Disaster Management Capacity Building
The Asia Disaster Preparedness
Center Paves the Way

By Dionisio Magsipoc

They come and they go. Floods, cyclones, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis vandalize cities, homes and businesses, destroy lives, then depart as quickly as they arrived. They leave in their wake scores of lost dreams and shattered lives, injecting bitter memories into thousands of ruined households.

In the month of June, international relief organizations were drawn to China, Indonesia, and India in the wake of three deadly natural disasters.

China's Gansu Province was blanketed in water, as some of the worst flooding in 150 years claimed the lives of 36 people and left thousands homeless.

In that same week, a powerful earthquake rattled the Island of Sumatra in Indonesia. Residents were trapped under mountains of rubble. More than 100 were killed by the quake, most of them crushed in their sleep by collapsing buildings. The quake reduced hundreds of buildings to rubble, and cracked and crumbled roadways.

Drought combined with environmental degradation caused severe damage to crops in Western and Southeastern India, resulting in poor food production. The most vulnerable sectors of the population, children under five, pregnant women and the elderly were most affected by this disaster. Reports indicate that deaths resulting from the drought, including suicide of people who have simply lost their livelihood, have risen.

Asia is the most disaster prone region in the world. In the last century it's estimated that 80% of meteorology-related disaster phenomena has occurred in the area.

According to the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), a multi-national educational disaster management center, disasters have claimed millions of lives and seriously affected the living condition and livelihood of about one billion people worldwide.

With an ever-growing population combined with urbanization, the frequency and occurrence of these calamities are only increasing, instigating disastrous effects.

Formed in 1986 in Bangkok Thailand, ADPC began as an autonomous outreach program of the Asian Institute of Technology to assist communities in Southeast Asia in developing their capabilities and policies to mitigate the impact of disasters through training, information and technical assistance.

"Our major role is in capacity building among countries and communities of the region for effective disaster management; pre-disaster, during and post-disaster as well," said Dr. Suvit Yodmani, ADPC's executive director. "Our main emphasis is on prevention and mitigation of disaster as well as preparedness for effective response and recovery."

Under the direction of Yodmani, the former regional director of the United Nations Environment Program in the Asia-Pacific Region and vice president of the Asian Institute of Technology, the center became an independent foundation under the Thai government in June 1999.

"We have effectively served the needs of the clients, partner agencies and donors," Yodmani said. "The overall strategic plan is not only to enhance relations with our stakeholders, but also to facilitate and promote understanding among all stakeholders who would be crucial to accomplish the above-mentioned mission."

Throughout the years, ADPC has raised its visibility in the disaster management arena with major contributions in field training and education, technical service information, research and network support, and regional and national programs.

ADPC's programs continue to address all types of issues in the disaster management spectrum from prevention to mitigation, through preparedness and response, to reconstruction and rehabilitation.

For example, in training and education, ADPC provides a variety of learning opportunities to professionals who want to enhance their expertise in disaster management and advance their professional development. ADPC staff members offer classes at their facilities in Bangkok, Thailand, as well as several other countries, which cover the fundamentals of disaster management; urban disaster mitigation, technological hazards, crisis management and community based approaches to disaster management.

Technical service is an area in which the center has expanded its resources. It offers technical assistance support to match disaster management expertise with the needs of regional disaster response organizations. To accomplish this, it supplies a variety of services including civil engineering, mitigation practice and the planning of immediate relief response and subsequent rehabilitation activities.

The center provides information, research and network support. With 4,000 entries of abstracted titles on disaster and disaster management, it serves as a library for specialized information pertaining to disaster management policies and practices throughout Asia.

The ADPC's regional and national programs encompass several activities throughout the Asia-Pacific Region. The center has operated at the national level to initiate capacity building and technical support for its national partners, and has recently established the Asian Disaster Mitigation Training Network, comprising 12 national training institutes from six countries.

The Extreme Events Climate Program reviews forecasting, preparing for and responding to El Nino/La Nina events in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Finally, the program for Enhancement of Emergency Response builds capacities for medical first response and Collapsed Structure Search and Rescue in Nepal, India, Indonesia and the Philippines.

In the past, the ADPC implemented projects to build the capacities of National Disaster Management Organizations in Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Nepal and Sri Lanka. More recently it provided assistance for the floods in Bangladesh, forest fires in Indonesia, the cyclone in Orissa, and earthquakes in the Philippines and Indonesia.

Currently, the ADPC is seeking to initiate another disaster program in the health and complex emergency sectors. Expected to assist with the health initiation project is Dr. Patricia Hastings, a newly-appointed ADPC Advisory Board member, and current acting director of the Center of Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance. One of the areas the Center of Excellence specializes in is civil-military humanitarian assistance and response, particularly the medical aspects, a fairly new area that Yodmani and ADPC wish to master.

"I have been very impressed by Dr. Hastings's integrity and professionalism, particularly in emergency medicine in all sorts of disasters, especially complex disasters," Yodmani said. "Her membership to our Advisory Council has already promoted a closer association and partnership between our two organizations, which ADPC greatly appreciates."

With a legacy rich in hurricanes, earthquakes, and droughts the Asia-Pacific Region will particularly remain at risk. Yodmani points out the occurrence of natural disasters cannot be prevented, but their impact can be minimized. He said this goal is not impossible.

"It is now time to take a strategic view on how mankind can adapt to the natural forces of our earth," Yodmani said. "Without recognizing the role and importance of disaster management and mitigation to each country, nations will never succeed in their quest for sustainable development."

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