of less than three percent of the and upland from the pre-disaster areas, representing the total was needed to complete the cleanup. commitment to protect human life and in order to re- Most disaster recovery efforts involve transfer of build where sustainable development is possible. The city debris to other municipalities. Higashi Matsushima is putting every effort into early completion of the com- achieved a high rate of recycling, while securing employ- plexes for the approximately 3,000 households destroyed ment for residents who lost their livelihoods by provid- by the tsunami. ing jobs sorting recycling material. Furthermore, use of city-owned portable general-purpose heavy construction Processing Earthquake Waste with the equipment dramatically lowered processing costs. This “Higashi Matsushima Method” reduction of costs has earned the popular name, “the Hi- gashi Matsushima Method,” as an expression of efficient Since the regional characteristics of the area consist earthquake waste management. of lowlands spread along the coast, about 65 percent of the city was submerged by the tsunami. The tsunami, in Growing interest in energy and the environment combination with the earthquake, created a huge amount of rubble, about 1.5 million tons in a single day (approxi- When the Great East Japan Earthquake hit there was mately 150 years’ worth under normal circumstances). a shortage of kerosene and gasoline that prolonged the If the standard method of waste disposal (incinera- power failure within the city. Higashi Matsushima citi-

19 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 Higashi Matsushima dramatically reduced cleanup costs by recycling the majority of the debris from the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Citizens painstakingly separate the rubble into 19 categories. Courtesy Photo zens also experienced a prolonged blackout as a result of difficulty in securing energy in the days and weeks following the earthquake. It is for these reasons that the above-mentioned citizen workshops and a civic questionnaire showed a clear trend in the direction the city should take during the recovery – as a city, a decision was made to focus future energy production on methods that allowed energy independence. By implementing renewable energy and environmental protection plans, the Japanese government certified Higashi Matsushima as the “Environmental Future City Concept” in 2011. The Future of Reconstruction

In June 2014, five of the seven housing complexes are scheduled to be complete. Of the 1,010 units, 254 units were finished in March 2014 and families began occupying them in April. Our city began the recovery effort at a relatively early stage post-disaster, and rebuilding infrastructure such as sewers and roads, and constructing public facilities such as nursery schools, After the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami fishing and agricultural facilities will continue after the initial five- in Higashi Matsushima, and the progress toward year “recovery” period. The time between 2016 and 2020 will be reconstuction. the “development” phase where the beauty of Higashi Matsushima can be further enhanced once again and people can lead a spiritu- ally rich life while the reconstruction is completed. This time has been filled with support, both physically and spir- itually, from home and abroad. Numbers of volunteers and others wishing to aid the city continue to grow, creating new opportunities to build lasting relationships. The circle of support has motivated me to achieve a recovery plan that matches the power of the assistance. But for the city of Higashi Matsushima, it is our hope that others will not only see the city as it recovers from the devastating disaster, but also see it as the model for disaster recovery.

Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 20 ADVANCING THE AGENDA

More than 1,100 people were killed in the Rana Plaza tragedy forcing Bangladesh to examine the safety of its buildings.

21 LIAISON Volume VI Spring 2014 AP Photo/ A.M. Ahad ADVANCING THE AGENDAUrban Risk Reduction In Bangladesh By Mohammad Sifayet Ullah, Disaster Management Portfolio Manager for the Comprehensive Disaster Management Program – II, United Nations Development Programme

ur journey towards an ‘urban world’ has particularly the poor and the disadvantaged, and UNDP reached a dramatic point in the history of continues to be a proud partner that supports this un- humankind. Since 2008, at least 3.3 billion dertaking. This long-standing partnership with GoB is people,O nearly half the world’s population, are living in unique for at least three major reasons- development of urban areas and not surprisingly more than a third in the national policies, responsive institutions and empower- urban slums. ment of communities. Effective central policies, stronger Rapid population growth is taking place in cities, be institutions and smarter resource and knowledge man- it metropolises, medium-sized cities or small towns. By agement, coupled with active community participation, 2050, it is assumed that approximately 70 to 80 percent of means Bangladesh is not only planning better to mini- the world’s nine billion people will live in cities, a com- mize the impact of natural disasters, but also accelerating plex trajectory for decision makers responsible for pro- recovery and rebuilding stronger in the aftermath. viding quality goods and services to city dwellers. Trends In disaster risk management, UNDP continues to be a indicate medium urban centers are continuing to inflate partner in which the government harbors its trust. Since sharply despite having resource deficiency. Simultane- 2004, the redoubled push of the multi-donor Compre- ously, larger cities are also overstrained due to substantial hensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP) has demands of their booming inhabitants causing resource catapulted a paradigm shift away from reactive relief poor conditions, compounding risks and increasing toward proactive risk reduction on a national scale. The vulnerabilities to disaster. While the urban life may seem CDMP II (2010-14), a vertical and horizontal expan- appealing to many, the shocking reality is that the urban sion of Phase I, deepened the culture of risk reduction context in Asia is currently grim and Bangladesh is un- through mainstreaming it across the government. This fortunately not an exception. Effective urban governance, programme has played an important role problematizing driven toward poverty alleviation and disaster risk man- the risk and developing the risk profile of the country. It agement, is now a great concern and poses a paramount also influences the political will in favor of proactive risk challenge for national authorities across the globe. management and in devising agile policy instruments to Bangladesh is an extremely populous and poverty enable transformational change. challenged country in South Asia. Looking from a disaster risk management viewpoint, Bangladesh is a global Risk awareness and policy response leader, a laboratory where ‘resilience’ is showcased. Yet, acknowledging that 40 percent of the nation’s population CDMP II conducted the seismic microzonation will become urban residents by 2020, the government mapping of Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet city areas to is broadening its vision and preparing the urban cen- determine the vulnerability factor for all infrastructure, ters where risks are being accumulated and transferred building, communication networks and lifelines (e.g. gas, from the rural areas. The United Nations Development electricity and water). The programme is now scaling up Programme (UNDP) is committed to continuing support the seismic microzonation to Dinajpur, Rangpur, Tan- of the people and their government to reduce urban risks gail, Mymensingh and Rajshahi township areas. Results and ‘Making Cities Resilient.’ from a set of technical and multi-disciplinary studies The disaster management vision of the Government (seismic fault-lines, geological and structural vulner- of Bangladesh (GoB) is to reduce the risk of its citizens, ability) commissioned by CDMP create a strong basis to

Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 22 develop key policy instruments and works as an incentive response equipment and most importantly connecting for its urgent implementation. This study defined seismic with communities to promote disaster volunteerism. vulnerability characteristics of existing building structures, essential and lifeline facilities in the metropolitan Community Volunteerism for Urban Disasters areas under the City Corporations of Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet. CDMP II is the key vehicle to develop and realize the Modeled on international best practice initiatives in national vision of developing 62,000 urban community some of the high-risk countries of earthquake disasters, volunteers, of which 32,000 are in the process of being including Japan, Iran, Turkey and the United States, this trained on search and rescue (SAR), equipped with safety study was conducted by a team of top-notch experts, both gear and standing by to serve the country when needed. international and local, from Asian Disaster Prepared- These community volunteers proved their worth during ness Centre, Bangkok, OYO International Cooperation, the Rana Plaza tragedy, where the building containing and Japan in partnership with three abovementioned six garment factories, numerous commercial shops and a City Corporations. It revealed that Bangladesh faces a bank collapsed, killing more than 1,100 people. Around massive threat from a plethora of buildings that do not 200 CDMP trained firefighters and rescue experts en- meet minimum safety standards against earthquake and gaged in rescue operations with overall coordination fire hazards. The threat is seriously compounded by high conducted by the Bangladesh Army. Approximately 800 population density, congestion, lack of enforcement on urban volunteers, trained through CDMP support, joined building codes and limited capacities in response, in- the rescue operation on a rotational basis - 200 in each cluding the availability of critical equipment. Thus, this shift - and helped save more than 2,400 lives. study provided critical inputs to develop scenario-based response planning for key national response agencies Enhancing Response Capacities: and offered processes for contingency planning for 13 Equipment to address Urban Hazards response agencies including three City Corporations, Fire Service, Armed Forces Division (AFD), Department of Continuing the support of CDMP Phase I, light and Disaster Management, Directorate of Health and Utility heavy equipment (cranes, pilot transporters, bulldozers, Services (WASA, gas, and electricity) and telecommuni- excavators, forklifts, emergency lights, search cameras, cations. thermal imaging cameras, airlift bags, rescue jacks and wheeler water mist systems) was provided to Bangladesh Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction Fire Service and Civil Defence. Drawing lessons from the (DRR) in Urban Governance Rana Plaza tragedy, targeted fire stations located within or near commercial hubs have been strengthened. Profes- Poor urban governance, informal settlements on sionals and community volunteers attached to these sta- unsafe lands, declining ecosystems and vulnerable rural tions are now being provided with additional support. livelihoods are main underlying risk drivers, which need to be addressed to build safer urban centers. Against such Piloting innovations: Connecting backdrops, CDMP II approaches the urban risk reduc- Urban Poverty with Urban Risk tion through the execution of an integrated set of actions to adopt an all-urban hazard approach. CDMP II also To make communities more resilient, an innovative propels mainstreaming of disaster risk management and financing mechanism (Local Disaster Risk Reduction strengthening community institutional mechanisms. Fund- LDRRF) was developed to enhance risk assess- CDMP II continues to work with key national institu- ment, planning and implementation capacities of urban tions and enhance their capacity to address urban risks authorities, ranging from small municipalities to mega- from earthquake, landslide, flooding, fire and others. city corporations. The LDRRF is being utilized to show- CDMP II is deeply engaged with Municipal Association case community-based infrastructure, and mechanisms of Bangladesh to realize the ‘Safer City’ campaign and to mitigate impacts of urban hazards like landslides, provides technical support for capacity strengthening of water-logging, flooding, fires and earthquakes. Taking a 140 municipality mayors from all over the country, who step further, CDMP II also broadens the horizon to syn- signed the ‘My City is Getting Ready Global Campaign’ ergize with urban poverty issues. A pilot disaster resilient of UNISDR. In addition to supporting the Ministry of resettlement for evicted slum dwellers has been built in Disaster Management and Reliefs (MoDMR), the Armed partnership with urban authorities aimed at demonstrat- Forces Division at the Prime Minister’s Office, CDMP ing how disaster reduction considerations need to be II is strengthening the Fire Service and Civil Defence imbedded in poverty reduction interventions for develop- (FSCD) with cutting-edge training for officials, providing ment of sustainment.

23 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 Considering the potential rainfall-induced landslide institutes to advance the professionalization of disaster hazard in Bangladesh, CDMP-II developed the land- management by supporting higher education. slide risk reduction interventions that include Rain- fall Triggered Landslide Hazard Zonation in selected Promoting Risk Integrated Development Plan municipalities. This intervention has introduced the Community-Based Landslide Early Warning System that Institutional partnership with Urban Development Di- has the component of community-based facilitators and rectorate (UDD) was developed to showcase risk integrat- volunteers skill development. The training of volunteers, ed development plans and subsequent training modules. linking them to the local administrations and providing The scope of this collaboration covers structure planning, simple tools and technologies were put into practice dur- urban area planning and disaster management plans, and ing the 2012 rainy season. While other localities experi- subsequent training modules for targeted urban authori- enced huge damage and casualties due to landslides, there ties to reshape their area-based planning process. So far, were no reported casualties in the pilot areas. more than 1,300 construction professionals (bar binders, masons and day laborers) have been trained and received Earthquake Contingency Plan certification. While some concrete steps have been taken to advance A national earth- the urban risk management quake contingency plan agenda through mainstream- has been developed Bangladesh faces a massive threat from ing disaster risk reduction into highlighting nine op- a plethora of buildings that do not meet governance, a lot more needs erational clusters: com- minimum safety standards against to be done. It is grossly inad- mand and coordination equate and all areas need to be operations; search, earthquake and fire hazards. scaled up to correspond to the rescue and evacuation level of disaster risk Bangladesh operations; health services; relief services; shelter; wa- currently faces. Lessons from the Rana Plaza collapse ter supply; sanitation and hygiene; restoration of urban offer little confidence that Bangladesh would be able to services; transportion; and security and welfare services. respond effectively after a major earthquake. While Di- With support from CDMP II, a three-tiered (agency, saster Management Act (2012) provides a good founda- city and national-level) earthquake contingency plan has tion for legal and institutional framework for earthquake been developed to identify the key resources needed to response, the implementation of agile policies, regula- respond to an emergency, build and train the emergency tions and instruments such as the National Building Code response team, and to restore the urban services for meet- (1993), Building Construction Regulations (2008), Fire ing immediate needs. Prevention Act (2003) and specific laws for industries remains at a critical juncture. Disaster Management Education: Institutionalizing Bangladesh has proved the capacity to reverse its Earthquake Safety Drills at Schools profile from a ‘bottomless basket’ to a ‘global leader of disaster management.’ The performance of the Bangladesh To promote preparedness and awareness develop- disaster management system has a proven track record ment, CDMP conducts school safety and evacuation drills that can be shown through the response to the recent throughout the country, with particular emphasis in the storm Mahasen. The GoB successfully evacuated 1.1 mil- earthquake-prone cities. Since 2012, CDMP II continues lion coastal residents within 24-hours to shelters, indi- to provide training to schoolteachers and instructors on cating the robustness of the disaster systems and struc- earthquake safety. Earthquake drills were conducted in tures; however, the same level of institutional readiness 42,000 secondary and primary schools across the country for urban disasters, especially earthquakes, is yet to be jointly with the Ministry of Primary and Mass Educa- secured. Commitment from the international community tion (MoPME) and advocacy is continuing to insert drills in supporting Bangladesh to prepare for urban disasters into the school curriculum. A guidebook for school drills is a major precondition. Urban risk reduction, therefore, and corresponding information, education and com- needs to be at the center of policy and political processes munication materials was developed and distributed and the synergy of the problem, policy and politics is the to earthquake-prone districts. Between the third and key to advance the urban risk management agenda. twelfth grades, more than 15 million students now have direct access to disaster and climate risk related information through 39 textbooks. CDMP II is also partnering with the key public and private universities and training

Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 24 Interview with Richard Hough, Senior Development Advisor to U.S. Pacific Command, U.S. Agency for International Development LIAISON Staff

ichard Hough is a career Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Agency for Inter- national Development (USAID). As the USAIDR senior development advisor to the U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM), he works to maximize interagency cooperation and develop “whole of government” solutions to developmental challenges faced by both civilian and military agencies. His international career has spanned thirty years, with as- signments in Africa, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. While in Indonesia, Hough managed the development of a new, post-9/11 strategy for USAID programs and following the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, he produced a $400 million recovery and reconstruction plan for the province of Aceh. Hough has been assigned to USPACOM since September 2011.

(Since this interview, Hough has retired from service.)

