Transcript turning 2011`s disasters into educational surges that will

TURNING 2011’S DISASTERS INTO
EDUCATIONAL SURGES THAT
WILL ADVANCE DISASTER
RESILIENCE
PART 3
Dr. Walter Hays,
Global Alliance For
Disaster Reduction
GOAL: COMMUNITY DISASTER RESILIENCE
USE DISASTER’S INFO TO
IMPROVE COMMUNITY
RESILIENCE
INCREASE TECHNICAL
AND POLITICL CAPACITY
OF COMMUNITY TO COPE
INCREASE OWNERSHIP
AND USE OF KNOWLEDGE
AND EXPERIENCE
FLOODS
SEVERE WIND STORMS
EARTHQUAKES
DROUGHTS
LANDSLIDES
WILDFIRES
VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
TSUNAMIS
GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE
TECHNOLOGICAL HAZARDS
NOTABLE DISASTERS IN 2011
FLOODS IN AUSTRALIA
NEW KNOWLEDGE FOR
COMMUNITY DISASTER
RISK REDUCTION
EARTHQUAKE/TSUNAMI IN
JAPAN
WILDFIRES IN FLORIDA,
TEXAS, AND ARIZONA , ETC
CATALYSTS
FOR CHANGE
HURRICANE IRENE AND
TROPIAL STORM LEE
FLOODS ALONG THE
MISSISSIPPI River
SUPER TORNADO
OUTBREAK
VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
2011’S KNOWLEDGE AND
EXPERIENCE INCLUDED
WILDFIRES IN FLORIDA,
TEXAS, AND ARIZONA
MARCH - SEPTEMBER, 2011
--- which are single- or
multiple-event natural hazards
that, (for various reasons),
caused extreme levels of
mortality, morbidity,
homelessness, joblessness,
economic losses, or
environmental impacts.
A DISASTER is ----- the set of failures that overwhelm the
capability of a community to respond
without external help when three
continuums: 1) people, 2) community
(i.e., a set of habitats, livelihoods, and
social constructs), and 3) complex
events (e.g., floods, earthquakes, ...,)
intersect at a point in space and time.
THE THREE CONTINUUMS OF
EVERY DISASTER
• PEOPLE
• COMMUNITY
• COMPLEX EVENTS
A DISASTER IMPACTS ALL
SOCIETAL ELEMENTS
AN EDUCATIONAL SURGE
• Transforms information and
experience gained from a
disaster into knowledge, best
practices, and new technology to help a stricken
community become disaster
resilient.
BUILDING CAPACITY FOR
DISASTER RESILIENCE
• Identify the gaps in community capacity in
the four critical elements of the solution:
Preparedness, Protection, Response, and
Recovery.
• Concentrate resources on filling the
perceived gaps in Preparedness,
Protection, Response, and Recovery, and
start creating turning points for change.
CRITICAL ELEMENTS FOR
DISASTER RESILIENCE
• PREPAREDNESS
(READY FOR ANY
COMPLEX EVENT)
• PROTECTION
(BUILD ESSENTIAL
AND CRITICAL
FACILITIES TO
WITHSTAND)
CRITICAL ELEMENTS FOR
DISASTER RESILIENCE
• RESPONSE
(SAVING LIVES, AND
ENSURING
CONTINUITY)
• RECOVERY
(BOUNCING BACK
QUICKLY AND
RESUMING LIFE
AGAIN)
BENEFITS OF AN
EDUCATIONAL SURGE
• Intensifies efforts to
protect essential (schools)
and critical (hospitals, dams,
transportation, systems, and
power plants) facilities.
EDUCATIONAL SURGES CREATE TURNING
POINTS FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE
ALL SECTORS OF
SOCIETY INFORMED
EDUCATIONAL
SURGES WILL
INCREASE
KNOWLEDGE
OF A COMMUNITY’S RISK
IGNORANCE TO
ENLIGHTENMENT
APATHY TO
EMPOWERMENT
BOUNDARIES TO
NETWORKS
STATUS QUO TO GOOD
POLITICAL DECISIONS
TURNING POINTS FOR CHANGE
NEW RESOURCES
NEW DELIVERY MECHANISMS
EDUCATIONAL
SURGES WILL
RESULT IN …
NEW PROFESSIONAL
LINKAGES
NEW LEGISLATIVE MANDATES
NEW DIALOGUE ON BUILDING
A CULTURE OF DISASTERRISK REDUCTION
EDUCATIONAL SURGE
ADD VALUE
INCREASE
AWARENESS
AN EDUCATIONAL
SURGE WILL
INCREASE
UNDERSTANDING
INCREASE POLITICAL
WILL
BUILD EQUITY
BENEFITS OF EDUCATIONAL SURGES
EXPAND CAPABILITY
IMPROVE DELIVERY
MECHANISMS
EDUCATIONAL
SURGES
OVERCOME UNIVERSAL
BARRIERS
CREATE TURNING
POINTS OF CHANGE
INCREASE COMMUNITY
DISASTER RESILIENCE
WILDFIRES IN FLORIDA
FEBRUARY 28-MARCH 4,
2011
WILDFIRES CAN CAUSE HIGH-RISK
SITUATIONS
Any wildfire can be devastating to people, and their
health, property,
infrastructure, business
enterprise, community, and
environment.
