Issue No. 101 News and Information for the International Community October 2005

Information Management Offers Humanitarian A Record-Breaking Year a n i

Agencies Opportunity for Coordination and Exchange t a L

a s n e r P

With this premise in mind, the Working f o

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Group on Risk, Disasters and s e t r

Emergencies—part of the UN Inter-Agency u o c

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Standing Committee (IASC) for Latin t o h America and the Caribbean*—targeted P information management as a key compo- Wind and waves caused by nent of humanitarian response. whip the shoreline of Havana, Cuba in October. Recently, the Regional IASC commis- s n

i ince 1953, the World Meteorological k sioned a study to identify tools currently n e J Organization maintains and updates . J used in Latin America and the Caribbean to ,

O the lists used to name Atlantic tropical H manage humanitarian information, with an

W S / storms. The 21 names repeat themselves

O emphasis on emergency and disaster H

A every six years unless one is retired due to a

P response. Participating in the survey were the regional IASC members as well as 13 particularly catastrophic storm. In 2004, The ultimate goal of information other regional and subregional agencies, five four hurricane names were retired— management systems should be to aid in national civil defense organizations and par- Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne. (Soon saving lives after disasters. ticipants from eight other countries. The the names to be retired from the 2005 list following highlights of the study present a will be announced and “Katrina” will surely snapshot of the findings in selected coun- be at the top.) anaging information is a critical When the entire list of 21 alphabetic feature of humanitarian work, tries and agencies. (continued on page 7) names is exhausted in one season, subse- Mand agencies working in the field quent storms are identified by the letters of of risk reduction are convinced that the bet- * The members of the Regional IASC include the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the the Greek alphabet. With Alpha and Beta ter an organization is able to compile, ana- International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent already striking Caribbean and Central lyze and disseminate critical information Societies and the Pan American Disaster Response Unit (IFRC/PADRU), the International Strategy for Disaster American countries, the U.S. National using effective information systems, the Reduction (ISDR), the Pan American Health Organization/ Hurricane Center says that 2005 was the more efficient the humanitarian response World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations first time this contingency was put into will be and consequently, the greater the Development Programme/Bureau for Crisis Prevention and practice. Read more about the very active number of lives saved. Recovery (UNDP/BCPR), and the World Food Programme (WFP). 2005 hurricane season on page 4 and 5.

News from PAHO/WHO...... 2 Contents Other Organizations...... 3 Member Countries ...... 4 Publications and Multimedia ...... S A LU S A LU O T O T 6 R E R E P P

O P O P A A P H P H S O S O N N I I O D O D V N V N I M U I M U Selected Bibliography ...... 8

ISSN 1564-0701 WHO to remote areas have were children under15 years of age, while WHO Leads Health Cluster in Response now returned to Islamabad. nearly 53% are under 21 years of age. to Pakistan Earthquake The teams treated more Proactive measures such as measles and than 100,000 patients dur- tetanus immunization continues in PAHO Deploys Technical Expertise ing the last two weeks of Mansehra and Muzaffarabad and has October. begun in Batagram and Bagh. In addition to WHO experts, PAHO has provid- UN and National ed the support of disaster coordination experts, struc- Authorities Manage Relief tural engineers, epidemiol- Aid in Pakistan ogists, logisticians, environ- mental engineers and a supply management team. WHO and the Ministry of O

