IPCC Report.pdf - Adam Curry

Chapter 7Managing the Risks: International Level and Integration across Scalesdevelopment, going beyond and adding to the hazards information, toeffectively contribute to reducing risk.Disaster response and recovery are closely linked to provision of effectivecommunication prior to and throughout the disaster situation (Zhang etal., 2002). Mass media, for example, radio, television, and newspapers arepowerful mechanisms for conveying information during and immediatelyafter disasters although they may over-sensationalize issues, which mayinfluence perception of risk and subsequent responses (Vasterman etal., 2005; Glik, 2007). A ‘two-step flow’ approach where the mass mediais combined with interpersonal communication channels has been foundto provide a more effective approach to information dissemination(Maibach et al., 2008; Chagutah, 2009; Kaklauskas et al., 2009).Increased use of ICT such as mobile phones, online blogging websiteswith interactive functions and links to other web pages and real-timecrowd-sourcing electronic commentary, and other forms of web-basedsocial-networked communications such as Twitter, Facebook, etc.,represent current tools for timely information dissemination. Theyfacilitate rapid exchange of information, for instance, from the disasterscene to rescuers and/or delivery of vital information to those affected. Thisis particularly the case where such information is given in an appropriateformat and language and facilities to deliver information are accessible(Glik, 2007). There are emerging attempts to develop mobile phonebaseddisaster response services, for example, that can translate disasterinformation into different languages (Hasegawa et al., 2005); and usereal-time mobile phone-calling data to provide information on locationand movement of victims in a disaster area (Madey et al., 2007). Mobilephones are now routinely used to disseminate disaster warning informationwithin industrialized countries and the process is rapidly expanding todeveloping countries.Information sharing and dissemination for disaster relief has improvedthrough the establishment of the ReliefWeb site (www.reliefweb.int) bythe UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in1996. ReliefWeb so far offers the largest Internet-based internationaldisaster information gathering, sharing, and dissemination mechanism(Wolz and Park, 2006; Maitland and Tapia, 2007; Saab et al., 2008). TheInternational Charter (www.disasterscharter.org) provides space datathat serve to augment the ReliefWeb. But the OCHA ReliefWeb does notcover preparedness and disaster prevention to fully embrace CCAand DRR compared to the comparatively more recent PreventionWeb(www.preventionweb.net) where disaster risk reduction is covered.Despite the growing role of mass media and ICT in disaster response,significant improvements are still needed to reduce disaster losses. Thefull potential of mobile phones and Internet facilities in disaster reliefhas yet to be exploited. The OCHA ReliefWeb poorly represents localtonational-level humanitarian activities; for example, most of thisinformation is not translated into different languages (Wolz and Park,2006). There are large sections of the global population who have noaccess to Internet and other telecommunication services (Samarajiva,2005) although evidence shows that improved access by disaster workershas overall positive effects on disaster relief (Wolz and Park, 2006).Other initiatives such as RAdio and InterNET (RANET), a satellite broadcastservice that combines radio and Internet to communicate hydrometeorologicaland climate-related information, are examples ofinnovative measures being put in place to address the problem oflimited access to the Internet in developing countries (Boulahya et al.,2005). Sustainable use of ICT for coordination of information forhumanitarian efforts faces challenges of limited resources to mount,maintain, and upgrade these systems (Saab et al., 2008). ICT is alsolimited to explicit knowledge that is comprised of, for example, documentsand data stored in computers but generally lacks tacit knowledge thatis based on experience linked to someone’s expertise, competence,understanding, professional intuition, and so forth that can be valuablefor disaster relief (Kaklauskas et al., 2009). Increased internationalcollaboration on disaster management and also the growing use ofinteractive web communication facilities provides for the filtering oftacit knowledge.7.4.5.2.1. Disaster risk reduction andclimate change adaptationIn addition to disaster management organizations such as UNISDR, theInternational Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, theFederal Emergency Management Agency, national Red Cross and RedCrescent societies, and so forth, a great deal of knowledge disseminationis accomplished in the academic field. But this knowledge does nottranslate automatically to the general public. The use of ICTs such ascomputer networks, digital libraries, satellite communications, remotesensing, grid technology, and GIS for data and information integrationfor knowledge acquisition and exchange is growing to be important inintegrating DRR and CCA (UNISDR, 2005b; Louhisuo et al., 2007; seealso Section 7.4.3.2). ICT offers interactive modes of learning that couldbe of value in distance education and online data sharing and retrieval.For example, the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters(CRED) at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium maintains theEmergency Events Database (EM-DAT), which has over 18,000 entrieson disasters in the world dated from 1900 to present (www.cred.be).The data are recorded on a country-level basis and form a usefulresource for disaster preparedness and vulnerability assessments,although information on small-scale disasters is difficult to establish(Tschoegl , 2006). In addition to CRED, a comprehensive database ofglobal natural catastrophe losses is provided by the Munich ReNatCatSERVICE, where nearly 800 events are entered in the databaseevery year; by 2009, the database had more than 25,000 entries withlosses spanning from the 1980s, although records for major events goup to 2000 years ago (Schmidt et al., 2009; Zschocke and de Leon,2010). Because of its strong focus on insured losses, the Munich Redatabase tends to have less coverage for areas with lower insurancecoverage. At a regional level, the DesInventar database in Latin Americais an example of a regional database that was developed in 1994 bythe Network for Social Studies in Disaster Prevention. The DesInventardatabase is an inventory of small-, medium-, and greater-impact disasters423