BEMA International emergency management and
community members
Each of us has to step up our A-Game in preparing for disasters and
awareness, and understanding of the impact of climate change now not later when
danger is at your door. Get involved
locally in CERT (community emergency response team) training, local exercises,
local council and challenge elected officials and candidates.
Community\Civil Society Imperative does
not exist without the individual and community members.
BEMA
International
As
climate and disaster threats rise, let’s double down on resilient
infrastructure
|NOVEMBER 08, 2019
From tsunamis in Asia and
earthquakes Latin America, to hurricanes in the Caribbean and cyclones in Africa, disasters caused by natural
hazards claimed some
1.3 million lives between 1998 and 2017, and wreaked
untold havoc on livelihoods and infrastructure worldwide.
A primary school in Hanoi, Vietnam. Photo credit: Quang Vu/Shutterstock
We see
no sign of the risk posed by natural hazards decreasing, particularly having
witnessed the devastating impact of Cyclone Idai on
families and communities in Africa earlier this year. What’s worse, climate
change is making storms, floods, droughts, and heatwaves even more frequent,
damaging, and deadly.
Disasters can erase decades of
hard-won development gains in a matter of seconds, with a painful and costly
impact that can last for years, and even generations to come. Today, around
90% of urban expansion in developing countries takes place near hazard-prone
areas. Without urgent action, climate change and disasters may cost
cities worldwide $314 billion each year and push up to 77
million urban residents into poverty.
When disaster
strikes, we are all at risk; but it is usually the poor that get hit the
hardest. Research shows that the impacts of disasters and climate change
are more than twice as significant for poor
households, because they tend to live in the most vulnerable areas, often
with weak housing standards. Over the next 15 years, and in the absence of
adequate investment in housing and slum upgrading, we can expect to see the
number of people living in substandard housing more than double.
In an
era of worsening climate and disaster risks, countries and cities have no
choice but to plan better and invest more in resilient infrastructure –
homes, schools, and roads – to meet urbanization challenges and sustain
economic growth.
In
fact, it pays to make our homes safer and our schools more
resilient. Recent
research suggests that investing in resilient
infrastructure can provide a net benefit of $4.2 trillion in low and
middle-income countries, with $4 in benefit for each $1 invested. Such
investments can then improve essential services – such as transport, or water
and electricity supply – and contribute to more resilient and prosperous
societies.
Resilient
infrastructure saves lives. In October 2019, the World Bank’s Global Program for Safer Schools (GPSS)
launched its Global Library
of School Infrastructure (GLOSI) and the updated Roadmap for
Safer and Resilient Schools with the support of the Global
Facility for Disaster Risk Reduction (GFDRR). These tools will help
policymakers and school communities better understand and prepare for the
natural hazards that put them at risk.
Just like families living in unsafe homes, children and
youth studying in poor quality school buildings are also vulnerable to
climate and disaster impact. Disasters
damage or destroy school infrastructure, harming or even killing students,
teachers, and other members of the school community. In Ecuador, for example,
the 2016 earthquake damaged almost 1,000 schools and left more than 120,000
children temporarily without education. In Mozambique, 4,000 classrooms were
destroyed by cyclones this past year. These disasters also have a devastating
effect on children’s education and learning environments.
That’s
why the World Bank and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
(UNDRR) are both committed to helping cities and communities mobilize global
resources and take local actions to build climate-smart, disaster-resilient
infrastructure.
Cities
can only be as resilient as their infrastructure, which is why UNDRR,
together with the Government of India co-developed the Coalition for Disaster
Resilient Infrastructure. Launched by Prime Minister Modi at the UN Climate
Action Summit in September, CDRI will support countries to risk-proof
investment plans by providing technical input, exchanging best practice, and
capacity building.
UNDRR is
also committed to leading action in this area through the Making Cities
Resilient Campaign, which more than 4,200 cities have joined over the past 10
years. In consultation with partners, and in response to a clear request from
the cities with which the campaign has worked, a new campaign will launch in
2020, supporting cities to reduce disaster and climate risk through improved
technical support and enhanced capacity for raising finances to implement
change.
Similarly,
as the World Bank continues to build back
better to reduce annual disaster-related
losses, its Global Program
for Resilient Housing is stepping up efforts to help
countries, cities, and communities build better before the next disaster by
making homes safer and more resilient to natural hazards. For example:
Investing in safe and resilient infrastructure –
including homes and schools – saves lives, protects livelihoods, and
safeguards development. As we just marked International Day
for Disaster Risk Reduction and World Cities Day last month, let’s double
down on our resolve and scale up our action to make the future of our cities
and communities more inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable for all.
********************
|
Black Emergency
Managers Association
International
1231-B
Good Hope Road. S.E.
Washington,
D.C. 20020
Office:
202-618-9097
bEMA International
“We are now faced with the
fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of
now.
In this unfolding conundrum
of life and history there is such a thing as being too late.
Procrastination is still the
thief of time.
Life often leaves us
standing bare, naked and dejected with a lost opportunity.
This may well be mankind’s
last chance to choose between chaos or community.”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
‘Where Are We Going From Here: Chaos or Community’.
Cooperation, Collaboration,
Communication, Coordination, Community engagement, and Partnering (C5&P)
