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DISASTER THROUGH a DIFFERENT LENS Behind Every Effect, There Is a Cause DISASTER THROUGH A DIFFERENT LENS Behind every effect, there is a cause A guide for journalists covering disaster risk reduction This guidebook is not for disaster risk reduction practitioners, but for journalists and the media who are interested in learning more about disaster risk reduction issues. Contributing authors The guidebook was written by Brigitte Leoni, Acting-head of Communications, UNISDR, in collaboration with Tim Radford, a former journalist with The Guardian, Mark Schulman, a UNISDR consultant, and with support from a number of international journalists from Thomson Reuter’s AlertNet, the BBC, Vietnam TV and Tempo in Jakarta, etc... UNISDR The International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) is a strategic framework, adopted by United Nations Member States in 2000, that guides and coordinates the efforts of a wide range of partners to achieve substantive reduction in disaster losses and build resilient nations and communities as an essential condition for sustainable development. ECHO The mandate of the European Commission’s Humanitarian aid and Civil Protection Directorate General (ECHO) encompasses humanitarian assistance and civil protection and aims to save and preserve life as well as prevent human suffering of populations affected by natural or man-made disasters. Beyond disaster response, ECHO equally strives to enhance disaster prevention and preparedness, both within the European Union (EU) and beyond. This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsability of UNISDR and can, in no way, be taken to reflect the view of the European Union. No use of this publication may be made for resale or other commercial purposes without prior written consent of UNISDR. All images remain in the sole property of the sources and may not be used for any purpose without writtten permission from the sources. Acknowledgements This guidebook draws on many sources and owes a debt to disaster risk reduction experts and analysts the world over, including colleagues in the secretariat of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR). It would be too much to name all of them but we would like to thank all the contributing authors and experts who have helped us, particularly Margareta Wahlström, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, Salvano Briceño, Director of UNSIDR, Debby Sapir and Regina Below from the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), Ramon Valle for the graphic design, Dizery Salim and David Singh for their editing as well as journalists from a number of media organizations. We also acknowledge with gratitude the financial support provided by the European Commission’s humanitarian aid department, ECHO, and Yan Arthus- Bertrand for giving us his wonderful photographs. 4 Acronyms AIDS Acquired immune deficiency syndrome BBC British Broadcasting Corporation CDMP Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (Bangladesh) CRED Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters DfID UK Department for International Development DRR Disaster risk reduction GAR Global Assessment Report GDP Gross domestic product FAO Food and Agriculture Organization (UN) FEMA US Federal Emergency Management Agency HFA Hyogo Framework for Action HIV Human immunodeficiency virus IFRC International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies IOC Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ISDR International Strategy for Disaster Reduction IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature LDC Least developed countries LHD Low human development NGO Non-governmental organization NOAA US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NWFP North-West Frontier Province (of Pakistan) OCHA UN Office for the Coordination of HumanitarianAffairs OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development OFDA Office of US Foreign DisasterAssistance UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNEP United Nations Environment Programme UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UNU United Nations University USGS US Geological Survey WMO World Meteorological Organization 5 Contents Foreword ....................................................................................................9 Introduction ..............................................................................................11 1. What You Need to Know about Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) .....12 The basics about DRR: Getting the words right ..............................................13 Face the facts: Disaster statistics and trends ..................................................19 Why disasters are happening? ........................................................................33 How can we prevent disasters?.......................................................................51 Who is responsible for disaster risk reduction? ...............................................57 Frequently asked questions about DRR ..........................................................61 Key DRR messages ........................................................................................69 2. Disaster Risk Reduction and the Media ...........................................70 Responsibility of the media in disaster reporting ............................................71 Ten good reasons to write about DRR.............................................................77 Tips for reporting on DRR ................................................................................85 Media checklist ................................................................................................93 Examples of DRR reporting .............................................................................97 3. DRR Lessons from Four Disasters ..................................................108 Indian Ocean tsunami ...................................................................................109 Mount Pinatubo, the Philippines .................................................................... 113 Hurricane Katrina, United States ................................................................... 116 Kashmir earthquake, Pakistan.......................................................................120 6 4. Useful Information on Natural Hazards ..........................................124 Avalanches ....................................................................................................125 Droughts ........................................................................................................128 Earthquakes ..................................................................................................132 Floods ............................................................................................................136 Hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons...............................................................139 Landslides .....................................................................................................143 Tornadoes ......................................................................................................146 Tsunamis .......................................................................................................150 Volcanoes ......................................................................................................154 Wildfires ........................................................................................................157 5. Disaster Risk Reduction Resources ...............................................160 Resource centres ..........................................................................................161 DRR publications ...........................................................................................164 Experts ..........................................................................................................168 Media contacts .............................................................................................171 6. Conclusion .........................................................................................173 Annex I: A brief history of the evolution of disaster risk reduction ...............................................................................176 Annex II: Terminology ....................................................................................178 Annex III: Corruption costs lives ....................................................................183 Bibliography ...................................................................................................196 7 8 Foreword The earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on 11 March 2011 is a stark reminder that disasters can hit anywhere at any time. Yet many actions can still be taken – by developed and developing nations alike – to build resilience and mitigate the impacts of natural hazards. In this regard, newspapers, radio, television and other media have an important role to play in creating awareness and disseminating information about such disasters. Coverage of the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, the Sichuan earthquake in China, Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar in 2008 and the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti in 2010 as well as yearly floods, droughts, avalanches, storms and volcanic eruptions throughout the world have all created international public attention and, at times, alarm. Unfortunately, this coverage has not yet triggered the changes in policy
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