H Health established a joint W / k c Coordination Center; O a l H B

s

WHO is also the lead W i / r h O

C agency for the U.N. Health H A

Cluster. Shelter, water and P y the end of October, the devastat- sanitation are still the main priorities and ing 7.6 earthquake that struck challenges, as health concerns stem from: a) ational authorities and the Pakistan on October 8 had claimed B the shortage of drinking water and sanita- UN are using the 55,000 lives and injured more than tion facilities; b) hypothermia and respirato- Logistics Support System 75,000. The onset of winter weather and N ry tract infections due to the lack of shelter; (LSS) in Pakistan to manage the the difficulty in reaching many of the and c) the risk of communicable diseases. tremendous amount of humanitar- injured could cause these numbers to Skin diseases such as scabies and impetigo ian relief arriving in the earth- climb. An estimated four million people and acute respiratory infections (ARI) are quake-stricken region. The LSS, are in need of health services and more becoming major public health problems due developed by six UN agencies, than three million are homeless. to the lack of hygiene, the cold weather and inventories all incoming donations The number of patients evacuated by inappropriate shelter. By the end of and monitors their distribution to helicopter to hospitals outside the the October, the number of trauma cases was warehouses in the affected areas. As affected areas has reached 20,000, decreasing. Of the 1,400 patients in one city is the case with SUMA, the LSS although the daily number of air evacua- alone that sought help from 17 health facili- system enhances transparency and tions to hospitals has decreased to 80. Of ties the first two weeks following the quake, accountability in humanitarian more than 13,000 surgical operations car- 44% received treatment for injuries; 25% operations. But it takes the SUMA ried out in these hospitals, 46 required for ARI; and 17% for acute diarrhea. system one step further, providing amputations. The 28 medical teams Ministry of Health data indicated that 46% a common platform for sharing mobilized by the Ministry of Health and of the patients treated in health facilities information among agencies to avoid duplicating efforts and to For the latest on the health response to the South Asia Earthquake: improve coordination. The system has been translated into Urdu (the http://www.whopak.org/disaster/ WHO Country Office in Pakistan. local language) to facilitate the operation. The coordination cell at http://www.emro.who.int/eha/pakistan.htm WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office, the Health Emergency Operation headquartered in Cairo, Egypt and responsible for Pakistan. Centre at the WHO Office in http://www.who.int/hac WHO headquarters, Department of Health Action in Crises (HAC). Islamabad is serving as the recep- tion and dissemination point of health-related information.

2 Disasters: Preparedness and Mitigation in the Americas • October 2005 New Web Site Piques Children’s Interest

“ABCDesastres” is a new web site where young students and their teachers can learn about natural disasters and risks. The Spanish-language web site is divided into a number of sections. In ¡Quiero aprender! (Let’s Learn) young- sters will find a wide range of information on disasters and risk, including a glossary of terms. They will also be able to pay a virtual visit to many regions of the world as they search for data on risks and natural disasters, and explore links to web sites of a variety of organizations working in the field. A section called ¡Quiero Hacer! (Let’s Do It) contains activities that students can take part in to learn more about disaster prevention and mitigation. Visit www.abcdesastres.ceride.gov.ar/index.htm to take a tour of the site. ABCDesastres was created by the Regional Center for Research and Development in Santa Fe, Argentina, with the support of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the U.N. International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) and UNICEF.

Agencies in Discuss Importance of Social Communications in the Face of Disasters

Both journalists and social communicators recognize they have an important role to play in getting reliable information to an at- risk public. Journalists pointed to the importance of receiving the right type of information, data and statistics in a timely manner and ensuring that the information is confirmed and attributed to reliable sources. They also committed to improving their knowledge about natural risks and strengthening relationships with national disaster agencies. Social communicators in public institutions pledged to develop strategies to deal with emergency situations, such as developing a data bank of health disaster information. To ensure follow up, a social communication plan was prepared to support the response and recovery phase of the mudslides and the alert phase of the l Salvador’s tallest volcano, the Ilamatepec volcano, had been Ilamatepec volcano, with a role for all three groups: the mass media, dormant since the early 20th century until it erupted on 1 health disaster response teams and at-risk communities. The plan EOctober, causing the evacuation of several thousand people should improve the ability of health institutions in El Salvador to and triggering a red alert in surrounding areas. Government author- communicate effectively about disasters. One of the expected long- ities were already in a heightened state of alert from the eruption term benefits of these efforts is that both the health sector and com- when Hurricane Stan hit several days later and caused devastating munities will be better able to identify risks and vulnerabilities and mudslides. These disasters prompted government agencies, includ- take appropriate measures to deal with the health effects of disasters. ing the Ministry of Health, to organize several disaster communica- For more information contact Martha Rodriguez, tion workshops with the media, social communicators and public [email protected] or Balmore Parada [email protected] institutions. PAHO/WHO supported these efforts. oms.org.

