DISASTER RISK REDUCTION A PRIMER OF KNOWLEDGE THAT CAN MULTIPLY AND SPILL OVER FOR THE BENEFIT OF MILLIONS Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, University of North Carolina, USA

REMEMBERING 2O10: Part I. JANUARY – MARCH REDUCTION OF EL NINO, EARTHQUAKES, MUDFLOWS, EUROPEAN WINDSTORM, NOR’EASTER, VOLCANIC ERUPTION, AND FLOODS,

IMPACTED NATIONS Caribbean Nations, China, Haiti, Chile, Indonesia, France, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Germany, Turkey, China, …

IMPACTED NATIONS (continued) … Madeira (Portugal), USA (California, North Dakota, Minnesota, Mid-Atlantic States), Brazil, Peru, Russia, Mexico, Iceland (Europe,---), Taiwan

SOCIETAL IMPACTS DURING 2010 Over two hundred- twenty thousand people killed and even more injured. Millions of homes without power, damaged, destroyed, or inundated. Tens of millions displaced, and the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of millions adversely affected. Millions without adequate water

SOCIETAL IMPACTS DURING 2010 (Continued) Infrastructure damaged and destroyed. Health care needs sharply increased. $ Tens of billions in insured and uninsured economic losses. $ 2 Billion lost from disrupted air traffic

El Nino created favorable con- ditions for floods, Nor’easters, an increase in Pacific storms, AND a decrease in Atlantic storms and drought in the Caribbean.

DROUGHT THE CARIBBEAN WESTERN CHINA

CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES FACING DROUGHT DURING 2010 DROUGHT ATTRIBUTED TO EL NIÑO

DROUGHT CONDITIONS EXCERBATED BY EL NIÑO El Niño causes warming of the Pacific Ocean, which in turn causes Atlantic and Caribbean waters to be cooler.

SAINT LUCIA BARBADOS SAINT VINCENT and the GRENADINES GRENADA ANTIGUA and BARBUDA JAMACIA GUYANA TRINIDAD and TOBAGO CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES EXPRIENCING DROUGHT IN 2010

DROUGHT HAZARDS HIGHER TEMPERATURES LOWER HUMIDITY LESS WATER IN THE SYSTEM LOW WATER TABLES; VANISHING STREAMS, AND LAKES

After living with worsening drought conditions from October 2009 to January 2010, the Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (CIHM) in St. James, Barbados, issued drought alerts for the Eastern Caribbean.

In 2009 the Saint Lucia Met Office indicated that the rainfall for September 2009 was the lowest on record for Castries since 1967 and the 5 th lowest for Vieux Fort Since 1973.

Regional technical specialists classify this situation as an agricultural drought (short term), although each country has communities that are already severely impacted.

Unusually dry conditions are presently causing bush fires in Trinidad and Saint Lucia, raising concern about watershed damage and the potential increase in flood risks later in 2010 and future years.

During the last half of 2009, severely dry conditions were experienced in Grenada, causing an increased demand for irrigation water, a reduction in stream flow, and a depletion of water resources.

PROLONGED LACK OF PRECIPITATION DROUGHTS LOSS OF SOIL MOSTURE LOSS OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY DEPLETION/POLLUTION OF GROUND WATER LOSS OF VEGETATION INSECT INFESTATION LOSS OF LAND FROM DESERTIFICATION CAUSES OF RISK DISASTER LABORATORIES

DROUGHT RISKS LOSS OF LIFE: PEOPLE AND LIVESTOCK LOSS OF LIVELIHOODS LOSS OF HABITAT (e.g., from desertification) BRUSH FIRES AND POSSIBLE FAMINE

RISK REDUCTION IN THE CARIBBEAN

EXAMPLE: Guyana is living with water shortages that are now adversely affecting 10,000 acres of rice land as well as livestock and other crops.

All the governments in the drought- affected countries have issued alerts to their populations and have begun promoting water conservation measures

EXAMPLE: Since the drought started, Guyana has allocated $1.2 million US dollars in infrastructure (e.g., drainage and irrigation systems) to support farmers countrywide.

Guyana has allocated resources to raise awareness among farmers that scarce resources need to be shared during this difficult time and provided information on dietary supplements, molasses, feed and vetenary assistance.

17 MILLION IN WESTERN CHINA WITHOUT ADEQUATE WATER Drought has gripped huge areas of Guizhou, Yunnan, and Sichuan provinces, the Guangxi region, and the mega-city of Chongqing since September, 2009, with rainfall now 60 % below normal

DROUGHT IN KUNMING, CHINA

EARTHQUAKES HAITI CHILE TURKEY INDONESIA CHINA TAIWAN

M7.0 EARTHQUAKE STRIKES HAITI THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE’S POOREST NATION WITH 8 IN 10 AT POVERTY LEVEL 4:53 p.m.; JANUARY 12, 2010

THE HAITI EARTHQUAKE AND THE CARIBBEAN PLATE

PORT AU PRINCE: 1.8 MILLION IN A NATION OF NINE MILLION

DAMAGE DISTRIBUTION

SOCIETAL IMPACTS The lives of 3 million+ Haitians were adversely impacted. The Dominion Republic, Haiti’s neighbor, which experienced a M8.0 earthquake and tsunami in 1946 on a thrust fault, escaped with minimal impacts, but remains at high risk in future quakes.