25 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 LIAISON: What have been the together every evening and the coor- partners and helped put a program most significant advances in disas- dination just occurred – no one was together. ter management over the last 10 following a neat, concise rulebook. Now, almost 10 years later, the years? They were simply asking “what do we process has changed dramatically. Richard Hough: We have need to do,” “who has the assets to Pacific Partnership is intensively learned through hard experience we do it, to meet the needs” and vari- collaborative, with deep planning, need to understand and be constantly ous organizations, including the U.S. involving pre-event site surveys to engaged in disaster management – military would answer. The military determine local needs, engagement we need to put the time and effort was a key provider of the “wholesale” with local government, civil society into doing it well. While we still heavy lift, mostly with helicopters actors and non-governmental organi- haven’t fully captured the need to since the port facilities were in many zations. change our resourcing and planning cases destroyed, and the host nation To know your area, know your processing in light of this acknowl- and NGOs took care of the “retail” partners, and practice is key to suc- edgment, we’ve made a lot of prog- delivery of supplies. cess in disaster response – the only ress. Now, this sort of interaction is way to do it well is to get out there articulated in policy, but it wasn’t and do it, before the crisis. This em- L: Can you give specific exam- then and everyone did their best to phasis on the importance of and util- ples of that progress? be as efficient and effective as pos- ity of resource expenditure, getting RH: The U.S. military, as a result sible without overstepping organiza- to know each other before a crisis, is of steady involvement in disaster tional boundaries. The existence of an important outcome of the hard management support, has fully in- (Office of the Secretary of Defense) (humanitarian assistance/disaster ternalized a robust understanding of policy directives today, clearly articu- management) experiences of the past. their role within the U.S. government lating the roles and responsibilities Learning from those experiences is response to foreign disasters. of military actors in disaster man- continuing, and will continue, to bet- I was stationed in Indonesia from agement in an interagency context, ter inform our approach to disasters. 2001 to 2007. When the tsunami serve as evidence that this is not just struck I managed the USAID com- a lesson identified, but an actual les- L: How does the military fit into ponent of the post-tsunami recovery son learned – practical changes have the local picture? program. During the actual event been made and these changes have RH: As we look at the recent we followed a somewhat informal been reflected in policy, doctrine and past and to the future, local disaster process – we identified the need, training. It’s a great lesson learned. management capability is growing. In validated it, the request then went round numbers, out of 100 disasters up through the ambassador, to the L: Is there progress outside of 10 require international assistance Secretary of State, across to the Secre- new policy and doctrine? from the U.N., USAID, NGOs, et tary of Defense and then down to the RH: The second major advance cetera, but only one out of 100 has a component commanders. In this case that comes to mind is the impetuous requirement for the unique capabili- the ambassador got on the phone the response gave to enhanced efforts ties DoD assets provide. with the USPACOM commander, by the U.S. military to get to know However, 70 percent of militar- asked for help, and got it. The (USS the neighborhood. For example, ies in the Asia-Pacific area are first Abraham) Lincoln carrier battle during the tsunami response the responders, often with support from group that happened to be in the area navy didn’t seem to have sufficient the local Red Cross, Red Crescent got turned around on the high seas to knowledge of the coastal waters to be and other local actors. We still need figure out what they could do to help. perfectly comfortable with a lot of the to work with our partners to articu- They basically made it up as they movements they were doing. How late which slice of that reality we are went along, including the potentially deep is the water? What facilities addressing to increase conceptual contentious engagement with the were available? Thus USPACOM’s clarity given our different policy pos- Indonesian military, with which the Pacific Partnership started as an out- tures on the use of military capabili- U.S. had had very little interaction. growth of the tsunami response. ties in disaster response activities. Banda Aceh, one of the most dev- The first visit was a mess – I got astated regions, was suffering from a call, and the gist of it was “there is a L: Are there other advances that a civil war at the time. The military ship coming in and what don’t know don’t involve disaster management? came into that situation, attended the what to do with it, any ideas?” In re- RH: Another major advance, in meetings at the airport staging area sponse, USAID tweaked some NGO its early stages, consists of enriching with the other actors and people got grants, talked to local government our threat definition. I was absolutely

Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 26 floored when Admiral Locklear iden- core military mission of defending underlying condition. The resiliency tified climate change as a threat from the homeland. Now these issues are words have crept in; however, they a security perspective. included not just in planning, but as haven’t transitioned all the way down For example, two countries a result of the threat definition hav- into plans and actual event execution most at risk from a rise in sea levels ing been expanded actual program- as much as they need to. The terms are the Republic of Kiribati and the ming is being placed against these are all in the paperwork, but it is still Maldives, which are in USPACOMs issues. USPACOM’s use of the term hard to find them in the programs neighborhood. What does inunda- “all hazards” in its strategy is a reflec- that are implementing the ideas. tion of these countries mean? We tion of this broader definition of Interview conducted by already have a good understanding of threat. “All hazards” are a big source Michael Hallett, July 31, 2013. the ramifications when viewed from of the threat in the future. the humanitarian, economic and social perspectives; however, what hap- L: How does USPACOM pre- pens when there is no more dry land pare for ‘all hazard’ threats? from which to measure the exclusive RH: Identify the risk, threat, economic zone? What happens to and prepare to deal with it. We need the ocean bed minerals, the fishing, to do the analysis, understand the who owns that stuff, under the U.N. threat, identify where you can inter- Convention on the Law of the Sea? vene in advance to lessen the impact More importantly from the USPA- when, not if, it occurs so what can COM perspective, who will start you do now to diminish the threat to competing for it and when does that our interests, threats to homeland. competition turn to fighting? Look- An area that deserves more emphasis ing a few years into the future at this is thinking through and then execut- issue from a security perspective is an example of redefining the threat. Another way of enriching our “The terms are all in the paperwork, threat definition concerns the whole but it is still hard to find them in the issue of pandemic and emerging diseases. USAID has looked at programs that are implementing the ideas.” pandemics from the human impact and developmental perspectives; it is ing ways that we can use our ongo- a health sector issue, but impacts the ing engagements to enhance local economy and other elements – we’ve preparedness. been working on it for decades. Military to military training is The military is increasingly important on this, but it typically recognizing the importance of pan- stops analyzing issues like “how demics as well. For example, USAID many trucks do you have available?” gave USPACOM and USAFRICOM or “what is your supply situation?” money to work with us on planning It is almost exclusively a logistical for national civil-military prepared- conversation. We need to push the ness in response to a pandemic envelope, go to the left of the event, influenza. It did some good - it is just get deeper into disaster preparedness planning, but planning that wasn’t issues and answer the question: “are there before. More importantly, the we developing the capabilities we project helped build a foundation of need to respond?” awareness by military personnel for Resiliency and disaster risk the potential threat that those disas- reduction are being absorbed into ters represent. The military may look military speak, which is very good. at pandemics as a force protection We need to make sure that we are issue, for both host nations and U.S. looking at the underlying causes, militaries. But when you take it a step and asking if there is there anything further, pandemics have potential we can do through our engagements impacts on the ability to perform the to address the issues posed by that

27 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 PARTNERS

Military-Military Cooperation on HA/DR in the Indo-Pacific Region: JSDF’s Perspective

By Col. Nozomu Yoshitomi, Ground Research & Development Command Japan Ground Self-Defense Force

Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 28 Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Kyle D. Gahlau/ U.S. Navy PARTNERS

he Indo-Pacific is the most designated units through the Ground people.3 Most recently, disaster prone region in Self-Defense Force (GSDF), the the JSDF cooperated with the world, yet the stabil- Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) U.S. forces and other ity ofT this region is critical due to and the Air Self-Defense Force militaries during the 2013 its developing economy and global (ASDF), and depending on need, can disaster relief efforts in security influence. As a result, maxi- provide medical units, transportation the Philippines. In all mizing humanitarian assistance and vessels and aviation capabilities. of the cases the JSDF disaster relief (HA/DR) in this region The JSDF’s first overseas HA/ received support requests is not only a humanitarian necessity DR operation was the disaster relief from the militaries and but also required for stability of the in Honduras in 1998. Since then, civil authorities of the economic and security environments. the JSDF has conducted 17 overseas host nations. Traditionally, the military is HA/DR operations to date. Of the 17 The JSDF continuously pre- the first responder in many cases operations, nine were in the Indo- pares for HA/DR by participating in because of its unique capability to Pacific, five in the Near and Middle exercises to develop and maintain deploy substantial search and rescue, East, two in Central America and one the skill sets and overall capabilities humanitarian aid and recovery as- in Africa. The JSDF’s responses for necessary. In 2011, the JSDF joined sets; however, the Oslo Guidelines of HA/DR in Indo-Pacific region since the Association of Southeast Asian 19941 state that the military should 2001 are shown in Figure 1.2 Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum be the last resort for HA/DR. Even The first JSDF’s HA/DR in the Disaster Relief Exercise in Indonesia4 so, international cooperation among Indo-Pacific was in India after the and has participated in the multina- militaries (mil-mil cooperation) in Gujarat earthquake in January 2001. tional exercise Cobra Gold in Thai- this region would be a significant The ASDF carried relief materials land since 2005. During the Cobra step toward mitigating the damage from Japan to India and the GSDF Gold exercise the JSDF cooperated caused by large-scale humanitarian supported the construction of tent with U.S. forces, Royal Thai forces, catastrophes. It becomes essential sites for survivors in the affected and other militaries on HA/DR sce- that the Japan Self-Defense Forces areas. The next operation was in re- narios and continues the collabora- (JSDF) and other militaries in this sponse to the Indian Ocean tsunami tion whenever possible. region work together in overseas HA/ in December 2004. The JSDF con- Since 2010, the JSDF has par- DR events, and hopefully the mil-mil ducted search and rescue missions, 3 J cooperation would also lessen the provided local airlifts, medical sup- oint Staff Official Website, http://www.mod.go.jp/js/ Activity/Past/pdf/pakistan_kinkyuenjo/paki20100930.pdf4 challenges between the civilian and port and strategic sea and air lifts in accessed on 16 February, 2014. military sectors of HA/DR. cooperation with Defense of Japan 2013, p. 231. U.S. forces and Year Country Type of Disaster JSDF’s overseas HA/DR other militaries. 2001 India Earthquake After the 2010 2004 Thailand Tsunami The JSDF’s role and mission for floods in Paki- overseas HA/DR is stipulated by stan, the JSDF’s 2004 Indonesia Tsunami aviation unit Japanese law, which allows medi- 2005 Russia Submarine Accident cal support, providing a clean water cooperated with supply, local helicopter airlifts, and the Australian 2006 Indonesia Earthquake Defense Force strategic sealifts and airlifts from 2009 Indonesia Earthquake Japan to the affected area. To fulfill (ADF) medical immediate requests for overseas HA/ teams to provide 2010 Pakistan Flood DR support, the JSDF maintains medical support for the affected 2011 New Zealand Earthquake 1 2013 Philippine Typhoon The “Oslo Guidelines” were originally prepared over a 2 period of two years beginning in 1992. They were the result of a collaborative effort that culminated in an international Japan Ministry of Defense,1 Figure 1: JSDF’s previous responses for HA/DR in Indo-Pacific conference in Oslo, Norway, in January 1994 and were Defense of Japan 2013, August released in May 1994. 2013, pp. 386-387. 29 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 military personnel to tions, coordination, transportation, Japan. Their primary and interoperability are essential mission was transporta- components of mil-mil cooperation. tion, reconstruction and Acceptability by the host nation civil support. JSDF’s is always an indisputable factor for cooperation with U.S. foreign military activities in sover- forces was successful eign countries. In order to establish due to the close alliance broader friendly relations, communi- between the two nations. cation not only with the host mili- The ADF conducted a tary, but also with relevant civilian strategic airlift opera- entities is necessary. Moreover, a for- tion named Operation eign military needs to have cultural Pacific Assist.7 The awareness of the affected people in JSDF’s cooperation with the case of overseas HA/DR opera- the ADF went relatively tions. As a result of a framework and ticipated in Pacific Partnership in smoothly as both forces have been capability plan laid out in advance cooperation with Japanese nongov- 8 between JSDF and U.S. forces, ac- ernmental organizations (NGOs). developing a cooperative posture. ceptability resulted easily during the Sponsored by U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pa- 2011 response. cific Partnership is the largest annual disaster response preparedness and Lessons learned from JSDF’s overseas civic assistance mission in the Indo- HA/DR and 2011 Response Improving JSDF’s mil-mil cooperation Pacific region. During the mission, in HA/DR the JSDF has provided medical treat- Three perspectives can be use- ment and public health education in ful to evaluate lessons learned from Through the lessons learned from Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines, the HA/DR cooperation: the first is Japan’s overseas and the 2011 HA/ East Timor, Micronesia, Tonga and framework, the second is capability DR operations, improvements can be Papua New Guinea.5 In addition, and the third is acceptability by host made to the JSDF’s mil-mil coopera- the JSDF has been conducting capac- nations. tion from the perspective of frame- ity building support since 2012. JSDF Regarding framework, establish- work, capabilities and acceptability personnel also spent approximately ing a legal agreement in advance is by host nations: three months providing education to critical for effective and rapid mil- members of the East Timor Army to mil cooperation. As seen between Framework develop skills related to HA/DR.6 Japan and the U.S., the alliance-based From the perspective of frame- approach is the best method for work, the JSDF’s mil-mil cooperation 2011 Earthquake Response by JSDF cooperation because many necessary partners can be categorized into four agreements for HA/DR are already tiers as shown in Figure 2.9 On March 11, 2011 Japan was in effect – logistics and information Tier-1 partners are allied nations. struck by a 9.0-magnitude earth- sharing are two good examples. On The United States is Japan’s sole al- quake and follow-on tsunami. the other hand, the shared experience lied nation and both forces have close The JSDF deployed approximately of staff talks and exercises without legal and institutional connections 107,000 personnel immediately after pre-existing legal agreements can and a rich history of cooperation. the event as a disaster relief operation produce a de facto framework nearly Tier-2 partners are not allied that consequently lasted more than as easily, as the basis of the frame- forces but have legal agreements with nine months. The operation was the work could be the mutual confidence JSDF. The ADF is the only military, largest in JSDF history and American between the nations and militaries. except for the U.S., that has agree- The unique military capabili- and Australian forces came to assist. 9 ties are the raison d’etre in HA/DR The Americans launched a large- The similar type of partnering framework from U.S. events. Intelligence, communica- perspective is seen in the following paper. Jeffrey W. scale disaster relief named Operation Hornung, “Drawing Lessons from Operation Tomodachi for 7 Trilateral HA/DR Operations: A U.S. Perspective”, Enhancing Tomodachi and deployed 24,000 Trilateral Disaster Preparedness and Relief Cooperation between Japan, U.S. and Australia; Approaches from Various Operation Pacific Assist was the joint effort between Civil-Military Perspectives, Joint Research Project by ACJUA, 5 the ADF and Emergency Management Australia (EMA). 6 8 APCSS and QUT, July 2013, pp.104-117.http://www.apcss. http://www.defence.gov.au/op/pacificassist/ accessed on org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/HADR-PROJECT-for- Ibid, p. 230, p. 375. November 21, 2013. publication-0822.pdf Accessed on November 21, 2013. Ibid, pp. 227-229. Defense of Japan 2013, pp. 233-234. Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 30 lishing an agreement on the mechanisms and procedures for coordina- Tier Four tion in advance would be helpful. Moreover, the standing coordination Tier Three body would maximize the coordination capability. Transportation is another indis- Tier Two pensable military capability. Strate- gic and heavy airlift capabilities are essential to deploy personnel, materials and equipment to the affected Tier One area. The JSDF is now developing a strategic airlift capability12 but cooperation with the U.S. Air Force and Figure 2: Partners of JSDF’s mil-mil cooperation Royal Australian Air Force would have a synergistic effect in establish- ments with JSDF covering logistics sharing it with other partners is the ing a strategic airlift network in this and intelligence.10 Additionally, the most important activity related to region. JSDF and ADF have been developing HA/DR. Therefore, the JSDF should In addition to strategic airlift, cooperative relations through a series enhance its information gather- sea-basing capabilities needs to be of exercises and real-world opera- ing capabilities from space, air and considered for HA/DR operations in the Indo-Pacific region that covers tions.11 ground. At the same time, the capa- a vast maritime domain. Sea-basing Tier-3 militaries do not have legal bility to plug into the civil-military can become an off-shore platform agreements but have some experi- information network in a timely for HA/DR activities. It should be ence of cooperation with the JSDF manner is also necessary. Develop- composed of aircraft carriers, heli- either in exercises or operations. For ing a better communications capa- copter carriers, amphibious ships example, the Armed Forces of the bility is a central issue for mil-mil and replenishment ships. Helicopters Philippines, Thailand, India, Russia, cooperation due to the necessity of and landing craft are the connec- and the Republic of Korea (ROK) are sharing information and for co- tors from sea-bases to affected areas. in Tier-3. ordination. Additionally, foreign During disaster relief operations after Tier-4 militaries have no legal language capability should also be the Indian Ocean tsunami (2004), agreement and no experience of improved. Japanese earthquake and tsunami cooperation with JSDF. The Armed Regarding coordination, the (2011) and the typhoon in the Philip- Forces of China, Myanmar and JSDF has depended upon ad-hoc pines (2013), sea-basing by Japanese, Taiwan would be in Tier-4. However, coordination with other militaries American and British naval ships militaries in Tier-3 and Tier-4 have in previous HA/DR operations. This the potential to be close partners by ad-hoc process was time-consuming 12 Japan Air Self-Defense Force will deploy new strategic increasing mil-mil cooperation with and insufficient. Therefore, estab- transportation aircraft named C-2 in 2014. The maximum the JSDF. payload of C-2 will be 30 tons.

