TURNING 2011’S DISASTERS INTO EDUCATIONAL SURGES THAT WILL ADVANCE DISASTER RESILIENCE PART 3 Dr. Walter Hays, Global Alliance For Disaster Reduction

GOAL: COMMUNITY DISASTER RESILIENCE FLOODS SEVERE WIND STORMS EARTHQUAKES DROUGHTS LANDSLIDES WILDFIRES VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS TSUNAMIS GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE TECHNOLOGICAL HAZARDS INCREASE TECHNICAL AND POLITICL CAPACITY OF COMMUNITY TO COPE INCREASE OWNERSHIP AND USE OF KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE USE DISASTER’S INFO TO IMPROVE COMMUNITY RESILIENCE

NOTABLE DISASTERS IN 2011 FLOODS IN AUSTRALIA EARTHQUAKE/TSUNAMI IN JAPAN WILDFIRES IN FLORIDA, TEXAS, AND ARIZONA, ETC HURRICANE IRENE AND TROPIAL STORM LEE FLOODS ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI River SUPER TORNADO OUTBREAK CATALYSTS FOR CHANGE NEW KNOWLEDGE FOR COMMUNITY DISASTER RISK REDUCTION VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS

2011’S KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE INCLUDED WILDFIRES IN FLORIDA, TEXAS, AND ARIZONA MARCH - SEPTEMBER, 2011

--- which are s ingle- or multiple-event natural hazards that, (for various reasons), caused extreme levels of mortality, morbidity, homelessness, joblessness, economic losses, or environmental impacts.

A DISASTER is the set of failures that overwhelm the capability of a community to respond without external help when three continuums: 1) people, 2) community (i.e., a set of habitats, livelihoods, and social constructs), and 3) complex events (e.g., floods, earthquakes,...,) intersect at a point in space and time.

THE THREE CONTINUUMS OF EVERY DISASTER PEOPLE COMMUNITY COMPLEX EVENTS

A DISASTER IMPACTS ALL SOCIETAL ELEMENTS

AN EDUCATIONAL SURGE Transforms information and experience gained from a disaster into knowledge, best practices, and new tech- nology to help a stricken community become disaster resilient.

BUILDING CAPACITY FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE Identify the gaps in community capacity in the four critical elements of the solution: Preparedness, Protection, Response, and Recovery. Concentrate resources on filling the perceived gaps in Preparedness, Protection, Response, and Recovery, and start creating turning points for change.

CRITICAL ELEMENTS FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE PREPAREDNESS (READY FOR ANY COMPLEX EVENT) PROTECTION (BUILD ESSENTIAL AND CRITICAL FACILITIES TO WITHSTAND) PREPAREDNESS (READY FOR ANY COMPLEX EVENT) PROTECTION (BUILD ESSENTIAL AND CRITICAL FACILITIES TO WITHSTAND)

CRITICAL ELEMENTS FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE RESPONSE (SAVING LIVES, AND ENSURING CONTINUITY) RECOVERY (BOUNCING BACK QUICKLY AND RESUMING LIFE AGAIN) RESPONSE (SAVING LIVES, AND ENSURING CONTINUITY) RECOVERY (BOUNCING BACK QUICKLY AND RESUMING LIFE AGAIN)

BENEFITS OF AN EDUCATIONAL SURGE Intensifies efforts to protect essential (schools) and critical (hospitals, dams, transportation, systems, and power plants) facilities.

EDUCATIONAL SURGES CREATE TURNING POINTS FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE ALL SECTORS OF SOCIETY INFORMED IGNORANCE TO ENLIGHTENMENT APATHY TO EMPOWERMENT BOUNDARIES TO NETWORKS STATUS QUO TO GOOD POLITICAL DECISIONS EDUCATIONAL SURGES WILL INCREASE KNOWLEDGE OF A COM- MUNITY’S RISK EDUCATIONAL SURGES WILL INCREASE KNOWLEDGE OF A COM- MUNITY’S RISK

TURNING POINTS FOR CHANGE NEW RESOURCES NEW DELIVERY MECHANISMS NEW PROFESSIONAL LINKAGES NEW LEGISLATIVE MANDATES NEW DIALOGUE ON BUILDING A CULTURE OF DISASTER- RISK REDUCTION EDUCATIONAL SURGES WILL RESULT IN …

