ESTONIAN RESCUE BOARD (ERB)
2020 will see a new project implemented by the AHA Centre known as LACER – or Shortening the Learning Curve of AHA Centre through Support from EU Civil Protection Agencies.
LACER’s specific objectives are to (1) strengthen the capacity and sustainability of the AHA Centre towards achieving operational excellence in disaster monitoring, preparedness and emergency response, and; (2) to enhance mechanisms for ASEAN leadership to respond as one, through excellence and innovation in disaster management.
As seen in the Column Volume 58, the LACER – or Shortening the Learning Curve of AHA Centre through Support from EU Civil Protection Agencies project will be implemented through a consortium led by the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), alongside the Estonian Rescue Board (ERB). In Volume 58’s Partnership article we learnt about the MSB, therefore for this issue we will take a further look into the ERB.
ESTONIAN RESCUE BOARD (ERB)
The Estonian Rescue Board is a public authority under the Estonian Ministry of the Interior. ERB employs over 2,100 people making it the third-largest public sector institution in Estonia. The ERB operates within five key areas, being prevention, safety surveillance, rescue work, explosive ordnance disposal, and emergency management.
As an emergency management authority the ERB has been involved as a partner in developing the emergency services of several disaster-prone nations in the European region, such as working supporting Armenia, Georgia, Moldova and the Ukraine. ERB offers expert knowledge in national and international disaster management and logistics, and delivers training, exercises, advisory services and mentoring to its partners. Depending on the context, ERB can also mobilise external experts from different fields of specialisation for international deployment to disaster, usually within areas such as ICT, health, education and civil engineering.
The ERB has departments that develop, plan and manage activities, as well as Regional Rescue Centres and the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Centre that implements the activities in the field. North, South, East and West Regional Rescue Centres undertake tasks such as day-to-day rescue work, fire safety surveillance, emergency prevention, and crisis management.
ERB is actively involved in European Union cooperation, and is an active member in Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM), and has experts in the Union Civil Protection Team (UCPT) and Urban Search and Rescue (USAR), as well as in the European Civil Protection Pool (ECPP). The ERB is an active partner of the International Humanitarian Partnership (IHP), of which it currently sits as chairman until the end of 2020.
The LACER Project is the first consortium project across region involving the AHA Centre, MSB and ERB on Disaster Management Capacity building.
Written by : Ina Rachmawati | Photo : AHA Centre
PANDEMICS
THROUGHOUT HISTORY
We have begun the new decade with a significant and complex challenge, as the entire world comes face-to-face with the Coronavirus pandemic. While this may form a new context for many nations and people, it is only the most recent of many pandemics that have challenges the human race throughout history. Each pandemic’s impact on health, livelihoods and other areas may have varied, however the all hold one defining similarity. They require a global response that prioritises human life and looks out for the vulnerable, similar to many aspects of natural disaster. As the AHA Centre explores its role within this new challenge, we take a look back over some of the key pandemics faced throughout history – and particularly in recent times.
Black Death / Bubonic Plague (1347-1351)
The bubonic plague is famous for its spread during a time that sea travel and ports were major links between countries and continents. Thought to have spread through rats and fleas, the plague (or Black Death as its more commonly known), moved across Europe, Africa and Asia killing anywhere between 75 to 200 million people over a number of years.
Smallpox (1520-1980)
The smallpox pandemic had a significant impact on native populations across the American continent, brought and spread by conquerors, adventurers and settlers into new and foreign lands. In the 1500’s the Aztecs experienced significant decimation, while it is also estimated that the disease killed 90% of native Americans in general. By the 1800’s the disease was still prevalent, and was killing around 400,000 people per year in Europe. As a result, the first ever vaccine created was to deal with smallpox, with its eradication finally complete by 1980.
Spanish Flu (1918-1919)
The smallpox pandemic had a significant impact on native populations across the American continent, brought and spread by conquerors, adventurers and settlers into new and foreign lands. In the 1500’s the Aztecs experienced significant decimation, while it is also estimated that the disease killed 90% of native Americans in general. By the 1800’s the disease was still prevalent, and was killing around 400,000 people per year in Europe. As a result, the first ever vaccine created was to deal with smallpox, with its eradication finally complete by 1980.