Capabilities Regarding the capabilities of mil-mil cooperation, the JSDF should enhance its capabilities with respect to intelligence, communications, coordination, transportation and interoperability. Gathering detailed information on humanitarian catastrophes and 10

Japan and Australia signed the Acquisition and Cross-servicing Agreement [ACSA] on May 19, 2010 and the11 General Security of Military Information Agreement [GSOMIA] on May 17, 2012. During the JSDF’s operation in Southern Iraq from 2003 to 2009, the ADF supported the JSDF for its force protection. Figure 3: The overall structure for the acceptability by host nations From 2012 the JSDF and ADF has been cooperating in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). 31 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 U.S. forces and the ADF are also improving military capacity building in many countries in the Indo-Pacif- ic. The Defense Ministers of Japan and Australia and the United States Secretary of Defense have already agreed to foster capacity building with other nations and regional fo- rums.16 The cooperation by the three militaries and regional actors could be critical to developing the acceptability for a trilateral commitment in potential host nations, especially since JSDF is the only Asian military in the trilateral framework and its cultural awareness of people in this region would be helpful to elevate acceptability by host nations. Figure 4: The image of civil-military coordination network Political precaution for better mil-mil played a vital role as hubs for relief confidence building efforts through cooperation in HA/DR operations.13 Additionally, the Royal personal interaction and operations Australian Navy will possess two in the Indo-Pacific. This confidence Regarding mil-mil cooperation large amphibious ships in the near building would be realized as a sort in the Indo-Pacific region, political future14 and their capacity as a sea- of “framework building” in Tier-3 precautions are necessary even in base would be important for HA/DR and Tier-4 host nations. HA/DR. From the JSDF’s perspec- operations in the Indo-Pacific. Concurrently, to elevate the tive, U.S. forces and the ADF are the The most basic capability for mil- acceptability by a potential host best partners for cooperation, but mil cooperation is interoperability. nation’s military, capacity building this trilateral framework consists Generally speaking, interoperability support for HA/DR related skills of of primarily military responders. needs common equipment, proce- military personnel would be help- Therefore, potential host nations may dures, doctrines and mindsets. The ful to deepen relations with regional be doubtful whether three militaries JSDF has prioritized interoperability militaries as potential responders and can respect their national policies with U.S. forces; however, the JSDF’s recipients. Multinational exercises and sovereignty. Additionally, this equipment, procedures, doctrines, are also necessary to develop the in- trilateral framework consists of allied and mindsets need to reflect possible teroperability of equipment and pro- countries of the U.S. Countries like cooperation with militaries in the cedures between countries and could China may raise political and security region other than the United States. potentially elevate the acceptability concerns as a result.17 by host nation militaries and civilian Even with the potential for alarm, Acceptability by Host Nations authorities. The JSDF has partici- multinational HA/DR is a humani- The overall structure for the ac- pated in a few regional multilateral tarian activity and should not be ceptability by host nations is shown exercises with potential host nations constrained by political concerns. in Figure 3.15 but should participate in this type of The JSDF should strive for a frame- The basis of acceptability by a exercise more frequently. Moreover, work that includes not only U.S. host nation is its military and civilian civil support activities such as the Pa- forces and the ADF but also Tier-3 authorities having confidence in the cific Partnership exercise are helpful and Tier-4 militaries of countries like JSDF. The JSDF should develop its for the JSDF to elevate acceptability India, Southeast Asian nations, ROK, 13 by potential host nation militaries 16

Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines on November 8, 2013. and civilian authorities including Japan–Australia–United States Defense Leaders’ Joint The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, U.S. Navy and Royal Statement (2 June, 2012) http://www.au.emb-japan.go.jp/ Navy deployed two aircraft carriers (USS George Washington local governments and NGOs. The pdf/Japan_Australia_US_Defense_Leaders_Joint%20State17 - and HMS Illustrious), a helicopter carrier (JS Ise) and ment_02062012_eng.pdf accessed on 31 January 2014. three14 amphibious ships (JS Ohsumi, USS Ashland, and USS JSDF should join this type of activity Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying Germantown). said on October 7, 2013 “The United States, Japan and The first ship, named HMAS Canberra, is due to be com- continuously and proactively with Australia are allies but this should not become an excuse to missioned in the first quarter of 2014 and the second one, interfere in territorial disputes, otherwise it will only make HMAS Adelaide, is planned to commission in 2015. http:// other regional civil-military entities. the problems more complicated and harm the interests of www.navy.gov.au/fleet/ships-boats-craft/lhd15 accessed on 31 all parties.”http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/07/ January, 2014. us-asia-southchinasea-china-idUSBRE99602220131007 Figure-3 is written by the author. accessed on November 24, 2013. Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 32 China, and international organizations such as the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Hu- manitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This broader framework, in addition to the trilateral militaries as the core responders, would be helpful to develop acceptability by many potential host nations, relieve political concerns and can be a means to contribute not only to the humanitarian cause but to the stability of the India-Pacific region. Mil-mil cooperation aiding civil- military coordination in HA/DR AP Photo/ Eric Talmadge As seen in the Japanese tsunami Japanese Lt. Gen. Masayuki Hironaka, U.S. Pacific Air Forces commander Gen. Herbert Carlisle and Typhoon Haiyan examples, and Royal Australian Air Force Air Commodore Anthony Grady work together to strenghten the mil-mil cooperation cannot be tri-lateral relationship. replaced in effective and rapid HA/ DR operations, yet per the Oslo nation network in the Indo-Pacific ened trilateral commitment are po- Guidelines the military is supposed region. The image of this network is litical and security unease from other to represent a last resort. This means shown in Figure 4.18 nations, which can be mitigated by that the civilian sector should be the inviting Tier-3 and Tier-4 militaries main body to respond to HA/DR Conclusion into the process. An additional goal and the role of military is to support of the process is that increasing mil- the civilian sector. Therefore, civil- On November 2013, Typhoon mil cooperation challenges between military coordination should be more Haiyan hit the Philippines and the civilian and military sector would significant than mil-mil cooperation, caused devastating damage. Militar- lessen, and ultimately the coopera- but varying cultures can create chal- ies inside and out of the Indo-Pacific tion would lead to, a network that lenges even within a single country. region, including Japan, the U.S., represents the most powerful HA/DR Moreover, the Indo-Pacific region Australia, India, the U.K., Canada tool for Indo-Pacific nations when includes dozens of countries with and China joined the large-scale and another disaster occurs. various races, cultures, religions and complex relief operation. Mil-mil languages. This means civil-military cooperation was the key to increas- coordination could potentially be a ing the effectiveness of multinational serious challenge to HA/DR in the relief activities as militaries from region. countries worked together to aid the On the other hand, most militar- people of the Philippines. ies, even in Tier-3 and Tier-4, share a JSDF is now developing its capa- common military culture with JSDF, bility for overseas HA/DR, making U.S. forces and the ADF. Moreover, efforts to elevate the acceptability a lot of militaries in this region have by host nations, and enhancing the already established mutual under- cooperation with U.S. forces and the standings and cooperative postures ADF. Through a trilateral commit- through personnel exchange, confer- ment capabilities would increase, ences and exercises. In this context, acceptability of host nations would the trilateral framework should be grow and future HA/DR operations developed as the core of mil-mil will become even more efficient. The cooperation and used as the catalyst only possible concerns of a strength- to broaden the civil-military coordi- 18

Figure 4 was created by the author. 33 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 PARTNERS Pushing Humanitarian Logistics to the Edge:

The Purple Shovel Story LIAISON Staff

n earthquake rocks Japan and the tsunami that follows submerges towns. A typhoon devastates the Philippines leaving mountains of debrisA in its wake. Tens of thousands of people are homeless and lacking food, water or shelter while they rebuild their lives and mourn those they have lost. The worldwide humanitarian community rushes to help those in need and ordinary people, wanting to help, fill shipping containers with food, clothing and other necessities, only to have the aid stuck on a seaside dock. Purple Shovel, a service-disabled veteran-owned transportation company, is working to stop aid from being needlessly wasted as a result of transportation challenges and delays. In 2009, Benjamin Worrell, the founder and chief executive officer of Purple Shovel, saw first-hand the frustration and confusion that accompanies these types of transportation requests and sought a solution to the challenge. He wanted to prevent developmental and faith-based organizations, which had spent quality time, money and resources to do great things for others, from having their ability to affect positive change negated as a result of the improper filing of the required paperwork. Purple Shovel was the result of his efforts. Worrell describes Purple Shovel as a “global logistics company with a thriving humanitarian business line” and states it was created to provide services to an under- served group of humanitarian entities composed of small organizations, community groups, churches, and busi-

International Medical Relief ness associations. These groups engage in humanitarian A volunteer for International Medical Relief depends on medical supplies enterprises to help meet the needs of the world’s most reaching remote locations. Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 34 exposed communities. and the logisticians in a mutually cultural awareness and relationship He discovered that many freight beneficial way. building. That’s why before start- forwarders providing service to the “Purple Shovel’s main objective ing the business, Worrell insisted humanitarian industry had become is to effectively maximize the suc- employees of the company spend disillusioned by the highly complicat- cess rate associated with the execu- 18 months obtaining the operated set of hurdles that defines human- tion and distribution of products to ing authorities, building forwarding itarian aid, hurdles he knew could be the end destination,” said Worrell. capabilities and learning about the overcome. Worrell set out to close “By knowing local rules, we make it regulations governing the import and the gap that existed in the methodol- possible to get useable products to export of humanitarian goods. ogy used to provide logistical services remote locations.” “Most people just want to take to the humanitarian arena and the “It’s so hard to move small the path of least resistance,” said effort that was needed to facilitate a things,” said Karen Walsh, chief ex- Jim Brech, vice president of opera- successful outcome for donors. What ecutive officer of Blue Glass Develop- tions, Purple Shovel. “They move was standing in the way was the ment. “Many shipping companies shipments from point A to point B, uniqueness of these types of trans- want bulk movements and have no usually a port or airport near a major portation requests – usually one-time support once they get to the country. population center. We don’t stop events, serving small numbers of (Purple Shovel’s) network on the until the goods are delivered directly people in remote areas, with ad- ground makes it possible, and are to the end user.” ditional factors that can influence there to help us and support us if Brech says that the key to making regional interventions like economic something goes wrong.” complex deliveries possible is culti- conditions, social dynamics, chang- From the start, Purple Shovel vating relationships through commu- ing political climates, sanctions and strived to understand the logistical nication and respect. Early engage- media influences. environment in which humanitar- ment with key personnel including Worrell was not intimidated. ian aid exists. Maximizing value and customs officials can help alleviate He began thinking about ways he minimizing losses demands extensive many of the security challenges that could structure a business model that preparation, in the form of research- are present when making deliveries would help unify the humanitarians ing legal policies and regulations, to regions in crisis, as well as misun- Purple Shovel

(Left) Purple Shovel uses shipping containers modified with doors and windows that can be used by receipt communities after the aid is gone. (Above right) Purple Shovel often travels with heavy equipment, like the crane shown here, in order to offload shipping containers of aid.

35 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 derstandings about duties and taxes, was making this critical population which continue to be a complicated sick.” matter worldwide. By focusing on Harm can also result indirectly, the relationships, the strengths of like when there are individuals or each partner in the network are groups that do not want the recipi- maximized to bring the aspirations of ents to accept the goods and have donors and specific-need populations the inclination to withdrawal the together. aid by threats or violence. In addi- “With Purple Shovel there’s no tion, forethought should be given such thing as ‘stuck in customs,’” said to ensuring that recipients actually Walsh, who has used the company consider themselves beneficiaries to ship humanitarian goods from and are not further victimized by the tions governing the importation of medical equipment to vehicles. “They intended goodwill. humanitarian material and can have find inventive solutions. It makes a “The end user needs to be an real costs. difference.” integral part of the logistics se- In another effort to save money The company also realizes that quence,” said Worrell. “It might cost for their customers, the growing interventions have the potential to a little more money and time in the company is also providing opportu- cause more harm than good through beginning, but in the long run if you nities to bring the manufacturing of unintended consequences. Worrell don’t get that local involvement, the products closer to the end recipient. says that it’s important to determine pain caused by flaws in the process In 2013, the company utilized its what the specific needs are region- through which the aid is delivered worldwide partners to manufacture ally and to listen carefully to the local can actually outweigh the value of the 19 products in 14 countries. Goods consumers. aid itself.” like chira (pressed rice), blankets “Before we move anything, a As a result, a great deal of em- and gluten-free products can be team is assembled to analyze and as- phasis is placed on the importance of processed locally to enrich the lives sess the situation. Care is taken not communication between all parties of people by minimizing the cost of to impose our values or ethics on the involved from the customer to the production for the donor while pro- indigenous population. We make beneficiary in order to determine the viding high-quality health benefits to every effort to meet recipients where best course of action in achieving the the beneficiary. they actually are before helping them goal. In another avenue of long-term get where they want to go.” Once the company determines development, while most logistics Diligence has resulted in the the best course of action, the logis- companies want to lease contain- awareness that there are many tics of getting the goods to the end ers and keep them moving, Purple aspects of providing aid to be consid- user begins; however, when moving Shovel sees bigger potential. When ered. First, knowledge and apprecia- goods through foreign countries, the possible, Purple Shovel helps small tion of diverse cultures promotes process isn’t cut-and-dry. humanitarian organizations add capacity building without unduly “It is the laws and regulations of a value to their recipient communities increasing the invasive footprint of country that make a product moving by using containers that are modified the relief itself. Also, extreme cau- through a supply chain ‘humanitar- with doors, dividers and windows so tion is taken to prevent harm from ian’ versus ‘commercial,’” said Wor- they can be converted after the deliv- occurring either directly or indi- rell. ery into functional spaces like shops rectly to the local population by the He explains that the regulations or schools. The dual purpose reduces goods brought in to provide relief. differ in each country, and many costs and is a creative way to improve For example, if unsuitable food is supply chain inefficiencies result the quality of life at the receiving end brought into an area, there could be from a lack of knowledge of the dif- of aid. detrimental side effects that can lead ferences, so understanding the subtle “Over the last 20 years, the reach to illness and cause the user’s body to nuances is essential. For example, a of globalization has brought so many reject the product. problem with a single item can hold people out of poverty; we are just Worrell explains, “due to celiac up a 40-foot container of goods, or trying to help small humanitarian disease among children in a North a change in the coding of a medical organizations to reach those still suf- African country we had to source product’s label can ultimately prevent fering,” said Worrell. and deliver gluten free products for a the import of much needed medical donor, because the wheat that many kits. Easily made mistakes arise from other organizations were providing a failure to understand the regula-

Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 36 technology & di sasters Technology Integration for Performance Measurement in Training for Disaster Management

37 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 TECHNOLOGY

By Raghavendra Polakonda, Dept. of Biomedical, Industrial and Human Factors Engineering National Center for Medical Readiness Wright State University Subhashini Ganapathy, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Dept. of Biomedical, Industrial and Human Factors Engineering Wright State University Kristen M. Barrera 711 Human Performance Wing/RHAS, Warfighter Readiness Research Division Wright Patterson Air Force Base James R. Gruenberg M.A., EMT-P Deputy Director, National Center for Medical Readiness Wright State University

dvances in mobile computing (e.g., sensor technology, context aware computing and cloud computing) allow for the designA of a tool that goes beyond the traditional methods of data gathering. In time-critical scenarios, such as disaster management, pararescuers are focused on completing the task using their tactical and strategic skills. They train and are tested on the different aspects of the mission - locate, stabi- lize and exfiltrate. In order to effectively evaluate their performance there is a need to capture the measures of effectiveness in real-time and present it to the team during the after action review. In their day-to-day activities, first responders focus on time-critical tasks that are very hectic and can be cognitively demanding. Hence, the focus of this article is on developing a framework to capture the measurement of effectiveness with the integration technology & di sasters of mobile technologies. Technology Integration for Performance Measurement in Training for Disaster Management

Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 38 During disaster response, the capability of the disaster response tive, the available information needs emergency operators need to make units (as in an massive calamities), to be analyzed and the areas that have critical effectual decisions within the resources are prioritized and ap- been affected needs to be identified. short time constraints undeterred plied depending on the judgment of The infrastructure needs to made re- by grave uncertainties to cut down the decision-makers; liable and have distributed network- on causalities, reduce the resulting d) Organizational response – ing that can switch between different financial losses and to restrain the during this phase, decision support nodes based on geography, load, type situation from causing any second- systems are employed for efficient of message, and so on. A system with ary disasters. In crisis situations, use of existing resources to moni- robust architecture should be devel- transmission of precise informa- tor important movements and to be oped that can integrate data from tion rapidly can positively affect the updated about the movements of different sources such as different crisis response operations, preserv- emergency units. All emergency units information streams (audio, video, ing human life and property. In the are utilized and organizational deci- images) during a disaster and enable aftermath of a disaster, the existing sions are promulgated to emergency automated continuous sharing of this infrastructure including the commu- workers and the general population. information and minimize manual nication networks that are used by The process listed above is a con- intervention. safety radios are overwhelmed by the tinuous one, in which decisions made In distributed mobile applica- increase in network traffic. Most of at one phase directly influence the tions, where information has to be these networks are operated by spe- subsequent phases. For this process transmitted over limited bandwidth cific providers and use proprietary to be effective, the different actors networks, information transmitted technology. Interoperability bridges involved need to interact swiftly should be prioritized or should be set can be utilized to reduce the stress on and this in turn depends on making to minimal so that cost of transmis- these networks and redirect traffic to timely and precise information avail- sion delay does not have a significant reduced bandwidth networks.1 able to these individuals. Software effect on actions being performed. According to Naveen et al.,2 crisis solutions can record specific event The communicated content has to response operations consist of four data during crisis response activities be configured and controlled to en- integral phases: and this data can be transmitted to able timely, quality decisions de- a) Damage assessment – in this emergency operation centers (EOC) spite time constraints.4,5 Due to the phase, the resulting losses are ascer- in real-time for event analysis and limitations of human information tained. The problems, which require augmentation of the decision-making processing and cognitive abilities, immediate attention and time needed capabilities of the crisis respond- human decision-making capabilities to restore normalcy of affected sys- ers. The event data can be retrieved including quality of decisions be- tems, are determined. These issues from multiple simultaneous sources ing made decreases in cases where may include identifying locations, including satellite images, video a large block of information needs which have been seriously affected, feed from cameras planted at dif- to be reviewed while the time win- and places where preliminary dam- ferent locations, sensor information dow for making the decision is very age may result in secondary accidents from different devices and observa- small.6 According to Simon,7 the if not contained quickly; tions made by first responders who information processing by humans b) Needs assessment – events can be communicated wirelessly to is generally sequential. Studies have that may need help of emergency op- EOCs. Other vital information can shown that human performance erators for rescue operations at any be retrieved by analyzing the fleecing degrades as the information being scale are identified and are ranked patterns of people around the inci- presented increases and performance on a priority scale established on dent site, which may provide infor- can be increased by showing only the whether there is an immediate threat mation regarding the location of the relevant information by filtering out to human life; incident. All this information must information not relevant to the task c) Prioritization of response be transferred across the existing being performed. Research by Miller8 measures – in this phase, resources mobile framework that may fail or be in human cognition has shown that are paired with events which neces- susceptible to external attacks. It is when making decisions, humans gen- sitate response and in cases where important that existing information erally can consider only five to nine 4 demand for resources is greater than systems are used efficiently so as to Microsoft Research 5 Eric Horvitz, “Transmission and Display of Information for 1 “turn the available information into Time Critical Decisions,” Microsoft, 1995. Research Handbook 6 Eric Horvitz and Matthew Berry, “Display of Information of James Emergency R. Gruenberg, Response: “Managing A Human Factorsthe Complexities and Systems of actionable information for people for7 Time-Critical Decision Making,” Informa. - IncidentEngineering Command” Approach in L. R. Adedeji B. Badiru, 3 tion Horvitz, Processing “Transmission,” 1995. 2 and systems.” To achieve this objec- 8 Herbert A. Simon, “Theory of Problem Solving,” (CRCTerrorism Press, 2013) Informatics pp. 554-555. , 1972. Naveen Ashish et al., “Situational awareness technologies 3 GeorgePsychological Miller, “The Review Magical number seven plus or minus for disaster response” in . (Springer, two: some limits on our capacity for processing informa- 2008). Ibid. tion,” , 63:81-97, 1956. 39 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 The Joint Command Operations Research Environment (J-CORE) at the National Center for Medical Readiness