EDUCATIONAL SURGE ADD VALUE INCREASE AWARENESS INCREASE UNDERSTANDING INCREASE POLITICAL WILL BUILD EQUITY AN EDUCATIONAL SURGE WILL

BENEFITS OF EDUCATIONAL SURGES EXPAND CAPABILITY IMPROVE DELIVERY MECHANISMS OVERCOME UNIVERSAL BARRIERS CREATE TURNING POINTS OF CHANGE INCREASE COMMUNITY DISASTER RESILIENCE EDUCATIONAL SURGES

WILDFIRES IN FLORIDA FEBRUARY 28-MARCH 4, 2011

WILDFIRES CAN CAUSE HIGH-RISK SITUATIONS Any wildfire can be devas- tating to people, and their health, property, infrastructure, business enterprise, community, and environment.

WILDFIRE HAZARDS (AKA POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS) FIRE HOT GASES AND SMOKE HOT SPOTS BURNED OUT SLOPES (with increased susceptibility to insect infestation, erosion, and landslides)

WILDFIRE HAZARDS (AKA POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS) HIGH WINDS LOCAL CHANGES IN AIR QUALITY LOCAL CHANGES IN WEATHER

THE CONDITIONS IN 2011 WERE FAVORABLE FOR WILDFIRES In 2010, Florida had the driest July to December on record, and parts of Florida had their driest winter months in 2011 in nearly 80 years.

RISK FACTORS: FLORIDA The absence in 2010 of the usual number of tropical storm systems that make landfall in Florida left the land dry and low water tables, two factors that increased the likelihood of wildfires, and, along with high winds, exacerbated risk..

WILDFIRES RAGED OUT OF CONTROL IN WEST TEXAS AND TEXAS PANHAMDLE DROUGHT AND WIND EXACERBATED WILDFIRES, WHICH SCORCHED 80, ,000 ACRES MARCH 12 - APRIL 11, 2011

WILDFIRE IN TEXAS PANHANDLE Billowing smoke caused by a wildfire in the Texas Panhandle near Borger, Texas, Sunday, March 12, 2006.

WILDFIRE IN TEXAS PANHANDLE Flames reach heights of feet as a wildfire rages on Sunday, March 12, 2006 near Borger, Texas.

FIRE FIGHTERS CAME FROM OTHER STATES TO HELP Fire fighters from 25 states joined together in a joint effort to bring a dozen fires under control.

PROBLEMS FOR FIRE FIGHTERS Hot, windy conditions and low humidity, combined with withered shrubs and grasses caused by the drought, made fire fighting more dangerous than usual.

PROBLEMS FOR FIRE FIGHTERS Air tankers usually used to douse massive fires like these could not be flown because of wind gusts of 66 to 60 kph (40 to 50 mph) on some days.

WILDFIRES BURNED OVER 1 MILLION ACRES OF DROUGHT-STRICKEN TEXAS URGENCY OF THE SITUATION LED TO FIREFIGHTERS FROM OTHER STATES BEING CALLED IN TO HELP APRIL 11-19, 2011

EVACUATION More than 1,900 people from seven counties were evacuated.

POSSUM KINGDOM LAKE RECREATIONAL AREA IMPACTED Fires at the Possum Kingdom Lake, the latest area to be impacted by wildfires, have encroached to within about 130 km (70 mi) of the Fort Worth side of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area.

CALL FOR HELP Texas called for help from other states because the fire, one of several across Texas, had burned 1 million acres of land in a little more than a week, was now threatened the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

WILDFIRE NEAR STRAWN, TEXAS: APRIL 18, 2011

ONE HOUSE OUT OF 33 ESCAPES WILDFIRE NEAR STRAWN, TEXAS

TANKER PLANE FIGHTING WILDFIRE: APRIL 18, 2011

THREE-DOZEN WILDFIRES WERE BURNING IN PARTS OF ARIZONA, NEW MEXICO, COLORADO, CALIFORNIA, TEXAS, AND GEORGIA June 2011

JUNE WAS “2011’s FIRE SEASON” IN THE WEST  Exacerbated by high temperatures, high winds, and recent drought, more than 1.2 million acres were burned.  Some of Arizona’s eleven wildfires that burned over one-half million acres, may have been started by illegal immigrants.