CATASTROPHIC DEATH TOLL OF 220,000+ The estimate of 220,000+ casualties became reality after burial in mass graves and search and rescue by Haitian and Int’l teams ended, and the rubble of thousands of collapsed buildings was cleared.

EXAMPLE OF DAMAGE: PORT AU PRINCE

COLLAPSE OF UN BUILDING; PORT AU PRINCE

DEATH TOLL REACHED AN ESTIMATED 220,OOO+

INFRASTRUCTURE DAMAGE Power was knocked out. Communication was disrupted. Utility service was interrupted. Roads were damaged. The airport’s control tower was badly damaged, limiting useage. The port was damaged.

PORT: TOPPLED CONTAINERS

M8.8 EARTHQUAKE STRIKES CENTRAL CHILE: 3:34 am on February 27, 2010 Subduction Zone Quake 500 Times More Energy than the M7.0 Haiti Quake 800+ Deaths; 500+ Injured Numerous Aftershocks Tsunami Waves Travel Across Pacific Estimated Loss: $30 Billion

LOCATION: 330 KM (200 MI) FROM SANTIAGO

LOCATION: 100 KM FROM CONCEPCION; 330 KM FROM SANTIAGO

The Chilean people had to cope with the demands associated with: 1) a mega-quake, 2) a vigorous aftershock sequence with large events, 3) tsunami wave run up, 4) looting by some of the affluent sector, and 5) recovery after the loss of 15 percent of the GDP.

DAMAGED BUILDING IN CONCEPCION

CONCEPCION: URGENT MASS CARE NEEDS

CONCEPCION: LOOTERS

CONCEPCION: ELEVATED HIGHWAY COLLAPSED

TSUNAMI (after the Chile earthquake) LOCAL AND PACIFIC- WIDE IMPACTS FROM THE FEBRUARY 27, 2010 CHILE EARTHQUAKE

TSUNAMI WAVES MOVE ACROSS THE PACIFIC

LOCAL TSUNAMI DAMAGE

M6.1 EARTHQUAKE STRIKES EASTERN TURKEY AT 4:32 AM THREE VILLAGES DESTROYED ALONG WITH MANY FARM ANIMALS AT LEAST 57 DEAD MARCH 8, 2010

Turkey has a long history of damaging earthquakes.

The quake struck the in Elazig province at 4:32 am, leaving the village of Okcular and two others devastated.

LOCATION MAP

The earthquake occurred near the intersection of the Northern Anatolian and the East Anatolian faults.

NORTH AND EAST ANATOLIAN FAULTS

The pre-dawn earthquake struck as residents slept, shaking the poorly made buildings into piles of rubble and causing survivors to flee into the narrow streets to escape the aftershocks.

OKCULAR: POOR CONSTRUCTION

TRAPPED WHILE SLEEPING

LANDSLIDES MACHU PICCHU SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA MADEIRA RIO DE JANEIRO TAIWAN

RAIN AND MUDSLIDES IN MACHU PICCHU 2,500 TOURISTS STRANDED JANUARY 28, 2010

On January 28, 2010, rain and mudflows devastated the homes of thousands of Peruvians living in the vicinity of Machu Picchu and created havoc for tourists visiting Machu Picchu and the Peruvian authorities.

MACHU PICCHU

Peruvian authorities used helicopters to airlift some of the foreign tourists trapped by rain and mudslides that killed seven people visiting the famed Inca ruins.

MUDFLOWS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: FEB 6, 2010 THE INTERSECTION OF HEAVY RAINFALL IN FIRST WINTER STORM OF 2010 AND BURNED OUT AREAS FROM WILDFIRES OF 2009 INCREASED RISK

FACT: MUDSLIDES INCREASE AFTER WILDFIRES

As the first storm of the 2010 season moved into Southern California, the National Weather Service issued flash-flood watches and mudflow warnings for wildfire- burn zones in mountain areas from Santa Barbara to San Bernardino counties.

This storm tapped into subtropical moisture, giving it the potential to bring moderate to heavy rain and create significant hazards of flash flooding and debris flows, especially in the 2009 burn areas of Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

WILDFIRE BURN AREAS ARE VULNERABLE TO MUDFLOWS

SANDBAGS: FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE AGAINST FLOODING

K-RAILS: FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE AGAINST MUDFLOWS

FLASH FLOODS AND MUDSLIDES IN THE MADEIRA ISLANDS, PORTUGAL AT LEAST 42 DEAD FEBRUARY 20-21, 2010

LOCATION OF MADEIRA

WHAT HAPPENED The worst storm to hit Madeira since 1993 lashed the south of the Atlantic Ocean island, including the capital, Funchal, Saturday, turning some streets into torrents of mud, water and debris.