WILDFIRE HAZARDS
(AKA POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS)
•
•
•
•
FIRE
HOT GASES AND SMOKE
HOT SPOTS
BURNED OUT SLOPES (with
increased susceptibility to insect
infestation, erosion, and
landslides)
WILDFIRE HAZARDS
(AKA POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS)
• HIGH WINDS
• LOCAL CHANGES IN AIR
QUALITY
• LOCAL CHANGES IN WEATHER
THE CONDITIONS IN 2011 WERE
FAVORABLE FOR WILDFIRES
In 2010, Florida
had the driest July
to December on
record, and parts
of Florida had
their driest winter
months in 2011 in
nearly 80 years.
RISK FACTORS: FLORIDA
• The absence in 2010 of the usual
number of tropical storm
systems that make landfall in
Florida left the land dry and low
water tables, two factors that
increased the likelihood of
wildfires, and, along with high
winds, exacerbated risk..
WILDFIRES RAGED OUT OF
CONTROL IN WEST TEXAS
AND TEXAS PANHAMDLE
DROUGHT AND WIND EXACERBATED
WILDFIRES, WHICH SCORCHED
80,000 -100,000 ACRES
MARCH 12 - APRIL 11, 2011
WILDFIRE IN TEXAS
PANHANDLE
Billowing smoke
caused by a
wildfire in the
Texas
Panhandle near
Borger, Texas,
Sunday, March
12, 2006.
WILDFIRE IN TEXAS
PANHANDLE
Flames reach
heights of 20-30
feet as a wildfire
rages on
Sunday, March
12, 2006 near
Borger, Texas.
FIRE FIGHTERS CAME FROM
OTHER STATES TO HELP
• Fire fighters from 25 states
joined together in a joint effort
to bring a dozen fires under
control.
PROBLEMS FOR FIRE
FIGHTERS
• Hot, windy conditions and low
humidity, combined with
withered shrubs and grasses
caused by the drought, made
fire fighting more dangerous
than usual.
PROBLEMS FOR FIRE
FIGHTERS
• Air tankers usually used to
douse massive fires like
these could not be flown
because of wind gusts of 66
to 60 kph (40 to 50 mph) on
some days.
WILDFIRES BURNED OVER
1 MILLION ACRES OF
DROUGHT-STRICKEN
TEXAS
URGENCY OF THE SITUATION LED TO
FIREFIGHTERS FROM OTHER STATES
BEING CALLED IN TO HELP
APRIL 11-19, 2011
EVACUATION
• More than 1,900 people from
seven counties were
evacuated.
POSSUM KINGDOM LAKE
RECREATIONAL AREA IMPACTED
• Fires at the Possum Kingdom
Lake, the latest area to be
impacted by wildfires, have
encroached to within about 130
km (70 mi) of the Fort Worth
side of the Dallas-Fort Worth
metropolitan area.
CALL FOR HELP
• Texas called for help from other
states because the fire, one of
several across Texas, had
burned 1 million acres of land in
a little more than a week, was
now threatened the Dallas-Fort
Worth area.
WILDFIRE NEAR STRAWN,
TEXAS: APRIL 18, 2011
ONE HOUSE OUT OF 33 ESCAPES
WILDFIRE NEAR STRAWN, TEXAS
TANKER PLANE FIGHTING
WILDFIRE: APRIL 18, 2011
THREE-DOZEN WILDFIRES WERE
BURNING IN PARTS OF ARIZONA,
NEW MEXICO, COLORADO,
CALIFORNIA, TEXAS, AND
GEORGIA
June 2011
JUNE WAS “2011’s FIRE SEASON”
IN THE WEST
 Exacerbated by high temperatures, high
winds, and recent drought, more than
1.2 million acres were burned.