ARIZONA: JUNE 8, 2011

EVACUATIONS About 10,000 Arizonans were forced to evacuate their homes as wildfires consumed large parts of the state. Some people refused to evacuate.

ARIZONA’S WATER WHEEL FIRE

WORKING THE MONUMENT WILDFIRE About 1,000 firefighters from across the USA were on the lines, and hundreds of state and local police and others were simultaneously facilitating evacuation and meeting the needs of the people.

ARIZONA’S MONUMENT FIRE: JUNE 19

HIGH WINDS Winds of 30 mph that gusted to 50 mph on the ridges hindered firefighting from the air as well as on the ground, increasing the time needed to achieve significant containment.

SIXTY-THREE NEW WILDFIRES WERE BURNING IN TEXAS Conditions Exacerbated by Wind and Low Relative Humidity from Tropical Storm Lee SEPTEMER

Since the beginning of the wildfire season, Texas had dealt with over 20,900 fires that destroyed more than 1,000 homes and burned 3.6 million acres (1.46 million hectares).

SMITHVILLE, TX FIRE

BASTROP, TX FIRE: EVACUATIONS UNDERWAY

EXACERBATING CONDITIONS IN TEXAS  In addition to the continuing drought conditions, the fires were exacerbated by heat, high winds and low relative humidity from Tropical Storm Lee.

CALL FOR HELP ANSWERED Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS) strike teams were mobilized. National Guard Blackhawk helicopters were made available. Heavy air tankers from South Dakota and California were sent.

TOWARDS WILDFIRE DISASTER RESILIENCE IN YOUR COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS PROTECTION RESPONSE RECOVERY

STRICKEN COMMUNITY DATA BASES AND INFORMATION HAZARDS: GROUND SHAKING GROUND FAILURE SURFACE FAULTING TECTONIC DEFORMATION TSUNAMI RUN UP AFTERSHOCKS HAZARD MAPS INVENTORY VULNERABILITY LOCATION RISK ASSESSMENT RISK ACCEPTABLE RISK UNACCEPTABLE RISK FOCUS ON FOUR CRITICAL AREAS BEST POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR: PREPAREDNESS PROTECTION RESPONSE & RECOVERY DISASTER RESILIENCE

LIGHTNING STRIKES WILDFIRES MAN-MADE FIRES PROXIMITY OF URBAN AREA TO THE WILDLAND FIRE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION (DAY/NIGHT) DRYNESS HIGH TEMPERATURES LOCAL FUEL SUPPLY CAUSES OF DAMAGE DISASTER LABORATORIES

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES FOR COPING WITH WILDFIRES

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES FOR FIGHTING WILDFIRES FORECASTS OF WEATHER CONDITIONS MONITORING TECHNOLOGIES (E.G., REMOTE SENSING, TEMPERATURE, HUMIDITY, WINDS) WARNING SYSTEMS EVACUATION FORECASTS OF WEATHER CONDITIONS MONITORING TECHNOLOGIES (E.G., REMOTE SENSING, TEMPERATURE, HUMIDITY, WINDS) WARNING SYSTEMS EVACUATION DATABASES FOR PAST WILDFIRES COMPUTER MODELS OF WILDFIRES MAPS; ZONING DISASTER SCENARIOS HAZARD ASSESSMENTS RISK ASSESSMENTS DATABASES FOR PAST WILDFIRES COMPUTER MODELS OF WILDFIRES MAPS; ZONING DISASTER SCENARIOS HAZARD ASSESSMENTS RISK ASSESSMENTS

NATURAL HAZARDS FOR WHICH EVACUATION IS TYPICAL FLOODS HURRICANES TYPHOONS TSUNAMIS VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS WILDFIRES HIGH BENEFIT/COST FOR SAVING LIVES, BUT LOW BEMEFIT/COST FOR PROTECTING PROPERTY GOAL: MOVE PEOPLE OUT OF HARM’S WAY

POLICY ADOPTION RISK ASSESSMENT VULNERABILITYVULNERABILITY EXPOSUREEXPOSURE EVENTEVENT POLICY ASSESSMENT COSTCOST BENEFITBENEFIT CONSEQUENCESCONSEQUENCES TOWARDS WILDFIRE DISASTER RESILIENCE WILDFIRESWILDFIRES EXPECTED LOSS