chapter 4 - DRK

Strictly under embargo until Wednesday 22 September at 00:01 GMT (02:01 Geneva time)CHAPTER 7reduction systems that were multi-sectoral and inter-institutional. In each country,a national commission for risk management and disaster prevention was set up. Forinstance, in Nicaragua, the Sistema Nacional para la Prevención, Mitigación y Atenciónde Desastres (national system for disaster prevention, mitigation and response,now known as SINAPRED) was created in 2000 to work with local governmentsto strengthen the country’s institutional capacity for disaster preparedness and management,integrating disaster mitigation and risk reduction into local developmentprocesses. Local governments are responsible for activities related to prevention,mitigation, preparation, response, rehabilitation and reconstruction within theirterritories, based on risk assessments. Several municipalities have incorporatedpreventive planning especially in regard to approving building licences and landuse, and different sectors including health, education and planning share disasterrisk information. The system operates with a national disaster fund. Most of thesenational systems are, however, relatively new and need time to consolidate. Anotherconcern is that local governments may be allocated responsibilities for which theylack the capacity and resources.Addressing the limits in disaster risk reductionby municipal and city governmentsWhile local government engagement is essential for disaster risk reduction, manydisaster risks need coordinated action across a range of local governments. For instance,many large cities are composed of different municipalities (local governments) and disasterrisks are often concentrated in particular municipalities. For example, São Paulois made up of a central city with about 11 million inhabitants and 38 separate municipalities,while Buenos Aires consists of a central city of some 3 million inhabitants and26 municipalities. The municipalities with the highest disaster risks are often amongthe weakest financially and have the largest concentrations of low-income groups livingin informal settlements. They therefore have the largest deficits in provision for theinfrastructure and services that underpin risk reduction.Most flood problems in urban areas require a river basin management approach but forlarge cities, this can require investments and coordination among many different localgovernment units – often including local governments controlled by opposing politicalparties. Or extreme weather events can simply overwhelm the capacity of a localgovernment or require actions outside its boundaries and competence.In December 2009, several small and medium-sized cities in Argentina, includingSalto, Pergamino, Arrecifes, Carmen de Areco and San Antonio de Areco, were floodedafter torrential rains led to local rivers overflowing their banks. San Antonio de Areco,a town of more than 21,000 inhabitants, was hit particularly hard and 3,000 peoplehad to be evacuated. The city government could not address the causes of the flooding.In part this was linked to rainfall in the whole region being greater than normal,146