National Center for Medical Readiness chunks of information at a time and LVC SIDFOT areas include improved measurement this may reduce even further in crisis Live, virtual and constructive and tracking of responder position situations that need swift response. training research and development and status, tools for managing LVC It is important that the interface under the SIDFOT effort is aimed exercise data and providing useful integrates relevant information and at enhancing the ability of military feedback to trainees, developing the presents it to the user in a format and civilian first responders to make architecture to support integrated that captures their attention without time-critical, life-saving decisions training events across the region, and information overload. under uncertainty. The SIDFOT LVC researching the ability to secure the This article provides an overview technology integrates the live envi- deployable networks to ensure the of the mobile computing applica- ronment into a virtual world through safety and generalizability of LVC tion that can capture performance the use of game engine technology. architectures. Deployable decision- measures to provide aid to training. Engineers have developed an open aiding technologies and solutions The performance measurement tool architecture to allow the LVC sensor evolved in the context of supporting facilitates improved communication data through ad-hoc sensor networks cost-effective LVC training environ- and training of users in time critical enabling data fusion for innovative ments are also in development to situations. The data collector uses the operations and training research. enhance operational decision-making tool to measure the objective perfor- Live exercise participants, vehicles in the field. Also, the team has inte- mance measurements – time taken to and buildings are represented, in grated initial bio-harnesses to capture complete the task and quality of de- real-time, as entities in the game en- patient physiological data to be sent cision-making for pararescuers that gine. On scene, as well as distributed, back to the command center and dis- map to the learning objectives. This EOC commanders can manipulate played for monitoring purposes. All provides quick access to a chart that the virtual environment to see dif- sensor data, audio and video, along can list the different decision-making ferent views of personnel in the field with objective and subjective perfor- points and the associated data. This using different sensor technology. mance based data is synchronized study also developed tools for per- Decision-makers can track their team and archived for debrief and training formance measurement to aid after member locations via mobile tech- use as the organizations see fit. The action reviews in live, virtual and nologies as well as employ deployable primary focus of this system is to im- constructive (LVC) sensor integra- sensor technologies providing critical prove training resources for Air Force tion for data fusion in operations and real-time data to decision-makers in first-responder security and medical training (SIDFOT). LVC SIDFOT is both training and operational envi- personnel while facilitating skill- focused on developing architecture ronments. Leveraging advances made building, streamlining performance that allows the integration of LVC under recent LVC research efforts, tracking, reducing costs, increasing sensor data through ad-hoc sensor the current effort is applying best- safety and providing expanded access networks, enabling data fusion for value technologies to enable a LVC to unique learning events and ad- innovative operations, first responder enterprise for supporting critical first vanced technology. operations and training research. responder training. Research focus

Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 40 The National Center for Medical Readiness

The test bed used for training is the National Center for Medi- cal Readiness (NCMR) at Calami- tyville in Fairborn, Ohio. NCMR provides medically oriented education, training, product testing and research opportunities for medical and non-medical civilian and military personnel. It is a 52-acre austere training environment that equips and empowers America’s medical re- Figure 1: Performance Measurement sponders and non-medical personnel Tool –System Architecture with the experience and knowledge necessary to prepare them for disaster management. each outfitted with computer and people and objects. multimedia support equipment ac- •Isolated Wi-Fi system. Role of NCMR in Disaster commodating up to 40 students. The •The Joint Command Operations Management non-traditional classroom is designed as a mock emergency operations and Research Environment (J- center that can be used for traditional CORE), a collaborative civilian and NCMR provides medically ori- classes, but also support command military working laboratory facilitat- ented education, training, product and control and/or decision-training ing the investigation of operational testing and research opportunities and research. command and control (C2) methods. for medical and non-medical civil- The site also includes several ian and military personnel. NCMR’s indoor spaces that can be configured Performance Measure Tool training courses equip medical re- for various hands-on labs or student sponders and non-medical personnel breakout areas within the classroom The performance measurement with the experience and knowledge building and a high-bay warehouse (PM) tool is an “event–centric” ap- necessary to prepare them not only space. The high-bay accommodates plication that attempts to increase for their day-to-day challenges, but large props for hands-on learning situational awareness of disaster also for disaster management scenar- protected from adverse weather, and response teams by correlating the ios. Calamityville’s technical train- also enables modulating conditions existing raw information from mul- ing zones (TTZs) are the focal point to create sensory experiences such tiple events. This system is based on of NCMR’s training vision. These as darkness, wind, noises and smells. the belief that disaster management functionally oriented one- to two- Several technology-based structures challenges are inherently problems of acre areas house props that provide augment the training provided at resource management and by break- controlled, high-fidelity opportuni- the facility to further expand training down the information into events ties for scenario-driven, physically ing capability, appropriately improve at different levels the challenges challenging training and rehearsals. the fidelity of training and exercise can be more easily addressed. The TTZs include complex vehicles, con- operations and to allow for training event information is used to analyze fined spaces and hazardous materials. review and after-action activities. the situation and make decisions in Other TTZs in development include Technology infrastructure in- high-stakes situations, like when to a collapsed village simulating a de- cludes: dispatch emergency responders and struction zone after a natural or man- when to start the rescue operations. made event; an aircraft mishap with •A 10-camera (including HD and The PM tool was designed for an An- elevated and ground-based crashed IR) array that can film activities. droid mobile platform and integrates small-engine planes; and a standing/ with an after action report (AAR) moving water zone. •A radio frequency identification tool. The AAR tool is a console that Calamityville has three tradition- (RFID) grid with multiple readers to aggregates all the data from different al and one non-traditional classroom, track and record the movements of sources including data from video

41 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 feeds located at multiple strategic locations, event data from PM tools and other data from different organizations taking part in the training exercise. The AAR tool provides a holistic view of the current developments on field to the decision-makers so that they can make timely and efficient decisions based on information available at that instant. The goal of the application is to be simple, easy to navigate, easy to maneuver and carefully constructed to ease the learning of complex tasks. The problems should be well defined and use minimal possible text. The environment has to mimic reality as closely as possible and participants must be immersed in the application so Figure 2: Wireframe Development that the responder can face the same situations as in the real world. System Architecture

The PM tool is installed on an Android 7-inch tablet and transmits the event data in real-time to datacenters through available Wi-Fi connectivity or using a 3G service. Figure 1 presents the system architecture for the performance measure tool. Data transmission takes place through a web service called SGX Connection utility. The SGX Connection utility transmits event data and sends the confirmation back (3a) to the tablet after successful transmission. The data center combines data from multiple sources, analyses the data using existing disaster response models and sends the processed data to the AAR tool, which will be used by decision makers to aid their decision-making processes. By using a web service for data transmission between the mobile tablet and data center, the transmission data is set to minimal so that important event information is transmitted even when the network communications may be unreliable. The performance measure tool includes capturing measurements based on the scenario tested and will also include contextual information such as voice (3b) recordings and image capture. Experts from whom design guidelines were created conducted heuristic evaluation of the wireframes. Figure 2 shows an example of a wireframe. The mobile application includes features related to preparing, planning, executing and adapting to the time-critical scenario. Figures 3a, 3b, and 3c show example screenshots of the mobile system. Figure 3a presents the screen for “time required to plan” event. The application records the time (in minutes) required to plan once the TOC is alerted. The Start Time is recorded when a “go” command is issued to the disaster responders and duration between the start and end time is recorded for analysis. Event (3c) includes actions pertaining to planning and prepar- Figure 3: Screenshots of the Performance Measurement Tool

Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 42 Question Mean Std Dev ing for missions and coordinating with other assets a. The ability to record video of training exercise events and replay multiple 4.57 .93 regarding the roles and responsibilities during the video feeds is useful in supporting training/learning. operation. Figure 3b indicates “time to identify injuries b. The ability to record radio communications and replay multiple audio 4.30 1.03 after identifying victims” event that records the time channels is useful in supporting training/learning. when the injuries on the victims have been identified and before the victims are stabilized. The victim c. The ability to record trainee and role-player positions using GPS tracking 4.48 .93 identification and injury ID are recorded for further and virtual/constructive representations is useful in supporting analysis. Figure 3c shows a screenshot of an “ad-hoc” training/learning. event used to record any ad-hoc or any event that the d. The event/time marker capability of the Performance Measurement Tool 4.29 .96 responders may feel is important for analysis. They captures critical training exercise events useful in supporting performance can record the start time of the event and name the assessment for learning/training. event to identify it during analysis. e. The Scenario-based Performance Observation Tool for Learning in Team 4.33 1.02 Environments (SPOTLITE) application was useful in supporting Pilot Testing performance assessment for learning/training. Section 3 Overall 4.39 .96

The system was tested using a Special Weapons Table 1: Utility of After Action Review and Performance Measurement Capabilities and Tactics team (SWAT) scenario at the National for Training. Note: N = 21. Scale: 5-Strongly Agree, 4-Agree, 3-Neutral, 2-Disagree, Center for Medical Readiness at Calamityville. The 1-Strongly Disagree SWAT training consisted of an all-day event split into decision-making. The mobile application will be designed in several scenarios: two scenarios focused on emergency such a way that when a poor decision is made the applica- medical care in a hostile fire situation and two sce- tion will train the participant or make the participant realize narios focused on tactical response to an active shooter the value of the mistake and evaluate them later, the result of hostage situation. Prior to beginning the day’s events, which could be that the occurrence of the same mistake in a SWAT team members completed a pre-test measure real scenario is reduced. (expectation and objectives) that assessed their expec- Advantages of using mobile devices for performance tations about the types of experiences and instruction evaluations include a) reducing human resources required to they would receive. Surveys were also administered to train and evaluate, and b) reducing the use of space required assess the impact of SIDFOT-technology on mission for training, both of which would eventually reduce the execution and augmentation of training experiences, cost of operations. Empirical measurements and findings such as the inclusion of a simulated RPA intelligence from the study provide a solid starting point for additional feed, GPS tracking of SWAT personnel, video and development of more complex metrics through modeling audio recording of scenario activities, virtual and and evaluation of mobile computing’s ability to provide con- constructive representations of the training environ- tinuous education and evaluation in disaster management. ment and scenario personnel (both friendly and hostile The support system can be extended as a training module entities), objective performance tracking (Performance for users on expeditionary operations, where units need to Measurement Tool – PMT), subjective performance set up processes quickly. The operation unit needs to adapt tracking and advanced after action review capabili- rapidly to changes in the scenario with minimum deploy- ties (time and event-synched video, audio, chat and ment support. Expert decision-making may not be available performance metrics). Three training experiences and at all times for such operations, but the domain knowledge the usefulness and user acceptance of technologies as- of the expert decision maker could be captured to develop sessment were administered at the end of the training a knowledge-based agent to enable novice decision-makers day to capture SWAT participants’ impressions of the with decision-aiding mechanism and train them adequately impact of the technology upon training effectiveness. for expeditionary operations. Future work will focus on pro- Table 1 presents an overview of the participant rating viding support for other training scenarios and increasing (N = 21) of the utility of the performance measure- preparedness in susceptible populations. ment tool and the after action report capability. All comments were very positive and indicated that the use of technology vastly improved the human performance and training. To watch a video on sensor integration at Calamityville, Conclusion scan this QR code Mobile applications are powerful tools for learning. They can assess skills like response time and

43 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 TECHNOLOGY

PDC Pacific Disaster Center offers early warning programs and applications to at-risk communities around the world.

he Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) Building Disaster envisions a safer, more secure world—where populations live in moreT disaster-resilient communities informed by science and technology, and are Resilient Communities equipped with the right tools and information for decision-making. To make this vision a reality, PDC actively using Science partners with like-minded international, regional and national organizations and agencies to provide information access, man- and Technology agement, analysis and exchange throughout the disaster management cycle. By Jamie Swan, Pacific Disaster Center Providing early warning and multi-hazard monitoring, PDC developed Disaster- AWARE, an integrated platform for hazard situational awareness, decision support and information exchange that forms the basis for customizable applications – including a mobile app known as Disaster Alert. The

Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 44 platform is designed to strengthen disaster management In May 2013, DisasterAWARE was used in support capabilities by identifying and closing critical informa- of a U.S. Pacific Command Multinational Planning tion gaps during times of crisis. Over 1.5 million people Augmentation Team (MPAT) exercise and workshop in around the world are currently using the integrated Dhaka, Bangladesh. During the scheduled event, a real geospatial platform. disaster, Tropical Cyclone Mahasen, approached Ban- The ever-evolving technology incorporates best gladesh. Exercise participants quickly began responding, practices for data acquisition, hazard modeling, risk moving DisasterAWARE from exercise to real-world and vulnerability assessment, mapping, visualization, use. Displaying hazard and local-level GIS base data, and information sharing, and much more. DisasterAWARE supplying real-time storm information, DisasterAWARE powers a variety of systems—including both open source provided a common operating picture, and acted as a and secure environments. The adaptability of Disaster- communication hub, promoting efficient interagency in- AWARE allows the formation sharing. general public to At the request of the access the same core U.S. Embassy, PDC disaster information personnel presented and functionality as daily situational disaster managers, awareness briefs while also address- that were shared ing the complex with local United information needs Nations representa- that disaster pro- tives, government fessionals face. As agencies and local part of its core, it NGOs. continually moni- PDC personnel tors information also participated in feeds from reliable Balikatan 2013, an

meteorological and PDC annual joint exer- geological agencies cise of the Republic across the globe, en- Pacific Disaster Center training at the Kauai County Emergency Operations Center. of the Philippines and suring accurate, real-time reporting of potential hazards. the U.S., aimed at improving civil-military coordination for disaster preparedness. Balikatan also utilized Disaster- Training, Exercising & Event Support AWARE as the situational awareness tool for exercise play, and PDC conducted DisasterAWARE training with Having a tool is never enough – building capacity disaster management agencies and military players. and capability is also required to help ensure resilient communities. Those in the disaster management com- Public Access to DisasterAWARE munity know that it is critical to train and exercise the same way you would respond during a real disaster. That Anyone around the world can access DisasterAWARE is why PDC is dedicated to helping partners strengthen by using PDC’s Internet-accessible Global Hazards Atlas resilience through hands-on training, exercises and event (www.atlas.pdc.org). The Atlas offers users a way to view simulation. Using the DisasterAWARE platform (as you current and historical hazards and numerous social and would in a real event) users can simulate a disaster and cultural information layers, as well as models of potential test their disaster management plan. PDC involvement impacts. in exercises can range from scenario development to Another interface providing access to Disaster- exercise facilitation and evaluation, and hazard-specific AWARE is the free mobile application, Disaster Alert. mapping and modeling. PDC’s Disaster Alert is an easy-to-use iOS and Android Headquartered in Hawaii, PDC is integrated with app with an Atlas-like map optimized for mobile screens. State Civil Defense and actively participates in Makani It displays and continually updates active hazards. Disas- Pahili, the state’s annual hurricane preparedness exercise. ter Alert provides on-the-go early warning and multi- Joining government agencies and military operations, hazard monitoring on a global scale. PDC helps to rehearse response to a major hurricane that Global Hazards Atlas and Disaster Alert provide a causes significant damages. Participants use Disaster- comprehensive solution that can empower individuals AWARE through all phases of the exercise, providing a and communities to achieve preparedness and resilience common operating picture that supports exercise play. goals, both through increased information about risk and

45 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 vulnerability and through up-to-the-minute situational awareness. Professional Access to DisasterAWARE