Asian Flu (1957-1958)
The smallpox pandemic had a significant impact on native populations across the American continent, brought and spread by conquerors, adventurers and settlers into new and foreign lands. In the 1500’s the Aztecs experienced significant decimation, while it is also estimated that the disease killed 90% of native Americans in general. By the 1800’s the disease was still prevalent, and was killing around 400,000 people per year in Europe. As a result, the first ever vaccine created was to deal with smallpox, with its eradication finally complete by 1980.
Hong Kong Flu (1968-1970)
Ten years after the Asian Flu came the Hong Kong Flu, with the initial outbreak in Hong Kong quickly moving into Singapore and Vietnam. Within a few months cases were detected across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Australia and the United States, resulting in the deaths of over a million people worldwide. Even with a low death rate of around 0.5%, the pandemic did take the lives of around 500,000 people in Hong Kong itself, which was around 15% of the city’s population during the late 1960’s.
HIV AIDS (1981-Present)
HIV AIDS first appeared in Africa during 1976, and has gone on to form one of humankind’s greatest pandemic challenges for many decades. The disease has killed more than 36 million people since 1981, and has infected an estimated 5% of the total sub-Saharan African population. While awareness and treatments have grown and improved, and deaths and sickness have decreased with medicinal improvements, there is still no vaccine for the blood and sexually-transmitted disease, and it continues to be transmitted across the world.
Swine Flu (2009-2010)
The second pandemic from the H1N1 virus (the first being the Spanish Flu), Swine Flu resulted from a mix of flu strains during previous years. Killing a relatively smaller amount of people in comparison to other pandemics (200,000 deaths), there are studies that approximate the infection of between 700 million to 1.4 billion people across the world – which equates to up to 20% of the overall population at the time.
Ebola (2014-2016)
Having gone through a number of outbreaks since it was first discovered in 1976, Ebola became a serious pandemic in West Africa during 2014-2016. Spreading through contact with body fluids from humans and animals, this extremely deadly disease kills anywhere between 25-90% of people it infects, with an average of 50% death rate since its discovery. A vaccine was approved in 2019, with the hope that such advances can completely eradicate the deadly disease that killed over 11,300 during the 2014-16 pandemic.
Written by : William Shea | Source : https://jmvh.org and The Conversation
MONTHLY DISASTER REVIEW AND OUTLOOK
MARCH 2020 | DISASTER MONITORING & ANALYSIS
(DMA) UNIT, AHA CENTRE
GENERAL REVIEW OF MARCH 2020
The month of March ended the first quarter of 2020, with a small reduction (11%) of disaster occurrences when compared to the five-year average for the month, with a majority of the recorded disasters formed by flooding events. The number of people affected remained similar to the March average, with a substantial amount due to the storms that occurred in Viet Nam during the first and third weeks of the month, as well as from multiple localised flood events and landslides in Indonesia. While impact numbers remained steady, the was a significant decrease in numbers of displaced persons – which was measured at a 63% decrease compared to the five-year average. On the other hand, damaged house statistics rose to over 10 times the five-year average. This overwhelming increase can be attributed again to the storms and flooding in Indonesia and Viet Nam. Human casualties also measured only 27.27% of the five-year average, with a number of deaths caused by storms in the northeastern provinces of Thailand, where lightning strikes took the lives of three individuals. Additionally, week-long rains, thunderstorms and tornadoes in in the northern provinces of Viet Nam also caused a number of fatalities. Substantial decreases to missing and injured persons were also recorded for the month. According to the Climate Forecast System (CFS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), average precipitation values for the month of March 2020 showed a 50 to 100 millimetre increase across northeastern parts of Thailand, northern parts of Viet Nam, and the islands of Java, Sulawesi and Kalimantan in Indonesia. This increase potentially stands as a key cause of the significant increases to affected people and damaged houses. Such figures also highlight the perennial problem flooding in Indonesia, as well as the importance of the availability and accessibility of early warning information. The significant amounts of damaged houses also highlights the importance of climate change-adaptive and resilient structures.
Related to geophysical activity, 26 earthquakes of magnitudes greater than or equal to 5.0M were recorded for the month of March 2020. Contrary to the first two months of the year that saw no significant earthquake events reported, the month of March saw one earthquake that resulted in a minor disaster event in Indonesia. The earthquake registered a magnitude of 4.9M, but was enough to rock the western parts of Java causing 3 injuries and damage to 202 houses. No tsunami warning was issued by BMKG as the epicenter was located underneath land, with the earthquake recorded on a strike-slip fault where two tectonic plates moved in parallel but opposite directions to one another.
