Transcript Module: Early Warning Section: Disaster Information and Warning

Risk Communication
BEFORE THE EVENT
RECONSTRUCTION
AFTER THE EVENT
Session 2
Early Warning
Disaster
IMPACT
EARLY WARNING
Motoyuki Ushiyama
Contents
Early warning as an application of disaster risk
communication
1. Time-constraint and real-time communication
2. Hierarchical information structure and
command control oriented.
 Blocking factors of early warning system
3. Redundancy is necessary in the system
4. End victims’ active participation
Support for vulnerable people
Position of early warning in the disaster
management cycle
• During a disaster
– forecasting, warnings, evacuation, real-time
observation.
Warning and Hazard Type
• Weather disaster (heavy rainfall, flood, windstorm)
– Possible to issue a warning before disaster.
• Earthquake
– Not possible to announce pre-disaster warning.
Levels of a weather disaster
warning messages
Disaster Impact level
High
Low
Forecast
(Daily information)
Disaster
Hazard
Time
Advisory
(Alert information)
Warning (Action
trigger for organizations)
Evacuation (Emergency
message for residents)
Command control oriented
message transmission routes
Coast Guard
Prefectures
Community
Municipality
Meteorological
Agency
Telephone
company
Public
broadcasting
station
broadcast
Factors that may block the
transmission of a Warning Message
• Examples of Technical Blocking Factors
– Technical trouble of information transmission system
– Break up of communication lines or power failure
• Examples of Human Blocking Factors
– The person who uses the information system does not
understand how to use it.
– The person who receives the information does not
notice the fact.
– The relay person who receives information forgets or
mistakenly neglects to contact and convey the message
to another party.
Redundancy as a fail-safe
device for Warning
Transmission System
Other equipments
Governmental
office
Municipality equipments
Local
government
office
Police
Fire station
Volunteer fire Loud
defense
speaker
organization
van
Mass media,
Community radio broadcast
Loudspeake
r
Residents
Community citizens’
active participation
Taiwanese simple rainfall observation device
• It is significant that local
residents measure rainfall by
themselves.
• They can realistically
understand and get hands –
on experience on how much
rainfall means and how
dangerous it is to them.
Simple Rain-gauge in Taiwan: The
River Bureau has distributed this to
residents in order to help prevent
sediment disaster. Residents can thus
observe rainfall. If rainfall amount
reaches over the red line, they should
immediately evacuate independently.
Support for Vulnerable People
•
Vulnerable people are those who need special
assistance at the time of disaster.
–
•
physically handicapped persons, the elderly, pregnant
women, small children, poor people, etc.
Even healthy people who do not know an area well
are also considered vulnerable people.
–
Foreigners and travelers are examples
1. Identify what kind of vulnerable people are in the
area.
2. Have a plan how they will be helped in case of a
disaster.