Snapshots Community Risk Programme Updates Snap14, March 2003 Steve Banks EMA, Alan Mearns brief our key development In This Issue SOPAC and Charlie Higgins partners and donors about the Been there, Done that. UNOCHA all attended the recent changes in SOPAC What’s going on workshop and will continue to including the transition from the provide support to the NDMO DMU Project to the new Upcoming Events Loti Yates as recommendations Community Risk Programme. Medicine for the Soul for ongoing capacity building support are developed. Community Risk Seminar Been There, Done That held in Port Vila Tropical Cyclone Ami –Post A three-day Community Risk Disaster Technical Damage seminar was organized in Port 2003 Asian Conference on Assessment Vila during 3-5 February 2003, Disaster Reduction Tropical Cyclone AMI struck as part of SOPAC and DFID Northern and Eastern Divisions funded project: Disaster Risk Alan Mearns was invited to of Fiji on Tuesday 14 January, Management in Marginal make a presentation on the new causing an estimated USD 30 Communities of Port Vila, SOPAC Community Risk million worth of damage; twice Vanuatu. It was preceded by a 2 Programme at this conference in the loss inflicted by the last week consultative process which Kobe Japan, which was hosted major cyclone, GAVIN in 1998. It included institutional appraisals by the Asian Disaster Reduction is now 10 years since Cyclone and a Community Vulnerability Center. Part of the proceedings KINA, which caused three times Analysis (CVA) in the peri-urban was a review of the 1994 the damage. Litea Biukoto communities of Mele, Melemaat Yokohama Strategy and Plan of carried out the post disaster and Blacksands.This process Action. The ISDR Secretariat is technical damage assessment forms a component of the coordinating this process and th on the 25-29 of Jan. SOPAC CHARM initiative. the next part of the review will be Expected outcomes of the in Fiji during the May Seminar were to: Conference. · Inform the Port Vila Cyclone Zoe Post Disaster communities about the Workshop hazard assessment and disaster mitigation projects carried out by SOPAC and A national post disaster it’s partners. workshop, jointly hosted by the An area affected by TC Ami in the Solomon Islands National Northern Division, Fiji Islands. · Develop solutions for risk Disaster Management Office issues facing these and Emergency Management communities. Australia, was conducted in Development Partners and · Define further cooperation Honiara on 26/27 February. The Donors briefed on opportunities defined for workshop objective was to Community Risk disaster mitigation under the identify the lessons learnt from Programme CVA process. TC Zoe, which struck the outer islands of Tikopia and Anuta. Meetings were recently held in Australia and New Zealand to ______________________________________________________________________________________ SOPAC Secretariat Tel: +679 338 1377 Private Mail Bag, GPO Fax: +679 337 0040 Suva, Fiji Islands [email protected] 1/2 Communities at Risk · Farewell to Litea Biukoto of International Conference the Community Risk Planning for these activities is Programme who will be now in its final stages and joining the new SOPAC EU preliminary programmes will be Project (Reducing sent out to member countries Vulnerability of Pacific ACP shortly. One of our key States. development partners Kathryn · Welcome to Jonathan Participants from the Hawley from TAF/OFDA has Mitchell who has joined the Mele/Blacksands communities at agreed to host a regional EVI team as a research the Community Risk Seminar at Le workshop activity in Nadi as a assistant. Also to Jenny Meridien Hotel, Port Vila in lead up to the SOPAC meeting Suckale who is a February. and conference. The NDMOs postgraduate student from who attend the TAF/OFDA Germany doing research on workshop will simply stay on and the seismicity of Vanuatu Tropical Cyclone Beni attend the SOPAC activities as well. Upcoming Events Updating Country Profile Database Communities@Risk SOPAC are currently updating Communities@Risk their country profile disaster Conference 2003, May 5-7 management database and this Submissions for papers are will form a major part of the final closed. For any queries on the evaluation report on the DMU conference e-mail Vive Vuruya: Storm surge during TC Beni in Port project. Questionnaires will [email protected]; or Mail: Vila.Particular reference was made shortly be forwarded to all SOPAC Secretariat, Private Mail to the potential impacts of natural NDMOs for completion prior to Bag, GPO, Suva, Fiji Islands or disasters such as TC Beni and the Fax: +679 337 0040. impacts of Port Vila earthquake the May meeting. (2002) during the Community Risk Environment Vulnerability workshop sessions in the Index (EVI) Updates Mele/Blacksands communities. ISDR Taskforce Meeting- The EVI team have been busy April carrying out activities targeted at Tony Brown the Director of the the preparation of the Cook Islands NDMO will be “Demonstration EVI” for representing the Pacific region presentation in March 2003.This at the next meeting of the ISDR will help in showing the Taskforce, which will be held in international community (and Geneva in April. particularly donors) how the EVI will look and work when it is completed. To date they have TAF/OFDA Courses collected data for at least 100 The effects of the storm surge at The Emergency Operations countries for 30 of the 54 Mele Bay coast, Port Vila, which Centre (EOC) course will be indicators. already has coastal erosion held in Nadi from the 7-11th of problems. What’s Going On? April and the Initial Damage Planning for the 11th Pacific Assessment (IDA) course will Regional Disaster · The Community Risk nd Programme has commenced be on the 1-2 of May 2003. Management Meeting and st as of January 1 2003. Medicine for the Soul “We realize that what we are accomplishing is a drop in the ocean. But if this drop were not in the ocean, it would be missed." Mother Theresa SOPAC Secretariat Tel: +679 338 1377 Private Mail Bag, GPO Fax: +679 337 0040 Suva, Fiji Islands [email protected] 2/2 .