SEASONAL OUTLOOK
According to the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC), inter-monsoon conditions (that typically span from April until May) are expected over the region, which is described as the transition between the Northeast and Southwest Monsoons. This inter-monsoon condition is expected to gradually transition to the Southwest Monsoon around the end of May or early June. The inter-monsoon conditions are characterised by increased occurrence of scattered rain showers in the region, higher probabilities of thunderstorms, and intensification of lightning activity. Despite the expected inter-monsoon conditions for the period of April to June 2020, the ASMC expects below-normal rainfall in ASEAN regionals areas north of the equator. This should bring about warmer-than-normal conditions for Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, and the northern Sumatra and Kalimantan islands of Indonesia. While the amount of forecasted rainfall may not be alarming, the region should still be cautious for thunderstorms, lightning activity, and increased occurrence of scattered rain showers that are characteristic of inter-monsoon conditions. Increased exposure to, and occurrence of, localised rainfall may still cause flooding and rain-induced landslides.
With warmer and drier conditions predicted in the Mekong sub-region, hotspot activities are expected to remain elevated and the prevailing haze is likely to persist despite the inter-monsoon conditions. Hotspot activities are expected to remain subdued with localised hotspot activities and haze emerging occasionally. Towards June, prevailing winds change in direction from northeast to southwest, which is known as the Southwest Monsoon season, itself characterised by the direction of winds from sea to land. These winds are known to carry more moisture, coming from the sea, and causing more rain.
Data Sources: ASEAN Disaster Information Network, ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre
Written by : Keith Landicho and Lawrence Anthony Dimailig
DISCLAIMER
Disclaimer: AHA Centre’s estimation is based on data and information shared by National Disaster Management Organisations (NDMOs) and other relevant agencies from ASEAN Member States, international organisations and news agencies. Further information on each recorded-significant disaster, description and detail of data and information are available at: http://adinet.ahacentre.org/reports.
IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON THE AHA CENTRE:
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is having an effect on everyone. By the end of March 2020, the number of global cases has reached more than 50,000 per day. In Southeast Asia, although the case numbers remain relatively low, many countries have taken precautionary measures, such as limiting travel from countries that are heavily affected by the outbreak.
The AHA Centre has also been heavily affected by the pandemic, although fortunately no staff has been infected by the virus so far. However, as a regional organisation, many of the AHA Centre’s activities include travel and engagements across the region. Therefore, travel restrictions have caused the Centre to postpone or cancel some programmes and events that has been planned. Some activities being postponed for 2020 include batch 7 of the ACE Programme, ASEAN-ERAT trainings, and the ASEAN Regional Disaster Emergency Response Simulation Exercise (ARDEX).
Alongside this, the Government of Indonesia (the host of the AHA Centre’s office) implemented social distancing measures on March 15th, as part of the efforts to contain the spread of the virus. These included requests for all businesses and organisations to implement work-from-home conditions, to which the AHA Centre responded immediately by initiating work-from-home arrangements to ensure the health and well-being of staff and the wider community.
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
The AHA Centre faces a significant challenge in adapting to this ‘new normal’. This includes significant re-alignment in working approaches as staff switch from office-based to home-based environments. As an organisation that is very reliant to collaboration among staff as well as with ASEAN Member States and partners, the challenge lies in finding the best online working method that accommodates the collaborative nature of the work.
There are, however, two sides to any disaster, even in situations such as the pandemic. The Centre has identified an opportunity to realise a long-standing vision of becoming a smart office that utilises various collaborative technological tools. Part of this vision is to apply near-to-zero waste and minimal utilisation no papers. However, the pandemic situation has forced the AHA Centre to make these necessary changes, as part of its overall adaptation to the new normal.
Adjustments have also included the utilisation of video conferencing tools for meetings, as well as other tools to facilitate sharing and collaboration. Additionally, the AHA Centre has also moved all of its administrative, financial and human resource processes fully online.
Some challenges still remain of course, including the reality that nothing can fully replace direct face-to-face interaction. However, the Centre aims to remain productive, while at the same time protecting staff’s health and well-being. While we hope for the end of the pandemic situation, we also appreciate that some of these changes and adjustments will continue, and that will be for the benefit of our work in the future.
Written by : Dipo Summa | Photo Credit : AHA Centre