Disasters: Preparedness and Mitigation in the Americas • October 2005 3 For the last several years, experts have predicted that hurricane seasons will become more active and destructive. The 2004 season lived up to that prediction, but the current hurricane season has topped the record with 23 named storms. Katrina, Rita, Stan, Wilma, Alpha and Beta all left a path of destruction across the Caribbean, Central America and the U.S. Katrina & Rita Stan

United States lthough Hurricane Stan only Accordingly, the number of cases of dengue reached category 1, it struck Central fever rose sharply following Stan. urricane Katrina was one the America during the rainy season in One of the communities affected by Stan worst natural disasters in U.S. his- A was Villa Centenario, a model complex of early October, drenching already saturated Htory. It made landfall near New areas and causing devastating landslides, “healthy” housing, built in the wake of Orleans, Louisiana on 29 August 2005, especially in El Salvador and . with funds from several with sustained wind speeds of approximate- donors, including PAHO. The high winds, ly 200 km/hour. As Katrina submerged heavy rains and mudslides damaged the out- 80% of the city under water, the U.S. Guatemala door latrines, septic tanks and roads. In Department of Health and Human Services ifteen of Guatemala’s 22 departments addition, a bridge connecting Villa quickly declared a public health emergency. were affected by the rains and land- Centenario to nearby cities was also Katrina affected the U.S. states of Alabama, slides caused by Stan. The official destroyed, isolating the village from health Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, and F death toll is 669 people, with most of the services and needed supplies. Florida, leaving more than 1,000 people deaths the result of landslides that buried dead and almost 500,000 affected. Damage entire communities. Currently, 844 people Mexico to housing and infrastructure is estimated are still missing and feared dead and an esti- at more than US$25 billion. Two months mated 80,000 had to seek refuge in shelters urricane Stan made landfall south after the hurricane, thousands remain dis- or with relatives because their homes were of , Mexico on October 4, placed, many of whom are not planning to damaged or destroyed. Hwith winds of 80 miles per hour, return to their damaged or destroyed A PAHO/WHO team installed the before weakening to a tropical storm. The homes. LSS/SUMA system to manage humanitari- heavy rainfall caused widespread and severe Almost four weeks an relief supplies. Several training work- flooding and landslides that affected thou- after the onslaught of shops were held to familiarize national staff sands of people, primarily in Mexico’s Katrina, Hurricane with the new features of the Logistics Yucatan Peninsula. Although there was seri- Rita dealt another Support System. The disaster affected sever- ous damage and loss of infrastructure, few devastating blow to al key systems including water and food lives were lost due to widespread evacuations the same area, causing supply; sanitation; housing, building and prior to Stan’s arrival. The southern state of flooding to reoccur in road infrastructure; health services; and was the most affected, 6,000 homes New Orleans and communications. Losses have been estimat- were damaged and 13,645 persons sought other low-lying areas ed at more than US$21 million. refuge in temporary shelters. In the state of of Louisiana. This Veracruz, 22 health centers were damaged time, however, the by the storm. U.S. state of Texas El Salvador suffered the direct l Salvador was also hard hit by Stan. brunt of the storm. Sixty-nine people lost their lives, and The fact that several Eat one point more than 50,000 were he heavy rainfall from Stan—which million people chose in temporary shelters. The situation was only had tropical storm strength in to heed evacuation compounded by the eruption of the Santa Nicaragua—caused flooding and Ana (Ilamatepec) volcano a week earlier. T warnings may have landslides in the Departments of Esteli, contributed to the Most of those displaced by the floods and Chinandega, and Jinotega, causing more landslides have returned home, but some reduced death toll. than 800 people to be evacuated to tempo- 12,000 still remain in temporary shelters, rary shelters. Nicaragua was struck again by primarily because of volcanic activity. in late October.