To ensure that during times of disaster information is always available, PDC provides password-protected versions of DisasterAWARE to disaster management professionals. One such system, known as the emergency operations system (EMOPS), provides users with the additional information and functionality required for critical decision-making. This secure environment offers a common operating picture with enhanced data and information-sharing capabilities. Actionable information, PDC Vietnam instructors learn how to present comprehensive disaster such as situation reports and damage assessments, can be management curriculum. made instantly available to approved users. Similarly, PDC offers customized versions of Disaster- various formats to meet each organization’s specific AWARE to support humanitarian assistance and disaster needs. Modalities include lecture, discussions, hands-on management operations. In early 2013, the Association training, group activities, case studies, demonstrations of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) deployed a Disaster and simulated exercise. Monitoring and Response System (DMRS) that is opera- Areas of training expertise cover natural hazards, tional at the ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance (AHA) comprehensive disaster management, damage assessment Coordinating Centre in Jakarta, Indonesia; the U.S. De- and needs analysis, DisasterAWARE, data collection partment of Defense has deployed a customized system and management, risk and vulnerability assessment, and called RAPIDS (Risk Assessment, Planning and Decision disaster risk reduction. In 2010, PDC created customized Support); and the Vietnam Disaster Management Cen- course materials and trained more than 100 of Vietnam’s ter deployed VinAWARE to build capacity for tropical national and provincial disaster management profession- storm and flood preparedness and early warning within als as part of the World Bank-funded Natural Disaster national and provincial disaster management agencies. Risk Management Project. Additionally, in both 2010 VinAWARE is currently undergoing a second phase of and 2013, PDC produced training sessions on aspects of development that will add data sources and reinforce Hazard Mapping for APEC. institutionalization of the program through interagency If you are interested in finding out if PDC training memoranda and training programs. is being offered near you or to request training for your In addition, following the Great Sumatra Earthquake organization you can contact them at [email protected]. and Indian Ocean tsunami (2004), PDC assisted Thai- ______land in developing their own DisasterAWARE platform that provides earthquake and tsunami early warning and For nearly two decades, Pacific Disaster Center has decision support tools for the National Disaster Warn- been a leader in providing timely and accurate informa- ing Center (NDWC), which is currently being upgraded tion that can save lives and mitigate potential effects and expanded to multi-hazard capabilities. Most recently, of hazards. DisasterAWARE has played a vital role in PDC commenced a three-year program for its newest capacity building across the globe to help ensure that com- deployment – InAWARE – for Indonesia’s National munities have the training, tools and knowledge required Agency of Disaster Management. to reduce disaster risk. Continuing its proactive approach, PDC is committed to listening to distinctive and singular Training Solutions needs in order to help identify gaps and assist in crafting proper disaster management solutions. PDC provides a variety of training solutions to support the disaster management and humanitarian assistance community, focused on the use of technology for an enhanced understanding of hazards and their impacts, and for effective, timely decision making and actions during disaster response. PDC packages training services, such as briefings, multi-day workshops and classroom-based courses in

Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 46 TECHNOLOGY EarthinBlocks

A construction team builds a house with EarthinBlocks’ compressed earth block machine in Tibet. Building with Compressed Earth Blocks By Susan Heilig

ore than one billion people suffer from Approximately 65 percent of the Earth’s sub-soil is inadequate shelter and the need grows suitable for compressing blocks, making it an effective exponentially in disaster recovery environ- and efficient building technology. The ideal soil is comments.M As a result, numerous new products are at- posed of a high percentage of sand, or about 2/3 sand, tempting to address the need by providing high-quality, and the rest a balance of clay and silt. Blocks are manu- low-cost housing solutions to communities around the factured by hydraulically pressing, at high pressure with world; EARTHinBLOCKS (EIB), a company dedicated to a stabilizing ingredient and a modicum of water, the soil constructing quality housing in hard to reach locations, is into a standard block. After curing, these blocks are ready leading the way. for construction using normal construction techniques. Prior to founding the company in 2010, EIB Chief Walker was initially intrigued by the portability of the Executive Officer Elsie Walker served as president of the CEB machines, which can be hauled behind a truck – or Mountain Institute (TMI), a non-profit organization even disassembled and loaded onto the back of yaks – working on development projects in the mountainous and carried to the most inaccessible mountain villages. regions of the world. TMI launched a program to build She concluded that if a CEB machine could be developed earth-block housing in the Tibet Autonomous Region that lived up to its promise, its addition could enable TMI in western China as a way to enhance agricultural facili- to address local housing and environmental issues and ties and housing in high mountain villages in ways that create jobs in the process. did not require expensive and time-consuming transport Jim Underwood, a TMI staff member who lived in of construction materials. Walker began to investigate West Virginia, had studied natural building technolo- compressed earth blocks (CEB) as a suitable construction gies, including compressed earth blocks. He responded technology. to Walker’s request to design a block machine that

47 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 improved on existing CEB manu- provements and the manufacturing the machine is now being manufac- facturing methods by adding tongue of the machine by the Agricul- tured in Melbourne, Fla., a few miles and grooves to the bricks, simplified tural Research Institute in Chengdu, from Cape Canaveral. construction and increased the over- China. Three key features distinguish all structural integrity of the resulting When Walker stepped down as the EIB machine from other CEB building. When it was ready, the ma- president of TMI in 2010, she de- machines: the tongue and groove chine was sent from West Virginia to cided to promote this home-and-job- blocks, the rate of compression and Lhasa, Tibet. creating technology. Susan England, its self-contained portability. The Once there, Underwood and a longtime colleague, joined the effort blocks emerge from the EIB machine his colleagues were able to train 23 and together they formed EARTH- ready to assemble, without need for rural construction teams in earth- inBLOCKS with Walker serving as mortar as a result of their tongue and block construction. These teams CEO and England as president. groove form. The tongue and groove were composed of a few experienced In 2011, they were referred to enables the blocks to interlock with builders and many unskilled labor- Tom Kopera, a Chicago-based each other, which both simplifies and ers, who caught on quickly to the engineer, who converted the draw- accelerates the building process and laying of tongue and grove blocks. ings from Chinese to U.S. specifica- increases the structural integrity of After his second summer of training tions and produced a prototype of the building. in Tibet, Underwood returned to the the now twice-upgraded machine. The machine compresses the soil U.S. to discover that he was suffering The American prototype was tested horizontally up to 2,500 pounds per from advanced pancreatic cancer and and in 2012 EIB looked for a U.S. square inch (psi). This enables teams died months later; however, enough manufacturer. John Rivera, a busi- to form blocks that are consistently Tibetans had been trained to build nessman and engineer based in identical height and width that ex- more than 40 structures, including Florida, assembled a team of retired ceed the standard building code for farmhouses, bio-gas greenhouses, a NASA engineers, who had worked compressed earth blocks minimum winery, a dairy cooperative and many together on the Saturn program and requirement of 300 psi. guesthouses – a fitting and lasting were looking for a project that would Lastly, the EARTHinBLOCKS legacy to Underwood’s vision. reunite them. They studied Kopera’s machine weighs 2,000 pounds and is Walker was initially hoping that prototype and drawings in great built on a rolling trailer that can be the machine could be locally manu- detail. Together with Rivera, they hauled by truck, sport utility vehicle factured, thus creating even more strengthened the ergonomics of the or airlifted to the building site. The jobs, but the undertaking proved machine, streamlined it by eliminat- unit is a self-contained workstation to be too complicated. Dan Brund- ing several parts and formed it into a – once on site, the unit needs only to age, a retired naval systems engineer rugged, easy-to-use machine. Rivera be leveled and stabilized to be ready who volunteered his talents, came to was so impressed by the machine and for block making. The EARTHin- TMI’s rescue. He joined the project the EIB mission that he joined EIB as BLOCKS machine produces two to oversee a variety of design im- senior vice president and chief oper- blocks per minute and can make ating officer. The latest iteration of more than 500,000 blocks before the machine will need a major tune-up. Ultimately, EIB is using a technology and an approach that can become part of a broad humanitarian solution in regions struck by natural disasters or civil conflict. The companies motto, “building strong communities, one block at a time,” captures the goal of empowering people in communities worldwide by providing them with low-cost, low-footprint, quality, sustainable housing – housing they can build themselves, while learning a simple, EarthinBlocks’ compressed replicable technology, that creates earth block machine can local jobs as well. produce two blocks a minute. Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 48 TECHNOLOGY Flying High The use of expendable civil drones after Typhoon Haiyan

49 LIAISON Volume VI Spring 2014 Flyi The useofexpendablecivildronesafterTyphoonHaiyan n g High Center for Excellence inDisaster Assistance &Humanitarian Management 50 Ted Ralston,DroneDeveloper, California StateUniversity, Chief ofAppliedResearch, Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Management& Center forExcellencein University ofHawaii By ImesChiu,Ph.D. Ph.D. Candidate, ChuckDevaney, Long Beach

Nicolas Asfouri/ Armed Forces of the Philippines n a January 2014 publication, Lessons From Civil- rate understanding and a very detailed picture at the village Military Disaster Management and Humanitarian level, at the camp level, as to what exactly is going on,” Response to Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda),1 the in- explained Devaney.3 terdisciplinaryI CFE-DMHA team concluded that during During Haiyan recovery operations, civil drones were the rapid response phase of disaster management, aerial quickly adopted as routine operating procedures for many imagery of damaged areas proved more useful than a de- humanitarian groups. Overcoming the logistical challenges tailed needs-assessment. Committed to using this emerging posed by massive debris in Tacloban, civil drones provided technology to save lives and rebuild destroyed areas, drone many nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) much operators saw civil drones as a means for local empower- needed situational awareness at a time when needs-assessment. As a result, various types of civil drones found appli- ment teams did not have access to the disaster area. cations in the Tacloban city relief operations. Most notable Initially used to pinpoint potential base camp loca- were the expendable unmanned aerial vehicles (xUAV) tions for aid workers, many NGOs began adapted the use that did not require expert operators, unlike many other of civil drones to inform their relief, rescue and recovery civil drones used in Haiyan relief operations. operations from aerial views of infrastructure devastation, Chuck Devaney, a doctoral candidate at University of road and power line damages, emergency areas and relief Hawaii’s Department of Geography, flew to Tacloban in distribution networks. Civil drones also helped ensure the the aftermath of Haiyan to spend several months working safety of aid workers through regular information feeds of with Ateneo de Manila University capturing aerial images their movements in the affected areas.4 of the damage. “A lot of things can be interpreted if you just have a Two Men On a Truck - Tacloban, Leyte, Philippines snapshot of the ground,” said Devaney in an interview.2 Imagery provided by civil drones enabled local govern- The simple low maintenance set-up of civil drones ment units to immediately and accurately assess the extent makes it an attractive alternative over expensive satel- of the damage in their jurisdictions, even when operating lites. It just requires two men and a form of transport. In with a significantly reduced staff. As exemplified in the Tacloban, it was “two men on a truck” – Chuck Devaney Tacloban experience, many of the first responders became and drone developer Ted Ralston. The biggest challenge victims themselves and the surviving local government unit the team faced was determining a launch and recovery faced the daunting task of providing a quick damage and site sufficient for a fixed-wing xUAV, so the team used a needs-assessment to incoming relief workers. multi-rotor helicopter drone that is vertically launched and “What they actually need at this point is to get an accu- recovered. Imagery from both video and still photography 1 Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance, cfe-dmha.org 3 Yamada, “Drone operators.” 2 Lara Yamada, “Drone operators work to help Philippines’ Typhoon Haiyan survivors,” KITV 4 Paige Dearing, “Civil drone helps NetHope Haiyan relief efforts in the Philippines,” NetHope. News. Retrieved from: http://www.kitv.com/news/hawaii/drone-operators-work-to-help-philip- Retrieved from: http://nethope.org/blog/2013/12/civil-drone-helps-nethope-haiyan-relief-efforts- pines-typhoon-haiyan-survivors/24008774 in-the-philippines/

51 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 informed the acquisition team where to launch and recover parallel, it might be said that the UAV subclass of systems the larger fixed-wing unit. is actually ‘crowd sourced’ – from a selected, motivated, Even though this UAV subclass is termed ‘expend- skilled crowd. able,’ it does not mean the team intentionally or willingly Eventually, a quadricopter, or a drone using four pro- ‘expends’ them, rather it means that the cost is so low and pellers, flew over wrecked buildings in Tacloban to provide accessibility so high that the drones can be readily replace decision-makers and logistical planners an overall damage in case of loss – therefore users are not inhibited by the cost assessment estimate. From this estimate, planners deter- and loss factors. Nevertheless, while the low cost allows mined the resources and relief equipment needed on the the systems to work even in high risk-of-loss conditions, ground. Many articles coming from various perspectives it is essential for data acquisition that the units be recov- espoused the use of civil drones for search and rescue.5,6 ered. Once a suitable launch and recovery zone had been For example, civil drones have the potential of additional selected, the team began their task. life-saving applications in disasters such as earthquakes, The team’s first effort started from a fixed-wing xUAV where they could produce thermal images of survivors bur- that covered an area of approximately 1.5 square kilome- ied beneath rubble. ters at an altitude of 150 meters. The total flight time was approximately 30 minutes. The imagery acquired rendered Locally focused analytics a final mosaic at eight centimeter per pixel (see below). The current xUAV configuration can fly and capture imagery A significant benefit of the xUAV is as an asset that for approximately an hour. could be locally employed and managed. They do not The xUAV platform used to generate the Tacloban require a centralized command system; they are ‘locally mosaic imagery consisted of widely available parts that can modifiable’ so changes to the system can easily be done to be purchased for approximately $1,000. This is significantly meet community needs. These expendable systems by na- cheaper than the more expensive commercial “turnkey” ture are small, inexpensive and not transportation limited. systems. The piloting skills required to launch and recover Unlike larger systems, xUAV could easily be hand carried the aircraft, as well as conducting minor repairs, are read- to remote locations. The components are derived from ev- ily learned due to the recent exceptional developments eryday consumer technology backed by a large network of in miniaturized electronic and optical systems from the web-based support systems, often set-up by the academic model airplane and cellular phone industry. It is reasonable community. to assume that the consumer-driven evolution in reliable, multi-functional ‘pocket systems’ will continue to drive 5 Daniela Spath, “’Friendly’ drones in emergency response,” Deutsche Welle. Retrieved from: down prices and increase the capability of the ‘expendable’ http://www.dw.de/friendly-drones-in-emergency-response/a-17344041 6 “Civilian drones search and rescue documentary released on YouTube,” ICARUS: unmanned subclass of UAVs built upon this technology. In a loose search and rescue. Retrieved from: http://www.fp7-icarus.eu/news/civilian-drones-search-and- rescue-documentary-released-youtube

Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 52 Future potential for xUAVs

In addition to the relief and response phase, aid workers on the ground continue to rely on civil drones to plan and track recovery operations until a comprehensive damage assessment is complete. The Humanitarian Open-

StreetMap Team (HOT) described the Philippine environ- Rafael Benevides/ Flickr ment as “an unprecedented” use of UAVs in the collection of Haiyan imageries and suggest that various analytical xUAVs that favor ‘localization’ could potentially have the products on relief and recovery operations be produced same disruptive effects to national response mechanisms, from organizing and analyzing imagery feeds of debris much like the way cellular phones and social media have removal and reconstruction projects at various phases of the changed the daily lives of many vulnerable areas. A new recovery operations.7 Many relief workers on the ground opportunity space for the development of sensors, mi- predict that civil drones will eventually become an integral croelectronics, creative new flight management and flight part of disaster risk reduction efforts in the future.8 safety tools, including the analytic software systems used The concept of xUAV has not been widely diffused as a to make sense of the emerging sensor-defined imagery, common tool in civil-military operations. The authors will provide an interesting study in the dynamic applications next embark on looking at the disruptive effects of xUAV of Geographic Information Services (GIS) in geospatial in the current top-down flow of relief operations among awareness-based risk-mitigation concepts. foreign military responders. All factors brought about by

7 “Support Haiyan/Yolanda reconstruction: contribute public use UaV (Drone) imagery,” Humanitar- ian OpenStreetMap Team. Retrieved from: http://hot.openstreetmap.org/updates/uav_imag- ery_haiyan 8 Lean Alfred Santos, “In the Philippines, drones provide humanitarian relief,” Devex. Retrieved from: https://www.devex.com/news/in-the-philippines-drones-provide-humanitarian-relief-82512

Staff from Aklan State University, University of Ateneo de Manila and University of Hawaii collaborate to produce aerial imagery for use during Typhoon Haiyan disaster response. Courtesy photo

53 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 TECHNOLOGY

Disaster relief architect wins prestigious award

After spending more than two decades building structures for victims of natural disasters, Japanese architect Shigeru Ban became the 2014 Pritzker Prize winner in March. His low-cost structures have helped thousands of people in Japan, Haiti, New Zealand and the Philippines after earthquakes, tsunamis and other natural disasters devastated large areas. He is best known for the creation of paper partitions in emergency shelters and construction of structures using unique building materials like cardboard tubes (see photo) and shipping containers. Shigeru Ban Architects

First responder robot competition

The Department of Defense’s strategic plan calls for the armed forces to conduct humanitarian, disaster relief and related operations. The plan identifies requirements to extend aid to victims of natural or man-made disasters and conduct evacuation operations. Some disasters, however, due to grave risks to the health and well-being of rescue and aid workers, prove too great in scale or scope for timely and effective human response. The Defense Ad- vanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Robotics Challenge will attempt to address this capability gap by promoting innovation in robotic technology for disaster-response operations. The primary technical goal of the challenge is to develop ground robots capable of executing complex tasks in dangerous, degraded, human- engineered environments. Competitors in the challenge are expected to focus on robots that can use standard tools and equipment commonly available in human environments, ranging from hand tools to vehicles, with an emphasis on adaptability to tools with diverse specifications. The 2014 finals will be held between December 2014 and June 2015.

