Countries: Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), Myanmar

Risks: River floods, urban floods, earthquakes, tropical storms, cyclones, landslides

Area of Engagement: Promoting resilience to climate change; Strengthening hydromet services and early warning systems; Deepening financial protection

In a region with a long tradition of coping with extreme water and weather variability, the Japan-World Bank DRM Program* supported disaster risk reduction, risk financing, and hydrometeorological systems and laid the foundation for a new disaster risk insurance facility.

REGIONAL CHALLENGES CALLING FOR A REGIONAL APPROACH

Despite a long tradition of coping with water and weather variability, floods, droughts and extreme weather events remain a serious challenge in the Southeast Asia region. Its ability to manage the increasing impact of disasters will have important implications on growth and development agendas.

Cambodia faces a variety of hazards, with floods, storms and droughts as the most prevalent. Typhoon Ketsana in 2009, as well as pervasive floods in 2011 and 2014, caused damages and losses of $132 million, $625 million, and $357 million, respectively. Roads are a particularly vulnerable yet critical sector for the economy and country’s growth.

Lao PDR experienced major typhoons in 2009 (Ketsana) and in 2011 (Haima), and severe flooding in 2013. Most recently in 2018, floods across the country caused $371.5 million in damages and losses, making it the most expensive disaster in the past 10 years. A large share of Lao PDR’s population is considered highly vulnerable to disaster impacts.

Cyclone Nargis was one of the worst disasters to hit Myanmar, causing large loss of lives and destruction. More recently, severe floods and landslides in 2015 are estimated to have caused production losses to the economy in 2015-16 of about 1.7 percent of 2014 GDP. Myanmar’s vulnerability is exacerbated by rapid and unplanned development, especially in cities.

LAYING THE GROUNDWORK FOR RESILIENT INVESTMENTS

Recognizing the links between development, sustainability, and resilience in Southeast Asia, the Japan-World Bank DRM Program provided a $2.5 million grant for Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar with the goal to help identify strategic investments and opportunities in disaster risk reduction, risk financing, and hydro-meteorological systems.

This grant pursued a multi-level approach to strengthen disaster and climate resilience at both the national and regional levels through analytics, advisory services, and capacity-building. The grant focused on priority country investments as well as activities which could improve regional collaboration on financial resilience and hydrometeorological services.

In Cambodia, analytics were used to examine opportunities to improve resilience of rural roads across different provinces including the use of green infrastructure solutions. In Lao PDR, analysis of benefits of investing in hydrometeorological services was conducted, accompanied by a policy note on opportunities to strengthen hydrometeorological services in the Mekong region. In Myanmar, a structural risk assessment of selected public facilities in Yangon was supported with concept drawings for seismic retrofitting. Priority drainage and flood risk management investments were also identified.

LESSONS LEARNED

Importance of analytics for decision making This program demonstrated that quality information is critical in being able to identify and prioritize investments to strengthen disaster resilience. Through analytics and knowledge exchanges, policy makers have been exposed to a range of tools and methodologies available to improve their understanding of disaster risk, and planning, implementing and maintaining their investments into resilience.

Understanding potential benefits of regional collaboration in hydromet services Regional collaboration can bring many benefits to the delivery of national weather, climate and hydrological services. Integration of the region’s hydromet systems provides opportunities to lower required investment while increasing accuracy of forecasts.

The grant contributed to the discussion and improved understanding of common challenges and opportunities which can inform future investments in this field.
Innovative regional solutions can provide an additional layer of financial protection This grant helped to lead the dialogue on financial resilience regionally, laying the groundwork to support the preparation of the Southeast Asia Disaster Risk Insurance Facility (SEADRIF). As part of this dialogue, a regional technical working group on disaster risk finance and insurance has been established and meets regularly on an annual basis. The creation of this catastrophic insurance pool will be the first of its kind in South East Asia.

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Forty-four residents of Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland in Jamaica are better able to help their communities in the aftermath of a disaster, following  a three-day training workshop on shelter management and initial damage assessment, part of a project being administered by the Westmoreland municipal corporation to build resilience to disaster risks and climate change impacts.

Organised by the municipal corporation under the Climate Change Adaptation and Risk Reduction Technology and Strategies to Improve Community Resilience (CARTS) project, the course was designed to equip community persons with first responder skills required in the event of a disaster.

Financing for the CARTS project is provided by the Community Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (CDRRF), a multi-donor trust fund with grant resources from Global Affairs Canada and the European Union, which is managed by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

The three-day training initially targeted 30 people but met with so much interest that eventually 44 people were accommodated.

“Savanna la Mar being located on the coast makes it more vulnerable to certain climate impacts such as storm surge, flooding, sea-level rise and so on. Therefore, it is very important that we ensure that the residents can respond quickly and effectively in the event of a disaster,” said Shadae Allen, project manager for the CARTS project. It is expected that roughly 34,783 residents of Savanna-la-mar, consisting of 17,443 females and 17,340 males, will be impacted by the project.

The training was mainly conducted by the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM). Participants were trained in diverse topics including the concept of risk management being, more than responding to disasters; the impact of hazards on buildings and infrastructure; and the importance of pre hazard assessments towards effective planning. Participants were also taken through practical steps for conducting an initial damage assessment.

On the shelter management side, the emphasis was placed on the role and responsibilities of the shelter manager as a problem solver in times of disaster.

Participants reported that they felt energised after the training sessions based on the quality of information presented.

“It was really a good training programme. We got lots of information to be better able to carry out our role as public health responders, pre and post-disaster.  We were also given further training to prepare us to be shelter managers if needed and we can also complete initial damage assessments if required,” said Anneka Tomlinson, from the Westmoreland health department.

Andrae Bailey, who represented a community-based organisaton in the Savanna-La-Mar area, was also pleased with the quality of the training.  

“The information was useful and the delivery method appropriate. I especially loved the visual aids in the initial damage assessment training as it gave a practical visual of what to look for when completing an initial damage assessment.  We also did participatory activities in groups to get hands-on experience with various issues. The information was relatable and the initial damage assessments aspect can be transferred even outside of disaster scenario as it is also applicable to everyday life,’ he said.

Following the training, the Westmoreland municipal corporation and ODPEM will maintain contact with the participants as well as update the parish list of persons on standby to serve as first responders. 

The recent initial damage assessment and shelter management training sessions form a part of the 2019 first responder training courses series being delivered in Savanna-la-mar between June and September.  Other courses include Search and Rescue, CPR and First Aid.