4 Disasters: Preparedness and Mitigation in the Americas • October 2005 e active and destructive. The 2004 season lived up to that prediction, but the current hurricane a and Beta all left a path of destruction across the Caribbean, Central America and the U.S. Wilma Alpha & Beta

Mexico United States Haiti he Yucatan Peninsula which had ilma’s high winds caused wide- ropical Storm Alpha—the 22nd already been affected by Hurricane spread damage to the southern named storm of the season—passed TEmily in July was dealt an even Wpart of Florida. In addition, the Tover the island of Hispaniola on worse blow by Hurricane Wilma, which rain and storm surge caused flooding in the 22-23 October with intense rains in the caused extensive damage to the tourist Keys. Thousands of people were left home- mountainous region along the border of infrastructure around and less, as the storm damaged or destroyed Haiti and the Dominican Republic. In Cancun. On October 25, Wilma caused hundreds of Haiti, the strong rains produced localized severe flooding, leaving more than 300,000 mobile homes and floods throughout most of the country. people displaced in the city of Cancun high-rise condo- Thirteen people died and many houses alone. More than 1 million people were miniums. In the were damaged or destroyed. Several main affected and 7 dead as a result of the storm. end, three deaths roads were closed or left with very limited were attributed to access. A health center in Anse-a-Pitre was Cuba the storm. Many affected by the floods. This is a recurring parts of the state were left without electrici- problem, as the center is located in a vul- ilma was a slow-moving storm, ty, which also affected telephone communi- nerable area of the village. battering Cuba with heavy rains cations, and the distribution of gas and Wfor 10 days. As Wilma became a drinking water. The citrus crops, which had Nicaragua full-fledged hurricane, it affected Cuba’s already been affected last year by hurricanes southern coast and the municipalities of Charley, Frances and Jeanne, once again urricane Beta hit Nicaragua as a Pinar del Rio and Havana. High tides suffered heavy losses. Category 2 hurricane, but was caused water to penetrate 500-700 meters Hquickly downgraded to Tropical inland, saturating the soil with salt water Bahamas Storm. It caused heavy rains along the and affecting crops and vegetation. Atlantic Coast, but A uthorities fter leaving Florida’s eastern coast, less damage than worked around Hurricane Wilma passed over the anticipated. As a pre- the clock to Anorthwestern Bahamas on 24 caution, several com- restore electric October as a Category 2/3 storm, with munities were evacu- power in order to wind speeds in excess of 115 mph. The ated, including a hos- minimize inter- storm directly affected the islands of Grand pital where services ruptions to drink- Bahama and Bimini and brought with it continued through- ing water systems. flooding and a storm surge. One death was out the storm. At More than reported in Grand Bahama as a result of another location, 600,000 people the storm. Several “at risk” communities, backup staff was in were evacuated located in the western part of Grand place to ensure con- prior to the storm. Bahama were also hard hit. Sadly, these tinued services and Additionally, the health sector deployed same communities were affected by hurri- basic sanitation. In medical teams to the most affected areas to canes Frances and Jeanne in 2004. The the end, most health treat casualties, maintain services and carry Rand Memorial Hospital on Grand problems reported out epidemiological surveillance to prevent Bahama suffered minor damage but were related to respi- disease outbreaks. remained functional. ratory diseases.