WHAT HAPPENED (continued) The flash floods were so powerful they carved paths down mountains and ripped through the city, churning under some bridges and tearing others down.

FEBRUARY 21: FLASH FLOOD

FEBRUARY 21

WHAT HAPPENED (continued) Funchal’s residents and visitors had to contend with a lack of fresh water as a result of destroyed infrastructure.

FEBRUARY 21

SEVERE WINDSTORMS Nor’easter Xynthia Hurricane Alex

NOR’EASTER: FEBRUARY 5, 2010

WINDSTORM XYNTHIA FEBRUARY 26-28, 2010

WHAT WAS XYNTHIA? Xynthia, a violent European windstorm with winds up to 140km/hr that crossed Western Europe on 26–28 February 2010, was the most violent storm since Lothar and Martin in December 1999

A powerful storm surge with waves up to 7.5 m (25 ft) high hit at high tide and smashed through a 200- year-old sea wall off France’s coastal town of L’Aiquillon-Sur-Mer

XYNTHIA: FLOODING IN FRANCE

Xynthia: 1) caused flooding, 2) cut power to more than 1 million homes in France and Portugal, respectively, 3) disrupted travel in Spain, 4) tore roofs off houses, 5) downed trees, 6) caused at least 51 deaths, and 7) caused losses estimated at $1.8 B ($1.4 insured).

FLOODS RUSSIA (SIBERIA) NORTH DAKOTA AND MINNESOTA, BRAZIL

FLOODS IN RUSSIA MARCH 2010 SPRING RUNOFF AFTER A HARSH WINTER INCREASES FLOOD RISKS ACROSS RUSSIA

LOCATION MAP

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned that thousands of Russian towns and villages could be affected by "unusually strong" spring floods as record snowfall melts after the harshest winter in years.

Weather reports are warning of "catastrophic" floods in Siberia, where river ice is up to several meters thick, and rivers flowing northward routinely surge with melting water.

Military planes and helicopters are helping to cope with floods in the basins of the Ob, Angara, Yenisei, Lena and Amur Rivers by carrying out surveillance missions and breaking up ice jams.

Civil defense officials said many of the casualties were the result of 180 landslides in the hillside slums that ring the hilly metropolitan area of 16 million people.

LOCATION MAP SHOWING THE THREE GREAT SIBERIAN RIVERS

The Ob River, the country's fourth longest river and the longest estuary in the world, is a major river in western Siberia.

The Yenisei River, which drains a large portion of central Siberia, is the greatest river system flowing northward to the Arctic Ocean.

The Lena River is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean (the other two being the Ob River and the Yenisei river) is the 10 th longest river in the world.

FLOODING IN SIBERIA

FLOODING IN KAZAKHSTAN

FLOODING SOUTH OF KAZAKHSTAN

NORTH DAKOTA, SOUTH DAKOTA, AND MINNESOTA EXPERIENCE MAJOR FLOODING MARCH 28-30, 2009

NORTH DAKOTA PREPARING FOR A RECURRING FLOOD DISASTER AGAIN MARCH 15, 2010 WORKING TO PREVENT A REPEAT OF 2009’S RECORD FLOOD STAGE

NORTH DAKOTA AND MINNESOTA FORCED TO FIGHT MAJOR FLOODING ON RED RIVER AGAIN MARCH 2010

REASONS FOR FLOODING MARCH-APRIL, 2010 THE ANNUAL FLOODING THREAT TO FARGO, ND AND MOORHEAD, MN IS TRIGGERED BY:  1) The Spring melt and runoff, AFTER  2) A severe Winter.

1.Synchrony of river discharge with Spring runoff 2.Ice jams

3.Lake Agassiz, a glacial lake, is the floodplain of the Red River 4.A sharp decrease in river gradient makes the Fargo- Moorhead area act like a large lake.

2010: MELT AND RUNOFF

THE “SLOW” WAY OF MAKING SANDBAGS

THE “SPIDER” CAN MAKE 5,000 SANDBAGS PER HOUR

HALSTAD, MN: 4 FT BELOW 2009’S RECORD OF 40.5 FT

FARGO, ND: THE RED RIVER CRESTS 4 FT BELOW RECORD ON MARCH 21

REGIONAL GOVERNMENTS TO EMBARK ON A 10-YEAR, $1.3 BILLION FLOOD CONTROL PROJECT A 60 KM (36-MILE) – LONG NEW RIVER CHANNEL IS EXPECTED TO SOLVE THE RECURRING THREAT

Many neighborhoods were cut off from power and transport, and flights in and out of the city, which will host the 2014 soccer World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, were canceled or seriously delayed.