 Some of Arizona’s eleven wildfires that
burned over one-half million acres, may
have been started by illegal immigrants.
ARIZONA: JUNE 8, 2011
EVACUATIONS
• About 10,000 Arizonans were
forced to evacuate their homes
as wildfires consumed large
parts of the state.
• Some people refused to
evacuate.
ARIZONA’S WATER WHEEL FIRE
WORKING THE MONUMENT
WILDFIRE
• About 1,000 firefighters from
across the USA were on the
lines, and hundreds of state
and local police and others
were simultaneously facilitating
evacuation and meeting the
needs of the people.
ARIZONA’S MONUMENT FIRE:
JUNE 19
HIGH WINDS
• Winds of 30 mph that gusted to
50 mph on the ridges hindered
firefighting from the air as well
as on the ground, increasing
the time needed to achieve
significant containment.
SIXTY-THREE NEW WILDFIRES
WERE BURNING IN TEXAS
Conditions Exacerbated by Wind and Low
Relative Humidity from
Tropical Storm Lee
SEPTEMER 5 --30 2011
Since the beginning of the
wildfire season, Texas had
dealt with over 20,900 fires
that destroyed more than
1,000 homes and burned 3.6
million acres (1.46 million
hectares).
SMITHVILLE, TX FIRE
BASTROP, TX FIRE:
EVACUATIONS UNDERWAY
EXACERBATING CONDITIONS IN
TEXAS
 In addition to the continuing
drought conditions, the fires
were exacerbated by heat, high
winds and low relative humidity
from Tropical Storm Lee.
CALL FOR HELP ANSWERED
• Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid
System (TIFMAS) strike teams
were mobilized.
• National Guard Blackhawk
helicopters were made available.
• Heavy air tankers from South
Dakota and California were sent.
TOWARDS WILDFIRE
DISASTER RESILIENCE IN
YOUR COMMUNITY
PREPAREDNESS
PROTECTION
RESPONSE
RECOVERY
RISK ASSESSMENT
•HAZARD MAPS
•INVENTORY
•VULNERABILITY
•LOCATION
ACCEPTABLE RISK
RISK
UNACCEPTABLE RISK
FOCUS ON FOUR
CRITICAL AREAS
DATA BASES
AND INFORMATION
STRICKEN
COMMUNITY
DISASTER RESILIENCE
HAZARDS:
GROUND SHAKING
GROUND FAILURE
SURFACE FAULTING
TECTONIC DEFORMATION
TSUNAMI RUN UP
AFTERSHOCKS
BEST POLICIES AND
PRACTICES FOR:
•PREPAREDNESS
•PROTECTION
•RESPONSE & RECOVERY
CAUSES
OF
DAMAGE
LIGHTNING STRIKES
MAN-MADE FIRES
PROXIMITY OF URBAN AREA
TO THE WILDLAND FIRE
WILDFIRES
DISASTER
LABORATORIES
WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION
(DAY/NIGHT)
DRYNESS
HIGH TEMPERATURES
LOCAL FUEL SUPPLY
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
FOR COPING WITH WILDFIRES
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES FOR
FIGHTING WILDFIRES
• FORECASTS OF
WEATHER
CONDITIONS
• MONITORING
TECHNOLOGIES (E.G.,
REMOTE SENSING,
TEMPERATURE,
HUMIDITY, WINDS)
• WARNING SYSTEMS
• EVACUATION
• DATABASES FOR
PAST WILDFIRES
• COMPUTER MODELS
OF WILDFIRES
• MAPS; ZONING
• DISASTER
SCENARIOS
• HAZARD
ASSESSMENTS
• RISK ASSESSMENTS
NATURAL HAZARDS FOR WHICH
EVACUATION IS TYPICAL
FLOODS
GOAL: MOVE PEOPLE OUT
OF HARM’S WAY
HIGH BENEFIT/COST FOR
SAVING LIVES, BUT LOW
BEMEFIT/COST FOR
PROTECTING PROPERTY
HURRICANES
TYPHOONS
TSUNAMIS
VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
WILDFIRES
TOWARDS WILDFIRE DISASTER
RESILIENCE
RISK ASSESSMENT
• VULNERABILITY
• COST
• EXPOSURE
WILDFIRES
• EVENT
EXPECTED
LOSS
• BENEFIT
•CONSEQUENCES
POLICY ASSESSMENT
POLICY
ADOPTION