Disasters: Preparedness and Mitigation in the Americas • October 2005 5 Hospital Disaster Planning COURSE Instructors’ Course WORKSHOP

A new version of Hospital Disaster Planning includes material to develop the course and a new instructors’ training module. http://www.disaster-info.net/planeamiento/

lent tool to facilitate and guide those U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID- responsible for hospital management and OFDA). The participants’ contributions hospital disaster preparedness commit- and practical experiences are incorporated to tees. enhance both exercises. The CD also contains the first edition of the training workshop for instructors of the Hospital Disaster Planning Course. It includes the methodology, instructions, exercises and materials needed to implement his training material (Spanish only) the course. At the end of this workshop, contains an updated and expanded participants will be able to teach the course Tsecond edition of the Hospital by following the lesson plans; they will also Disaster Planning Course. It provides the be able to prepare and present a model hos- methodology and the content to prepare pital disaster preparedness plan. Both the hospital plans that take into account a hos- course and the instructors’ training work- pital’s response capacity and its vulnerability shop use an interactive teaching method, to specific hazards. This material is an excel- the same technique used by the Office of

Disaster mitigation for drinking water and sewage systems http://www.disaster-info.net/watermitigation/

his CD contains a variety of training disaster maintenance of service. It has and public awareness materials on been prepared for use by professionals Tdisaster mitigation in drinking water and technical personnel involved in the and sanitation systems. It promotes and design, construction, maintenance, and facilitates the incorporation of disaster miti- management of water and sanitation sys- gation measures into this type of infrastruc- tems. ture to reduce damage and ensure the post- The CD-ROM includes PowerPoint and HTML presentations that support the train- ing. It also includes technical publications to assess a system’s vulnerability and basic miti- • Links to web sites of agencies and insti- gation measures to address the most com- tutions working in the field. mon natural hazards in the Americas. Also • Videos on the El Niño phenomenon on the CD: and the Orosi Water Supply System • Posters, suitable for reproduction, on Project that illustrate these concepts. disaster mitigation in water and sanita- • The software necessary to view and use tion systems. these materials.

6 Disasters: Preparedness and Mitigation in the Americas • October 2005 Information Management for Disasters

(from page 1)

Defining information not been broadly discussed management systems and debated in an effort to improve the effectiveness of For the purposes of this study, an infor- humanitarian operations. mation “system” was defined as a set of ele- Therefore, key steps must be ments that are organized into a pre-defined taken, including agreeing on and accepted structure so that they relate to a common definition and objectives, iden- To a large extent, this has occurred one another. Once these elements are tifying the basic components of a humani- because information management systems organized into a “system,” it can be used to tarian information management system and continue to be centralized, in most cases at generate knowledge about complex issues assessing whether or not these actually help a headquarters’ level, without reflecting the including those related to emergencies and save lives in emergency situations. regional perspective needed to make them disasters, thus providing a platform for effective. Although in theory most institu- decision making and action. Taking information exchange a tions demonstrate a willingness to share A variety of information management step further information, in practice, their formal and systems already exists in Latin America and informal information policies have made According to the results of the survey, the the Caribbean and currently are being used them take a cautious approach. to support disaster preparedness, response impact of emergency information manage- and risk reduction initiatives, as well as ment systems in the Americas has never Some final observations post-disaster recovery and reconstruction been formally measured. Humanitarian It is important to note that a wide variety processes. However, the organization and agencies commonly invest a tremendous of information tools exists in Latin structure of these systems vary widely. amount of resources in a disaster response, America. The quality, credibility and type Several factors such as an institution’s man- with each agency organizing activities of information they provide makes them date, its disaster policies and available according to its mandate and using propri- very valuable to both internal and external resources and staff experience level all have etary information systems. There is obvious users. However, many agencies stated that an effect on how an agency views risk man- coordination among most actors in the they would prefer a regional system for agement. In light of these variations, when field, yet the real impact of the invested managing humanitarian information. regional agencies were polled and asked to post-disaster resources has not been evaluated. Using the tools already in place in the define an information management system, This drawback comes at a time when Region is key to developing an information their answers were complex. agencies recognize that the exchange of management system that will respond to Some agencies tended to associate infor- information is critical to determining the users’ expectations. No single system can mation management systems with comput- effectiveness of response operations. Yet in contain all the information required to er-aided or automated tools. Other institu- both crisis situations and times of peace, make decisions, reduce the impact of disas- tions, however, thought of information the type of information exchanged has ters and save lives. What it can do, however, management systems as coordination been, for the most part, operational in is build and strengthen ties among humani- and/or response mechanisms. Although nature; that is, related to programming tarian actors who generate information perceptions differed, one common conclu- issues or emergency activities, assistance about the issues and processes involved in sion stood out. Even in organizations that needs, funding, deployment of human disaster and risk management. have an information management policy resources, etc. The actual management of and structure, the end users were not suffi- information is still quite poor, despite ciently familiar with them and consequenly advances in technology. In fact, although This article was prepared by guest author Fiorella found it difficult to identify the system’s many institutions have complex informa- Mackliff, an independent consultant who carried necessary components. tion systems and standardized definitions of out the study on disaster information management The findings of this study confirm that, topics such as damage assessment or epi- systems in Latin America and the Caribbean at the demiological data collection, they have when it comes to information management request of OCHA’s Regional Office in Panama. systems, humanitarian and emergency been unable to go one step further in terms For more information, write to Gerard Gomez, agencies are operating under many different of collecting data, establishing norms, conceptual frameworks. What’s more, the defining indicators or standardizing Director of OCHA’s Regional Office at multiple objectives of these systems have terminology. [email protected].