Boston Dynamics

Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 54 RESEARCH & SCIENCE NEPAL’S Approach to Risk Resilient Development

By Sudhir Kumar, Disaster Risk Reduction Specialist, United Nations Development Programme

ountries and individuals across the globe aspire for sustainable development and it takes measures from policy to planning and from implementation to monitoring of developmental interventions to makeC it possible. However, in many countries the ‘development gains’ of years and decades can be wiped out in several minutes due to a disaster. Hence, it is important that the development is informed of disaster risk. Climate change is reconfiguring the existing hazards and thus reconfiguring risk. The linkages among disaster, climate change and development have been well established and hence developmental interventions require a disaster and climate risk management inclusive approach. Countries and development partners have been working on disaster and climate risk management issues using various approaches, however the risk sensitive development, i.e. disaster and climate risk management, embedded within the development framework approach has been widely accepted as the ‘way ahead.’ This article aims to highlight the key principles and approaches for disaster and climate risk management inclusive development from Nepal. It also covers the framework and interventions taken and draws out practical lessons, which can be replicated. Introduction

In the recent past, the world has witnessed some of the worst disasters, including Typhoon Haiyan of 2013 in the Philippines, the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, the earthquake of 2010 in Haiti, the Sichuan earthquake of 2008 in China, Cyclone Nargis of 2008 in Myanmar, the Pakistan earthquake of 2005, Hurricane Katrina of 2005 in the United States and the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004. These disasters not only claim precious lives and destroy livelihoods but also impact the long-term growth of the countries and have trans-boundary impacts. For example, in Japan after the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, 337 private companies went bankrupt within six months of the disaster and out of these only 46 companies were located in the earthquake-tsunami affected region.1 Similarly, the Thailand floods of 2011 led the Bank of Thailand to revise its GDP forecast for 2011 to no more than 2.6 percent, down from 4.1 percent. In order to meet the challenge of disaster, countries and development partners have taken a number of steps for risk management and the United

1 55 LIAISON Asian Disaster Volume Reduction VI | WinterCenter, Japan, 2013-14 ISDR Asia Partnership Meeting, April 2012, Bali, Indonesia UNDP Nepal

UNDP Nepal Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) report2 has observed that there has been significant progress in achieving effective disaster response and preparedness. However, risk reduction has a long way to go and it continues to challenge countries and development partners. This context calls for a comprehensive and systematic approach to risk management, which ranges from deconstruction of disaster risk into its three elements, namely hazard, vulnerability and

exposure to resilient development. Modified and Adapted from IPCC SREX, 2012 The risk-informed development Figure 1: Disaster, Development and Climate: Inter-linkages intervention is very important, as Risks of Extreme Events. The risk management approach development is not risk neutral - it either reduces or in- analyses risk from disaster as well as climate change and creases risk. Unfortunately, the choices made, intention- identifies measures to address the risk. And, apart from ally or unintentionally, by government, private sector and weather and climate events, geological hazards are also society have contributed to increasing risk. considered. 1. Approach to risk resilient development 1.2 Holistic Approach to Risk Management The risk management framework is holistic, which The comprehensive and systematic approach to risk includes a three-step approach (Figure 2): reduction should be embedded within the development Identifying disaster and climate risk; framework aimed towards risk (disaster and climate) sen- Taking measures to reduce risk through reduction of sitive development and thus contributing to sustainable hydro-met hazards, vulnerability and exposure. The iden- development. It should aim to reduce risk through re- tification of risk is the basis for other two measures i.e. duced vulnerability, exposure and hydro-meteorological reduction of risk as well as management of residual risk; hazards (limited intervention) and through development Managing the residual risk. interventions. A number of agencies, including Asian Disaster 1.3 Targeting Public and Private Investments Preparedness Center (ADPC), are working on this issue It is important to highlight that risk reduction is pro- using various models and approaches, which are mainly active and has economic benefits in general. Also, huge based on the following principles: development investments can be leveraged for risk reduction and have long-term gains. The approach to resilient 1.1 Development, Disaster and Climate development should target both public investment and Risk inter-linkages private investment, as both are equally important. The inter-linkages between disaster, climate and The public investment is typically 3-15 percent of development have been well established and the Inter- GDP in low- and middle-income countries (UNFCCC, Governmental Panel on Climate Change (Figure 1) has 2007) but these investments are critical for risk reduction. documented the link in its special report on Managing the For example, a study on public investment in India for 2 (2013) 2011-12 found that the development programs where risk Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction, UNISDR Figure 2: Risk Management Frameworks

57 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 reduction can be included amounts to approximately $80 ment those plans and projects. This multi-layered and billon as compared to exclusive risk reduction programs coordinated approach signifies the importance of vari- in 2011-12 were approximately $2.3 billon. In terms of ous key stakeholders and actors from planning down percentage of GDP allocation, the former is approximate- to implementation stages of development initiatives for ly 3.4 percent while the latter is 0.1 percent.3 attaining the objective of a resilience society. Global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is projected to reach $1.8 trillion in 2013 and $1.9 trillion in 2014. In 1.7 Build on Existing Platform 2011, almost half of the FDI flowed into low- and middle- The ‘development’ interventions are primarily income countries (GAR 2013) and it is important that planned and implemented through formal development these investments are not in hazard exposed areas but instruments such as development policy, national, secto- support risk resilient development. Considering the scale rial and local development plans, projects and monitoring of investments and geographical focus of the investments, and evaluation systems. These mechanisms are well es- it is important that these investments are informed of risk tablished and it is important that the resilience approach so that the ‘development gains’ are protected and need build on these existing instruments. not to be reinvested after the impact of disaster to recre- ate the same assets. 2. Key interventions

1.4 Partnership Mainstreaming disaster risk management into devel- The risk management measures are long-term as well opment has been a key goal of the agenda in the last de- as complex; therefore, it requires partnership between all cade and it is gaining momentum. The post-2015 Devel- key development actors, which include planning minis- opment Agenda discussion as well as Hyogo Framework tries, line agencies, disaster management organizations, for Action-2 discussion has highlighted its importance. technical institutions, private sector and development Though mainstreaming disaster risk management into partners. It also requires process-oriented approach for development has been taking place for several years, a long-term sustainability. comprehensive and systematic approach began around 2009 and focused work started in 2011 when the Com- 1.5 Capacity Building and Knowledge prehensive Disaster Risk Management Programme of the Management United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with Governments are regarded as the lead development Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) as a techni- entities, which are supported by non-governmental ac- cal partner, supported the Government of Nepal on risk tors, for implementing long-term development agendas. resilient development over 2011-2013. To ensure risk resilient development in long-term plan- The ADPC has been working on this theme across ning, it is important to setup the system for local capacity different sectors of development since 2004-05 in several building. The range of actors involved in development is countries within Asia, including Nepal, but the interven- very large and local capacity building mechanism is the tion of the UNDP benefited and built upon them. most feasible one. By area or country, some of the broader key interven- Also, disaster risk management and climate risk tions include: management is a relatively new theme and creation of a knowledge management mechanism on this theme is very Guideline on mainstreaming disaster risk reduction in important. The approaches, examples and use of disaster the education sector (Philippines) and climate risk management in development needs to be catalogued and made available to the public for reference. Guideline on mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into housing sector (Asia) 1.6 Multi-layered as well as Coordinated Approach Development interventions evolve from policy to plan, Guidance on promoting use of disaster risk from an initial project to monitoring and evaluation, information in land-use planning (Asia) which is undertaken by a range of actors at various levels. For example, the Planning Commission in Nepal is the Guidelines for mainstreaming disaster risk reduction primary agency that steers the development agenda in the into public investment programming (Sayaboury country while specific development plans are formulated Province, Lao People’s Democratic Republic) by the local government as well as at the line ministries. Line ministries, local bodies and other actors then imple- Technical assistance on implementation of DRR/CCA inclusive environmental impact assessment guideline 3 (Philippines) Chakrabarti D, Understanding existing methodologies for allocating and tracking resources, 2012 Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 58 Disaster risk reduction inclusion into housing sector Epidemics (Sri Lanka) This information helps the policy makers and officers Mainstreaming DRR into local development planning make a decision on the level of risk mitigated and/or (Maldives) retained in a development intervention or in prioritization of risk reduction measures. Capacity building and technical assistance on risk Nepal Climate Data Portal: considerations into irrigation sector (Pakistan) This Portal was created to facilitate the analysis of climatological / meteorological, geographical and projec- In Nepal, the following interventions were undertaken tion data using a publicly accessible web-based interface. for contributing towards risk resilient development: It helps the viewer to easily access historical station data, historical gridded data and project future climate change 2.1 Incorporation of Disaster and Climate Risk scenarios for: Management Considerations into Development The overall framework for disaster and climate risk management intervention in Nepal has been captured in Figure 3. The process started with understanding disaster and climate risks in Nepal, which is followed by risk reduction and management of residual risk. The capacity building, knowledge management and partnership remained the underpinning pillars in the entire process.

(Above) multi-hazard risk assessment is used at the district level to understand disaster and climate risks. (Below) The Nepal Climate Data Portal allows the user to access historical risk data for analysis.

Figure 3: Disaster and Climate risk management in Nepal 2.1.1 Understanding risk In order to understand disaster and climate risks in Nepal a two-pronged approach was adopted, which included the development of new systems of studies and the usage of existing systems of studies. This assessment was undertaken at district level, which is an important administrative unit. Multi-hazard risk assessment: Nepal is prone to multiple hazards and in order to understand disaster risk, a multi-hazard risk assessment was undertaken to determine the potential future impact of the following hazards: Earthquakes for the next 500 years, 250 years, 100 years and 50 years return period, or the type and size of earthquakes expected in next 50 to 500 years Floods or inundation for 500 years, 100 years, 50 years, 25 years and 10 years return period Landslides induced due to precipitation and earthquakes Droughts in pre-, during, post-monsoon and winter

59 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 Assessing impacts and vulnerability in climate sensi- established 14-step development planning process, which tive sectors such as agriculture, water resources, energy includes local development planning at district and sub- and health. district level. Integration of DRM/CRM considerations Developing adaptation strategies for vulnerable sectors into all 14-steps were identified and a guideline has been Infrastructure planning as adaptation measures prepared. Contingency planning Also, Nepal has a detailed monitoring and evalua- Other sources for risk information: tion system, the Minimum Condition and Performance Nepal has prepared National Adaptation Programme Measures (MCPM) for local development funding. It of Action (NAPA), which provides valuable information includes: for climate change impact projections. Also, the Disas- Local bodies must meet minimum conditions to be ter Management Plans provide important disaster risk entitled to receive the unconditional capital grants. It information. has 15 indicators within three functional areas namely Planning and Management; Financial Management and 2.1.2 Risk considerations into development process Transparency. In order to include risk considerations into develop- Performance measures are designed to create incentive ment processes in Nepal, the horizontal as well as vertical for local bodies to improve their performance. It has 62 approach were taken which included disaster and climate indicators: Planning & Program Management; Financial risk management considerations into the development Management; Fiscal Capacity; Program execution; etc. planning processes of line ministries at the national level Within the MCPM, indicators and sub-indicators have as well as at the district and sub-district level. At the been identified for disaster and climate risk management national level it included the National Planning Com- considerations. mission, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development, Ministry of Urban Devel- 2.1.3 Residual risk management opment, Ministry of Irrigation, Ministry of Forest and Risk reduction measures can be very costly and their Soil Conservation, Ministry of Science, Technology and financial viability is very low. For example, residential Environment and Ministry of Education. buildings are mostly constructed as earthquake resistant Overall approach for Disaster and Climate Risk Man- but not earthquake proof, while the nuclear reactors are agement (DRM/CRM) inclusion into development: earthquake proof due to their critical nature. This means The disaster and climate risk management consider- that residential buildings can withstand earthquakes up ations were included in the overall development planning to a specific magnitude. Therefore, it is important to framework of the country and the ministries i.e. it built implement a system for managing the residual risk, i.e. upon the existing system. The schematic diagram is at the risks which have not been mitigated due to various Figure 4. factors such as limited budget and unavailability of tech- Disaster and Climate nical designs. Risk Management Con- To manage the residual risks, Nepal has been under- siderations into Irrigation: taking several measures which includes the preparation of Within the above-men- the Disaster Preparedness and Response Plan, awareness tioned schematic diagram, generation on “do’s and don’ts” of a disaster and mock disaster and climate risk drills. These measures will help in managing the leftover considerations were or residual risk. identified in consultative process and used in the 2.1.4 Underpinning pillars development functions Capacity building, knowledge management and for each key ministry. For partnership have been the three underpinning pillars in example, Nepal’s Ministry ADPC’s intervention. of Irrigation identified a Partnership: number of considerations. Partnership has been key in disaster and climate risk A sample is provided in management intervention, which includes partnership Figure 5. among Government of Nepal, U.N. agencies, technical Disaster and Climate institutions and universities and NGOs. ADPC works in Risk Management Consid- partnership to implement mainstreaming disaster and erations into local develop- climate risk management into development. ment planning: Capacity building: Nepal has a well- In order to ensure long-term sustainability and also to

Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 60 reach scale, the capacity building of national in- DRM/CRM Framework Development Framework stitutions has been the center of attention since the beginning. The process started with a study of capacity assessment, which analyzed the existing as well as future desired-capacity needs based on legislations, strategies and mandate of relevant ministries. The analysis helped to identify the gaps, which was followed by the analysis of technical capacity of national training institutions vis-à-vis the needs of ministry and thus the capacity building needs of national training institutes for long-term support to Nepal were Figure 4: Schematic Diagram of Disaster and Climate Risk Management considerations identified. This has been captured in Figure 6. into development in Nepal Knowledge management: Disaster and Climate Risk Management is a cross-cutting agenda as well as relatively new Functions/ DRM/CRM Document/ M&E Indicator Time Line Activities entry points Administrative theme, hence it is important to have one-stop Order to be shop for all DRM/CRM related information for referred reference for stakeholders. A knowledge man- Organizational Link CRM/DRM CRM /DRM Action Action Plan 6 months agement portal on DRR namely ‘Nepal DRR Setup in each Plan Prepared Portal’ has been developed which has sections division /sub-‐ on DRR Landscape of Nepal, Disaster Profile, division Online Resources and Learning, DRR Projects in Nepal, DRR Resources Mapping and Online Updating of Incorporate NAPA, LAPA, DRM/CRM 1 year policies, DRM/CRM in Periodic Plan HFA, incorporate Discussion Forum. The Ministry of Home Af- directives and policies, MDG fairs, the nodal Ministry for Disaster Manage- circulars directives and ment in Nepal, has hosted it. circulars Redefining of Include DRM/ Working DRM/CRM 6 months Conclusion Job CRM in job Procedures of DOI included in Job Descriptions descriptions descriptions The cases of Nepal highlight the complexities Figure 5 : Disaster and Climate Risk Management considerations into functions of Minis- involved in the inclusion of disaster and climate risk try of Irrigation, Nepal (draft)

management into development. Like many other countries, this theme is still in its nascent stage in Nepal; however, there is growing awareness of the need to bring the issue to the forefront. Also, the post-2015 development agenda as well as Hyogo Framework for Action-2 process have highlighted the need and importance of this agenda as sustainable development that is not possible without risk * reduction considerations. It can be concluded that the future of disaster and climate risk management will depend on governments and political leaders, which is becoming more successful at combining the promotion of local and national economic growth with effective disaster and climate risk management on the ground.4 The approach used in Nepal for mainstreaming disaster and climate risk management into development for risk resiliency can be Figure 6: Framework for capacity building on DRM/CRM in Nepal replicated and modified by other nations in need of *NASC: National Administrative Staff College; LDTA: Local Development Training a template for success. Academy; BTR&TC: Building Technology Research and Training Center; CTE&VT: Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training; APFTC: Armed Police Force Training Center

4 (2013).

Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction, UNISDR 61 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 B as B o u m a n / In te rn a ti o n a l R ic e R e s e a r c h I n s t i t u

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Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 62 RESEARCH & SCIENCE Protecting Cultural Heritage During Disasters Prevention, Mitigation and Response

By Elizabeth Varner, Executive Director of the National Art Museum of Sport atural and human-induced disasters have disaster mitigation plan that includes prevention, mitiga- damaged and destroyed cultural heritage tion, and response. spurring advances to protect cultural heritage In government documents, tangible cultural heritage throughN prevention, mitigation, and response. Aware- is frequently called “cultural property,” which is a limit- ness, resources, training and the number of organizations ing and antiquated term, but was used in the 1954 Hague dedicated to safeguarding cultural heritage has increased. Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in Multiple organizations have taken up the charge to the Event of Armed Conflict and is still used in U.S. protect cultural heritage and help entities prevent and military documents. Article 1 of the 1954 Hague Conven- mitigate harm to cultural heritage, as well as fostering tion defines cultural property as “movable or immovable a dialogue between cultural heritage organizations and property of great importance to the cultural heritage of emergency responders to enable a better response to every people.” 3 disasters that threaten cultural heritage. Tangible cultural heritage is also referred to as “cultur- This article defines cultural heritage, analyzes why al resources or assets” in disaster management resources cultural heritage is important and briefly discusses the and amongst disaster management professionals.4 different considerations for moveable and immove- For purposes of clarity, tangible cultural heritage will able cultural heritage. The article reviews the key parties be denoted hereinafter solely as “cultural heritage.” involved, risks implicated in disasters affecting cultural heritage, and the differences between preventing, mitigat- B. Importance of Cultural Heritage ing and responding to disasters. Then the article explores Protecting and safeguarding cultural heritage from advances and resources in preventing, mitigating, and disaster is important to the local, national, and global responding to disasters. Finally, this article distills this community. Corine Wegener, Preservation Specialist for information into key points to prevent, mitigate and Cultural Heritage at the Smithsonian Institution, has re- respond to disasters that affect cultural heritage. peatedly found when responding to disasters that cultural heritage is an integral part of a community’s identity and A. Definition of Cultural Heritage, Cultural Property is a motivational force in people staying to rebuild a com- and Cultural Resources munity after a disaster instead of leaving to start afresh.5 The term “cultural heritage” can be subdivided into “tangible cultural heritage,” the physical manifestation of C. Moveable vs. Immovable Tangible Cultural Heritage cultural heritage such as a painting or sculpture, and “in- Considerations in preventing, mitigating and respond- tangible cultural heritage,” the non-physical manifesta- ing to a disaster sometimes differ if the cultural heritage tion of cultural heritage such as oral stories or dancing.1,2 is moveable rather than if it is immoveable. For example, Within the context of disasters, I will focus primarily on sometimes facility issues in immoveable cultural heritage tangible cultural heritage. My intent is to offer cultural can be the source of the disaster, such as broken pipes or heritage sites worldwide a starting point and basis for a 3 4 Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, May 14, 1 1954, 249 U.N.T.S. 240. 2 Encyclopedia of Military Science 5 Lori Foley, (Vice President of Emergency Programs at Heritage Preservation), interview by P. Gerstenblith, personal communication, May 13, 2012. Elizabeth Varner, Record, August 22, 2013. Elizabeth Varner, Cultural property and heritage, In the . K Corine Wegener, (Preservation Specialist for Cultural Heritage, Smithsonian Institute), Piehler (Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2013. interview by Elizabeth Varner, Record, July 02, 2013. 63 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 Center for Excellence Assistance &Humanitarian 64 in Disaster Management in Lisbon,Portugal The ConventoDa Ordem doCarmo was destroyedin the 1755Lisbon Earthquake.

Anna Hallett fire from faulty wiring in a historic house.6 Sometimes C. Difference between Preventing, Mitigating and moveable cultural heritage, such as a painting or docu- Responding to Cultural Heritage Disasters ment, can more readily be evacuated or moved to a safe While organizations have different ways of addressing location than immoveable cultural heritage such as a stages of emergency management, such as FEMA, which monument, museum, or historic site.7 Different require- divides emergency management into five areas includ- ments for salvage can also exist such as Section 106 re- ing prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, and sponsibilities for properties on or eligible for the National recovery,12 for purposes of this article stages of emer- Register of Historic Places.8 gency management will be consolidated into three areas: prevention, mitigation, which will include preparedness, I. Threshold Issues in Preventing, Mitigating, and and response, which will include recovery. These various Responding to Disasters Involving Tangible Cultural stages have overlap. Heritage Preventing. “Prevention”, according to FEMA, includes “[a]ctions to avoid an incident or to intervene to A. Key Parties for Preventing, Mitigating and stop an incident from occurring.”13 Responding to Cultural Heritage Disasters Mitigating. “Mitigation” means “[a]ctivities provid- Key parties for preventing, mitigating, and responding ing a critical foundation in the effort to reduce the loss to cultural heritage disasters include the cultural entity of life and property from natural and/or human-caused possessing the cultural heritage, emergency responders, disasters by avoiding or lessening the impact of a disas- and cultural heritage and emergency response networks ter and providing value to the public by creating safer and partners. In the United States of America cultural communities.”14 The term “mitigate” is necessary because heritage and emergency response networks and partners it is not always possible to prevent, or stop, all disasters. can include the American Institute for Conservation, Fed- For purposes of this paper, “preparedness” is included eral Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Heritage under “mitigation”. “Preparedness” is defined as “[a] Emergency National Task Force, Northeast Document ctions that involve a combination of planning, resources, Conservation Center and other regional centers, Smithso- training, exercising, and organizing to build, sustain, and nian Institution, U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield, and improve operational capabilities.”15 the U.S. National Park Service (see infra). Responding. “Response” is defined as “[i]mmediate actions to save and sustain lives, protect property and the B. Natural vs. Human-Induced Disasters environment, and meet basic human needs.”16 Response Natural. Natural disasters include earthquakes, floods, can encompass the time between notification, if any, of hurricanes, severe storms, tornadoes, tsunamis, volca- the approaching disaster and when it occurs, such as dur- noes, and wild fires.9 ing a storm watch; stopping the disaster, such as putting Human-induced. Human-induced disasters include out a fire, or trying to save cultural heritage and people armed conflict, arson, chemical spills or leaks, civil during the disaster.17,18 disorder, facility failures such as broken pipes and faulty For purposes of this article, “recovery” is included un- wiring, terrorism, and vandalism.10 der “response”. “Recovery” is defined as the “development, Overlap. Lori Foley, Vice President of Emergency Pro- coordination, and execution of service and site restora- grams at Heritage Preservation, observed that sometimes tion plans… evaluation of the incident to identify les- the resulting harm from natural or human-induced di- sons learned; post-incident reporting; and development sasters is similar: “whether an arsonist sets a fire or a bolt of initiatives to mitigate the effects of future incidents.”19 of lightning starts a fire, the cultural object is still burned. Recovery includes salvaging, rebuilding, and conserving Whether a water pipe bursts or a storm surge floods the cultural heritage in the aftermath of the disaster.20 structure, cultural objects become wet. Whether a bomb Disconnect. A gap in understanding can exist about explodes or a tornado hits, cultural objects are torn apart. who has control over response to affected cultural heri- Recognizing some of these overlaps and typical types of tage and what that response should be.21 Not all cultural damage in disasters, such as water and fire damage, can heritage professionals have developed a written disaster help entities prepare for cultural heritage disasters and plan for their collections and understand what happens make the parade of horribles less daunting.”11 12 13 Developing and maintaining emergency operations Lori plans: Foley, Comprehensive August 22, 2013. preparedness guide 101, 2010. 6 Museum Handbook Federal Emergency Management Agency, 14 http://www.fema.gov/pdf/about/ 7 National Park Service (2000, 2001). Emergency planning. In (10). divisions/npd/CPG_101_V2.pdf15 http://www.nps.gov/museum/publications/MHI/mushbkI.html8 Role of Section 106 in disaster response - Fre- 16 FEMA, 2010. quently National asked Park questions, Service (2000,2011. 2001). 17 Ibid. 9 Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, 18 Ibid. 10 http://www.achp.gov/sec106_disaster-responseFAQ.html 19 Lori Foley, August 6, 2013 11 National Park Service (2000, 2001). 20 National Park Service (2000, 2001). National Park Service (2000, 2001). 21 FEMA, 2010. Lori Foley, (Vice President of Emergency Programs at Heritage Preservation), interview by National Park Service (2000,. 2001). Elizabeth Varner, Record, August 6, 2013. Lori Foley, August 6, 2013. 65 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 during the disaster.22 Not all first responders understand tage Emergency National Task Force, National Center for the importance of cultural heritage, how cultural heritage Preservation Technology and Training, National Trust for should be handled, and cultural heritage professionals’ Historic Preservation and Smithsonian Institution Ar- concerns about the protection of cultural heritage.23 chives, among many others. These sites have articles and “If a major disaster such as a fire occurs at a cultural guides that address key issues such as creating a disaster heritage institution, the cultural stewards are not in plan, training internal responders such as cultural entities’ charge of the response; the museum director will not be staff and volunteers, training external responders such as telling the fire chief what to do,” said Foley. As a result of firefighters, evaluating hazards the cultural entity could the passing of the baton during a disaster, it behooves cul- encounter, and preparing for standard types of damage tural heritage professionals to work with emergency re- caused by water and fire.30,31 sponders on a local and national level to make sure their Disaster networks and partnerships. State resources, concerns are understood before a disaster takes place.24 conservator groups, collection management groups, reg- Wegener added that many cultural heritage profession- istrar groups, and disaster networks, such as the Alliance als might also not consider the time lapse before cultural for Response, are available to promote awareness of disas- heritage is addressed in a disaster, especially a large-scale ter response, to train cultural entities, and to help respond disaster, as people come first and must be protected or to disasters.32 Additionally, cultural heritage entities have rescued before cultural heritage.25 Nonetheless, the overall been forming partnerships with emergency responders. climate of responding to cultural heritage disasters has At Heritage Preservation, Foley connects the emergency improved. responder community with the cultural heritage community to create relationships, to share the value of cultural II. Advances in Preventing, Mitigating and heritage, and the language and concerns of emergency Responding to Cultural Heritage Disasters management professionals.33

A. Advances in Awareness, Resources, Knowledge, B. Resources and Training in Disaster Prevention, Mitigation and 1. Resources for prevention Response Evaluating and addressing risk. One of the first steps Advances. While advances in technical aspects of cultural entities should take in preventing and preparing cultural heritage disasters continue, such as in the field for disasters is an evaluation of potential risks. Libraries, of conservation and forecasting natural disasters,26 this long-time staff at the cultural heritage entity, local histo- article will not focus on the technical advances, but rather rians, emergency responders, cultural heritage networks, how the overall climate of responding to cultural heritage and a variety of entities that specialize in certain disasters disasters has advanced. are helpful to consult to determine past disasters that Motivation. The great devastation wrought in natural might manifest in the future, which should be included and human-induced disasters such as Hurricane Katrina in the disaster plan.34 For example, FEMA’s “Declared and Sandy, the earthquake in Haiti, and ongoing armed Disasters by Year and State” is useful for evaluating what conflicts as well as the ratification of cultural heritage kind of risks a cultural entity could face within the United agreements like the 1954 Hague Convention have spurred States of America.35 Typical facility risks, such as water advances in awareness, resources, knowledge, and train- pipes and wiring, should also be addressed and hopefully ing to protect and save cultural heritage from disasters.27 prevented.36 Awareness, resources, knowledge, and training. As The National Park Service has a model Emergency each new disaster occurs, cultural heritage entities and Risk Assessment Worksheet.37 Heritage Preservation also those that help them respond and recover from those has a risk prioritization worksheet and a walk-through disasters learn how to better respond to the next di- checklist in its Risk Evaluation and Planning Program.38 saster.28 Many resources have been created to educate Creating a disaster plan. A disaster plan is a critical cultural entities on how to prevent, mitigate, and re- resource that helps an entity prevent, mitigate, and respond to disasters impacting cultural heritage and can spond to a disaster.39 The American Alliance for Museums be downloaded for free on websites of the American 30 Risk evaluation and planning program. 29 Library Association, Connecting to Collections, Heri- 31 Heritage Preservation (n.d.e). Working with emergency responders http://www.heritagepreservation.org/REPP/ 32 Heritage Preservation (n.d.f). Alliance for response . http://www.heritagep- 22 reservation.org/lessons/HPR_Emergency_Poster8.5x11.pdf 23 33 Heritage Preservation (n.d.a). . http://www.heritagepreservation.org/ 24 Ibid. AfR/index.html34 25 Ibid. 35 Lori Foley, August 6, 2013. Disaster declarations by state/tribal government, 26 Lori Foley, August 6, 2013. 2012 National Park Service (2000, 2001). 27 Corine Wegener, July 02, 2013. 36 Federal Emergency Management Agency, Museum Handbook 28 Corine Wegener, July 02, 2013. http://www.fema.gov/disasters/grid/state-tribal-government 29 Corine Wegener, July 02, 2013. Disaster response: A selected annotated bibliography. 37 National Park Service (2000). Risk assessment worksheet. In . http:// Lori Foley, August 6, 2013. www.nps.gov/museum/publications/MHI/Fillable_Risk_Assessment_Worksheet.pdf38 American Library Association (n.d.). 39 National Park Service (2000, 2001). Developing a disaster preparedness/Emergency www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=libraryfactsheet&Template=/ContentManagement/ Heritage Preservation (n.d.e). ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=25420 American Alliance for Museums (2012). Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 66 considers it important enough to have made a disaster plan one of its five core documents for museums (2012). The following are highlights of the many resources that explain how to create a disaster plan and can be utilized by museums or other cultural heritage sites as a starting point. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has a useful outline for understanding key issues in disaster prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery.40 The Northeast Document Conservation Center has a worksheet that cultural entities can fill in to create its own disaster plan that is helpful.41 An online program, dPlan,42 created by the Northeast Document Conservation Center in partnership with Mas- sachusetts Board of Library Commissioners will enable a cultural entity to tailor its disaster plan.43 The Getty Conservation Institute’s Building an Emergency Plan: A Guide for Museums and Other Cultural Organizations and the National Park Service’s Museum Handbook are comprehensive guides for considerations for disaster management and creating a disaster plan.44,45 The Council of State Archivists also offers a download- able template, called the Pocket Response Plan, for key, customizable disaster plan information that is designed to be easily carried on the responder (n.d.). While the organization notes that it is not to be used in lieu of a full disaster plan, it is a great resource that staff can carry The flooding in Ravena, Italy threatens hundreds of artifacts and cultural heritage sites. on them to “ensure that all the appropriate personnel 51 are contacted and all the appropriate response steps are ter has an article on fire detection and suppression. taken.”46,47 Preparedness. Many institutions, including the North- 2. Resources for mitigation east Document Conservation Center, have lists of emergency supplies that cultural entities will need to respond Preparing for foreseeable risks. Many foreseeable risks 52 that cannot be prevented can be addressed and mitigat- to disasters that should be gathered in advance. Heritage ed.48 For example, flooding, whether from nearby water Preservation and Regional Alliance for Preservation offers many training opportunities, as do regional conserva- features, rain or even a burst pipe within a structure, is 53 a foreseeable risk for most entities such that it is advis- tion and preservation groups. The Getty Conservation able not to place or store cultural heritage on or near the Institution’s book, Building an Emergency Plan, has a very 49 helpful chapter on how to train cultural entities’ staff for floor. Fire is also another foreseeable risk. The National 54 Park Service has a checklist on steps to take to prevent emergency response. fires50 while the Northeast Document Conservation Cen- Partnerships. Foley says that both cultural heritage professionals and emergency responders have a role in

response plan disasters involving cultural heritage and can benefit by understanding the issues involved, preparing for any 40 . http://www.aam-us.org/docs/continuum/developing-a-disaster-plan-final.Disaster planning: pdf?sfvsn=2Prevention, preparedness, response, recovery. disasters, and working together.55 Heritage Preservation United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organization (1999). 41 webworld.unesco.org/safeguarding/en/pdf/3.4 Worksheet for outlining a lists online courses that cultural heritage professionals can txt_sini.pdfdisaster plan. Northeast Document Conservation Center (n.d.d). take to better understand the emergency response process 42 http://www.nedcc.org/free-resources/preservation-leaflets/3.-emergency- management/3.4-worksheet-for-outlining-a-disaster-plan and communicate with emergency responders.56 Cultural Northeast DocumentdPlan Conservation Center, Massachusetts Board of Library Commission- ers,43 Institute of Museum and Library Services, & National Center for Preservation Technology heritage professionals and emergency responders alike and Training (n.d.). . http://www.dplan.org/ 44 Funded by the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services and National Center for can better understand issues impacting cultural heritage Preservation45 TechnologyBuilding and Training. an emergency plan: A guide for museums and other cultural institutions, National Park Service (2000, 2001). in disaster situations by reviewing the resources listed in V. Dorge & S. Jones, 46 1999. http://www.getty.edu/conservation/publications_resources/pdf_publica- 51 An introduction to fire detection, tions/pdf/emergency_plan.pdf.47 Pocket response plan (PReP). alarm, and automatic fire sprinklers. Lori Foley, August 22, 2013. Northeast Document Conservation Center (n.d.b). 3.2 48 Council of State Archivists (n.d.). 3.1 Protection http://www.statearchivists. from loss: Water and http://www.nedcc.org/free-resources/preservation- org/prepare/framework/prep.htmfire damage, biological agents, theft, and vandalism. leaflets/3.-emergency-management/3.2-an-introduction-to-fire-detection,-alarm,-and-52 Northeast Document Conservation Center (n.d.c). automatic-fire-sprinklers53 On-line courses in emergency management for cultural http://www.nedcc.org/free-resources/ heritage Northeast responders Document Conservation Center (n.d.d). preservation-leaflets/3.-emergency-management/3.1-protection-from-loss-water-and-fire-49 54 Heritage Preservation1999. (n.d.b). damage,-biological-agents,-theft,-and-vandalism50 Con- 55 . http://www.heritagepreservation.org/lessons/courses.html serve Ibid. O Gram 56 V. Dorge & S. Jones, National Park Service (2005). Fire safety 101: A fire safety self-inspection checklist. In Lori Foley, August 6, 2013. . http://www.nps.gov/history/museum/publications/conserveogram/2-23.pdf Heritage Preservation (n.d.b). 67 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 this article. Addition- the checklist in their disaster plans to enact the appropri- ally, joining or forming ate response procedures, including evacuating people, a disaster network and important moveable cultural heritage, and documents. integrating the cultural The Getty Conservation Institute’s book, Building an entity into the commu- Emergency Plan, discusses different cultural entity de- nity’s hazard mitigation partments’ response procedures.64 The National Park plan can help prevent, Service’s Museum Handbook and the Primer on Disaster mitigate, and facilitate Preparedness, Management, & Response by the Library of response to disasters that Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, impact cultural heri- National Park Service and Smithsonian Institute lay out tage.57 cultural heritage entity’s response procedures for different Armed conflict. In types of emergencies such as floods or earthquakes.6566 regard to preparing for Recovery. After the disaster has passed, the initial re- armed conflicts, Article sponse has concluded, and cultural heritage professionals 3 of the 1954 Hague can access the cultural heritage, recovery efforts listed in Convention states that the disaster response plan should start.67 The first concern parties to the Conven- should be human life and all structures and sites should tion, “undertake to be confirmed to be safe and structurally sound before prepare in time of peace entering.68 for the safeguarding of Heritage Preservation’s Emergency Response & Salvage cultural property situated Wheel is a great tool that consolidates disaster response within their own terri- information for cultural entities into a user-friendly tory against the foresee- laminated wheel that is also available as a free app in able effects of an armed conjunction with the National Center for Preservation

