Present and Future of DiDRR by Ádám Kósa MEP member of the European Parliament co-president of the Disability Intergroup 15th March 2015 Tohoku University, Sendai Japan

The European situation Region Profile for Natural Disasters from 1980 - 2008 No of events: 1,190 No of people killed: 121,644 (280,000 at Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami 2004) Average killed per year: 4,195 No of people affected: 33,031,632 Average affected per year: 1,139,022 (population of Dallas, TX, USA) Ecomomic Damage (US$ X 1,000): 266,918,923 Ecomomic Damage per year (US$ X 1,000): 9,204,101

Historic Flooding of Danube in 2013   Extreme flooding in Central Europe began after several days of heavy rain in late May and early June 2013. Flooding and damages primarily affected south and east German states (╬8) and western regions of the Czecz Republic (╬ 11) and Austria (╬ 6). In addition, Switzerland (╬ 1), Slovakia, Belarus, Poland, Hungary and Serbia (Vojvodina) been affected to a lesser extent. (Sum: 25 died in the EU.) In Hungary, the Prime Minister Viktor Orban declared a state of emergency in some areas along the Danube, which was expected to peak 5 June in western areas and hit Budapest the following weekend. He announced the government had mobilised 8,000 soldiers, 8,000 emergency personnel, 1,400 water management experts,and 3,600 police officers to deal with the situation. Temporary radio broadcasting, SL interpretation,

New EU Civil Protection Mechanism A new and more integrated and reinforced mechanism for handling disasters Any country in the world can call on the EU Civil Protection Mechanism for help. Since its launch in 2001 (Decision 2001/792/EC), the EU Civil Protection Mechanism has monitored over 300 disasters and has received more than 180 requests for assistance. It intervened in some of the most devastating disasters the world has faced, like Hurricane Katrina in the USA (2005), the earthquake in Haiti (2010), the triple-disaster in Japan (2011), and typhoon Haiyan that hit the Philippines (2013). The EC’s Disaster Preparedness ECHO programme (DIPECHO) has thus far invested €325 million since 1996. The key goal of the programme is to increase communities' resilience and reduce their vulnerability. A new 24/7 Emergency Response Coordination Centre (as a coordination hub) since May 2013 identifying risks and capacity gaps by the COM 32 European states (EU-29 plus Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway) Possible involvement and role of UN is applicable (based on Article 5 (2)) Budget: EUR 368 000 000 (2014-2020)

Activities of the ECHO in relation to NGOs The European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) has been increasing its involvement in DRR and preparedness projects over the last decade both in terms of funding and activities. 16% of its humanitarian budget to DRR activities and has developed DRR policy guidelines to guide implementing partners. In 2014, 13% of ECHO’s humanitarian funding went to DDR activities (122 million EUR) reaching out app. 16 million people all around the world DIPECHO (Disaster Preparedness ECHO Programme) helps communities at risk of disasters to better prepare themselves by undertaking training, establishing or improving local early warning systems and contingency planning encourages citizens, civil society groups and local, regional and national authorities to work more effectively together.

There ara good practices; however, wider application of Incheon indicators still to be done… So far there is neither concrete reference to people with disabilities nor other minorities Availability of (disability-inclusive) disaster risk reduction plans Availability of (disability-inclusive) training for all relevant service personnel Proportion of (accessible) emergency shelters and disaster relief sites (mainly MS’s responsibility) Financially supported actions through the COM: general actions shall be eligible for financial assistance to enhance prevention of, preparedness for and effective response to disasters ranging from studies, surveys, modelling and scenario building to facilitate the sharing of knowledge, best practices and information to public information, prevention and preparedness actions response actions actions linked to equipment and transport resources

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