Disasters: Preparedness and Mitigation in the Americas • October 2005 7 The articles listed in this section come from the collection of the Regional Disaster Information Center (CRID). Request copies from CRID, citing the numerical reference code included with the Disasters: Preparedness and Mitigation in the title. Americas is the Newsletter of the Area on Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Relief of the Pan American Health Organization,Regional Office for Avalos Lingan, Roberto. “Pronóstico hidrológico.” Ciencia y Tecnología; 10:35-49, mayo the Americas of the World Health Organization. The 2002. (14691) reported events, activities and programs do not imply endorsement by PAHO/WHO, nor do the statements Compañy, Carlos. “Guidelines for prevention against wind in hospitals and health cen- made necessarily represent the policy of the ters.” Pan American Health Organization. p37. Mar. 2002. (14720) Organization. The publication of this Newsletter has been made possible through the financial support of Cruz Roja Guatemalteca. Cruz Roja Española. Oficina de Asuntos Humanitarios de la the Division of Humanitarian Assistance, Peace and Comunidad Europa (ECHO) “Guía didáctica: Sistema de Alerta Temprana por Security of the Canadian International Development Huracanes en el Atlántico (SATHA)” Oficina de Asuntos Humanitarios de la Agency (HAPS/CIDA), the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance of the U.S. Agency for International Comunidad Europa (ECHO). 63p. (14898) Development (OFDA/AID), and the Department for International Development of the U.K. Organización Panamericana de la Salud. “Logros en salud en Centroamérica: 5 años después del Mitch.” 40p. 2003. (14904) Correspondence and inquiries should be addressed to: The Editor Sánchez del Valle, Rosa. “Informe final: ¿Qué capacidades permitían al pueblo de La Disasters: Preparedness and Mitigation Masica gestionar los desastres con éxito?” Centro de Coordinación para la Prevención de in the Americas Desastres Naturales en América Central (CEPREDENAC). Fortalecimiento de Estructuras Pan American Health Organization Locales para la Mitigación de Desastres (FEMID). 36p. 30 mayo 2000. (15035) 525 Twenty-third Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037, U.S.A. Smith Wiltshire, David Anthony. “Voices of Victims and their families five years after Tel: 202-974-3527 • Fax: 202-775-4578 Hurricane Mitch.” Natural Disaster Prevention Coordination Center for Central E-mail: [email protected] America (CEPREDENAC.) International Cooperation Agency (JICA.) 2004. (15680) www.paho.org/disasters/

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