Michael Hallett conflict, by taking such Technology and Training so cultural heritage profession- The flooding in Ravena, Italy threatens hundreds of artifacts and cultural heritage sites. measures as they con- als and emergency responders can carry it with them sider appropriate.”58 everywhere.69 The websites of the Conservation Center When asked whether each U.S. cultural entity had a for Art and Historic Artifacts, LYRASIS, the National duty to prepare their moveable and immoveable cultural Park Service, Northeast Document Conservation Center, heritage for armed conflict as the U.S. has ratified the Heritage Preservation, the Smithsonian Institution and Convention, Wegener pragmatically responded that each American Institute for Conservation all have download- cultural entity needs to individually evaluate this risk able information on salvaging specific types of cultural as part of its risk assessment:59 Where are they located? heritage such as wet paper and books. Does the subject matter of their collection or site make it There are also groups and specialists available to help a target? salvage cultural heritage after a disaster including the Wegener believes the military has a duty to understand American Institute for Conservation Collections Emer- the requirements to respect cultural heritage and helps gency Response Team and the Northeast Document train the military in understanding the requirements of Conservation Center that are available twenty-four hours the 1954 Hague Convention.60 a day, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and, 3. Resources for responding to a disaster in many regions, Alliance for Response.70 Before disaster hits. Wegener suggests cultural heritage entities refer to the checklist in their disaster plans C. Next Steps to Further Advance Preventing, Mitigat- to implement the course of action to best prepare for the ing and Responding to Cultural Heritage Disasters oncoming disaster.61 Given sufficient warning time, such Consolidation. Wegener suggests the consolidation of as when a hurricane is being tracked, a cultural heritage an entities’ efforts and resources is needed so there is less entity can prepare before the disaster occurs, such as by duplication of resources and disaster preparation, mitiga- evacuating collections,62 but staff and volunteers must tion, and response is more attainable for cultural enti- exercise caution and ensure personal safety first.63 ties.71 Currently there is a plethora of resources, the high- Response. Cultural heritage entities should refer to 64 65 66 V. Dorge & S. Jones, 1999. 57 Integrating historic property & cultural resource National Park Service Primer(2000, 2001).on disaster preparedness, management & response, 1993 considerations into hazard planning, 2005 Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Park Service, 58 Federal Emergency Management Agency, &67 Smithsonian Institute, . 59 . www.fema.gov/plan/hp/hp/fma386-6.shm http://www.nps.gov/museum/publications/primer/primintro.html68 60 “Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property,” 1954. 69 National Park Service (2000, 2001). 61 Corine Wegener, July 02, 2013. ERS National Mobile App.Park Service (2000, 2001). 62 Ibid. 70 Heritage Preservation, National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (n.d). 63 Ibid. 71 http://www.heritagepreservation.org/wheel/ Ibid. Corine Wegener, July 02, 2013. National Park Service (2000, 2001). Ibid. Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 68 lights of which are listed in this article, but the breadth to the disaster plan at and away from the cultural entity;83 and volume could be daunting for cultural entities, •Make sure human life is the first priority and to many of which have overstretched resources; however, it evacuate the staff, volunteers, and patrons first if a disaster remains essential for cultural heritage entities to make, does occur;84 and implement, and update disaster management plans.72 •Ensure the area is safe before going back in to start Disaster networks and partnerships. Cultural enti- the recovery process.85 ties, emergency responders, and the communities need to create more and stronger networks and partnerships.73 This article should offer cultural heritage entities Networks with cultural heritage professionals and emer- worldwide a starting point and basis for a disaster mitiga- gency responders in the same region are helpful to share tion plan. Many risks exist, but fortunately many resourc- knowledge and responses to similar risks.74 Cultural es and partners are available to help cultural entities’ entities should invite emergency responders for tours and prevent, mitigate and respond to disasters. While not all events, ask their advice for disaster prevention, mitiga- disasters can be prevented, by preparing in advance, the tion, and response, and prepare a packet of information damage to cultural heritage can be mitigated. so that the emergency responders are better prepared to 75 83 respond to a disaster at the site. The citizens surround- Conserve O Gram National Park Service (2005). Be prepared: Develop a museum emergency operations ing the cultural heritage should be involved with the plan.84 In . http://www.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveoMuseum Handbook- gram/21-09.pdf cultural entity and feel a connection to the cultural entity 85 National Park Service (2000 - 2001). Emergency planning. In (10). http://www.nps.gov/museum/publications/MHI/mushbkI.html so that they will respond to disasters, call law enforcement Ibid. if they see something suspicious, and be a deterrent for looting.76

III. Key List of Basic Standards for Preventing, Mitigating, and Responding to Cultural Heritage Disasters

For those who do not have the days (or weeks) to pour through the disaster resources for cultural heritage, some key, starting points to keep in mind:

•Have a person in charge of making and updating the disaster plan, implementing the plan, and being the disaster contact point;77 •Cultural heritage professionals should work with emergency responders to make sure the cultural entity is in the disaster plan for the community;78 •Have an adequate inventory report and insurance policy and keep copies at the cultural entity and at a location other than the cultural entity;79 •Have a list of emergency contacts and their phone numbers and emails in the disaster plan;80 •Survey risks including those from nature, humans, and from the structure itself and address those risks;81 •Ensure adequate fire and security monitors and fire suppression systems;82 •Make sure all staff is familiar with and has easy access

72 73 74 Ibid. 75 Lori Foley, August 6, 2013. 76 Heritage Preservation (n.d.a). 77 Heritage Preservation (n.d.f). 3.3 Disaster planning. Corine Wegener, July 02, 2013. Northeast Document Conservation Center (n.d.a). http://www. nedcc.org/free-resources/preservation-leaflets/3.-emergency-management/3.3-disaster-78 planning79 80 Corine Wegener, July 02, 2013. 81 Northeast Document Conservation Center (n.d.d). Museum Handbook Michael Hallett V. Dorge & S. Jones, 1999. 82 National Park Service (2000, 2001). Emergency planning. In (10). Artifacts at Pompeii http://www.nps.gov/museum/publications/MHI/mushbkI.html Northeast Document Conservation Center (n.d.b). 69 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 ‘Japan changed everything’ Advances in tsunami modeling and simulation since 2011

LIAISON Staff n 1960, a 9.5-magnitude earthquake, the largest mology overall. But, he adds, “Japan changed everything.” in recorded history, struck Chile. The resulting Tsunamis are traditionally caused by megathrust tsunami not only killed citizens locally, but nearly earthquakes, or when two tectonic plates meet and one a dayI later took lives in Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines plate slides under the other at subduction zones. The sud- before its waters receded back into the Pacific Ocean. den upshift in the earth’s crust pushes the water violently Since the Chilean earthquake, tsunami warning systems in one direction, producing a tsunami. have improved dramatically, but the 2011 earthquake and Predicting when and where a tsunami will reach land tsunami in Japan changed what scientists thought they is a constantly evolving challenge. It requires calculating knew about underwater seismic activity. the location and size of the earthquake, its depth within At the forefront of the research is the Pacific Tsunami the earth’s crust, how the wave is traveling through the Warning Center (PTWC) on Oahu, Hawaii. As part of ocean and how significant the shift in land mass is on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the ocean floor. The prediction demands solving a mas- the PTWC collects real-time data from Deep-ocean As- sive differential equation that requires significant time sessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) stations and expensive computing power. As a way to reduce the placed strategically around the globe. The DART infor- warning generation time, the PTWC uses a modeling and mation is collected and processed through a mathemati- simulation database for tsunamis developed at the Pacific cal algorithm to predict the landfall location and strength Marine Environmental Lab, which has increased the of the tsunami in time to warn potential impact regions; accuracy of tsunami predictions and increased warning however, the algorithms and prediction-models are now times from minutes to hours. being reevaluated after the catastrophic 2011 event. When an earthquake occurs, the DART system reports “Since (the Indian Ocean tsunami in) 2004, there the event and the modeling system performs an immedi- have been many big advances,” said Gerard Fryer, Ph.D., ate calculation using the pre-computed database. This en- senior geophysicist at PTWC. Dr. Fryer explains that ables the development of likely predictions for estimating the three most significant advances in the field are the the size of the tsunami and provides a rough calculation number of DART systems, which has increased from six that can serve to indicate the location of landfall. in 2001 to more than 50 in 2013; modeling, the numerical An additional strength of the modeling and simulation estimation of how big the tsunami is going to be; and seis- system arises from the ability to modify the input upon Japanese Self-Defense Force Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 70 which the simulation is running to match additional ob- ing injuries that can occur during the evacuation process servations from distributed sensors as the data becomes itself. available. When the wave impacts additional DART “Once everyone starts calling each other, cellular com- buoys, or more precise data from the global seismic munications often collapse. So the first message people monitoring system is received, the new information is receive on their phones has to be correct,” said Fryer. plugged into the model to increase the prediction preci- “It is better to take the extra seconds you need to get the sion. This re- required level fining process of accuracy increases the than go out confidence with an inac- in the predic- curate warning tion and adds quickly and flexibility to then have to try the system – it to notify every- can quickly one again when incorporate the communi- new data, cation channels producing are clogged.” very accurate Second, models of precise predic- the areas of tions reduce landfall and the number of color-coded false alarms in maps with nations that degrees of Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) stations as of 2013 previously flooding. The would have models make it possible to issue very precise warnings received warnings. In the high-risk nation of Fiji, the so that people in the affected area can be told to evacu- increased accuracy has reduced an annual average of false ate, while those outside the danger area are directed to tsunami warnings from 12 to one. If people receive nu- remain in place. merous false alarms, they tend to decrease the seriousness However, whereas the location and direction change with which they take future warnings. with each event, the size of the mass shift in the earth’s According to Fryer, an initial estimate of an earth- crust within the calculation was always limited to a quake anywhere in the world takes between eight and previously known distance. The significance of the Japan nine minutes, and a precise estimate approximately 25 earthquake was the amount of movement, or ‘slippage,’ minutes. Nonetheless, this modeling and simulation does which occurred. All previous models, and therefore the not provide a complete solution – human expertise is algorithms, are based on the largest amount of slippage required to extract the most value from the automated known to have occurred – 30 meters during the Chilean modeling and simulation capabilities. This enables them earthquake (see insert). to interpret and generate appropriate warnings but also “During the 2011 Japanese earthquake, the slip was respond to events outside the normal scope of the models around 60 meters – twice that of the worse we have ever design. seen,” said Fryer. “This makes the models from all previ- Now, at tsunami warning centers around the world, ous simulations obsolete and the plans for evacuation disaster response planners and scientists like Fryer are inadequate.” recalculating tsunami simulations based on the Japan It is also why, Fryer explains, that even though Japan’s earthquake slippage and producing new plans for tsuna- tsunami evacuation plan was thorough, the devastation mi events. Areas that were once believed to be unreach- in Japan was so great; the actual water level reached well able by floodwaters are now in danger zones if large shifts beyond what was previous thought of as safe zones. in land mass continue in the Pacific. This new data is important for two additional reasons “The last decade has been one section of astonishing beyond precise modeling. First, time and accuracy are events after another. I wouldn’t be surprised if this type of essential. The more accurate the information dissemi- event occurred again,” said Fryer. “But as more historical nated to the citizenry, the greater the time people have to data becomes known, the safer people will be.” prepare for the tsunami. Evacuations can be ordered in a timely manner, reducing possible confusion and prevent-

71 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 Lessons from Japan By Gerald Fryer, Ph.D., Senior Geophysicist, NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center fter the Indian Ocean disaster of 2004, reached 60 meters, at least double that inferred for tsunami warning systems everywhere were other major earthquakes. Must we now consider enhanced and new ones established. These the possibility of large slip in all significant quakes? systemsA promised useful alerts relating to all tsuna- Because the size of a tsunami depends on the amount mis from sources more than a thousand kilometers of sea floor deformation, greater slip means a big- away. Warning for nearby sources, however, still ger tsunami. In tsunami-prone regions throughout left much to be desired – tsunamis in Indonesia, the the world, evacuation maps consider the effects of Solomon Islands, Chile, and Samoa had a combined tsunamis from credible worst-case earthquakes, but death toll of over 1,600. Then, (in 2011), the huge ‘credible’ has never, until now, involved more than Tohoku Earthquake occurred off Japan. 30 meters of slip. Coastal evacuations are already Three minutes after the shaking began, warning disruptive, expensive, and fraught with their own sirens in Japan blared and people began to evacuate. perils, but at least evacuees could be confident that Nevertheless, the death toll was immense: 15,429 once out of the hazard zone, they were safe. Tohoku confirmed dead so far, with an additional seven shatters that confidence. With few reliable reports of thousand still missing. Japan’s tragedy is all the more tsunamis dating beyond a couple of hundred years, sobering, given that it possessed the most sophisti- we urgently need to push back the record to a few cated warning system and the most tsunami-aware thousand, to discover if the Tohoku earthquake truly public. was an anomaly. We need more geologists digging The tsunami was simply too large: it overran trenches in low-lying coastal areas, mapping and defenses and flooded farther inland than anyone dating the sands and other material brought in by an- expected. Stone monuments erected by survivors of cient flooding waves. great tsunamis in 869 and 1611, however, had docu- In the meantime, the public needs to be educated mented similar flooding. Those monuments once about how to respond. Even with Japan’s elaborate seemed impossibly far inland. No longer. preparationsv for tsunamis, many were uncertain of The Tohoku earthquake was remarkably compact, what to do. A less-prepared country would fare far rupturing an area only a few hundred kilometers worse. long by less than a hundred kilometers wide. The big surprise was the amount of slip – the distance Reprinted with permission from the author. Origi- one side of the fault moves relative to the other. nally published in Public Service Review: European At the shallowest depths of rupture, slip may have Science and Technology, Issue 12

Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 72 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

International Federation of the Red Cross 1 and Red Crescent Societies Civil and Military Relations Forum May 4 – 9 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Secretariat of the Pacific Community & 2 United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) 2014 Pacific Platform for Disaster Risk Management June 2 – 4 4 5 Suva, Fiji

20th Regional Disaster Managers Meeting June 5 – 6

3 Royal Thai Government & UNISDR Sixth Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction June 22 – 26 Bangkok, Thailand

International Federation of the Red Cross 4 and Red Crescent Societies & CFE-DMHA Health Emergencies in Large Populations (HELP) Course July 21 – Aug. 1 Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, USA

Center for Excellence in Disaster 5 Management & Humanitarian Assistance Humanitarian Assistance Response Training (HART) Course Aug. 12 – 14 Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, USA

November, date TBD Okinawa, Japan

73 LIAISON Volume VI | Winter 2013-14 7

3 6 1 2

6 Asian Disaster Preparedness Center Tenth International Training Course on Geographic Information Systems for Disaster Risk Management Oct. 27 – Nov. 7 Bangkok, Thailand

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk 7 Reduction Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction March 14 – 18, 2015 Sendai, Japan

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