LANDSLIDE
PREPAREDNESS TIPS
Landslides are a common occurrence in the ASEAN region – particularly when heavy monsoonal rains are in season. They are a complex event, often caused by a mix of extreme weather and unstable soil dynamics, with their onset more likely taking place quickly and unexpectedly. Adding to the complexity is the constant development of new human settlements and buildings, many of which take place without proper consideration to location and risks – as well as adding to the instability of surrounding ground and soil formations. Coupled with an ever-changing climate and unpredictable weather, landslides continue to increase in number and threaten the lives and livelihoods of communities across ASEAN. There are, however, some simple steps that everyday citizens can take to ensure they are better-prepared should a landslide occur in their immediate area, and armed with this knowledge be more resilient in the face of a dangerous landslide.
ASSESS RISK
While assessing the risk of landslides can be a scientific and technical process, there are some simple questions we can ask ourselves in order to identify landslide risks within our own homes and communities.
1. IS MY HOME BUILT IN A LANDSLIDE-POTENTIAL AREA?
High-risk areas for landslide are for homes on the side or at the bottom of steep hills, particularly in areas prone to heavy rains. Hilly areas that have been cleared of forest or experienced development (road or building) are also more susceptible to landslides, as are areas with visible water runoff flows.
2. HAVE THERE BEEN PREVIOUS LANDSLIDES IN MY AREA?
Landslides will often reoccur in a previous landslide location, due to the initial terrain and the increased instability due to the previous landslide. Aside from stories of previous landslides – alongside any registered occurrences – historic events can also be evidenced by fallen tree trunks, upheaved boulders and clear signs of land destruction.
3. ARE THERE VISIBLE SIGNS OF INSTABILITY, LEADING TO POTENTIAL LANDSLIDE IN THE FUTURE?
Cracks and crevices in land are strong signs of landslide potential, as are sunken areas of land or holes clearly caused by water drainage. Also look for structures (such as electricity poles or even buildings) that are leaning to the side, as this is a sure sign of land movement that could result in landslide.
FACING A LANDSLIDE
Although they can occur quickly and unexpectedly, there are a number of steps that everyday citizens can take to ensure they are better-prepared and ready to act should a landslide become imminent or occur at short notice.
1. READ THE ‘SIGNS’
Staying up-to-date with weather predictions and being prepared is imperative to ensure you can move at a moment’s notice. Keep a close eye on changes in your surroundings, and monitor any changes in land or surrounding environment that might point to an occurrence. Listen to heavy or other deep rumbling that may signify a landslide, and overall, if things don’t feel safe, follow your instinct and leave.
2. PREPARE AN EVACUATION PLAN
Most local governments will have a disaster evacuation plan, so make sure you learn it and share it with your family. Support this plan by making your own household evacuation plan – including what to do, each person’s responsibilities, and where to go if the time comes to evacuate.
3. READY A GRAB BAG
Having a Grab-Bag is imperative should you have to evacuate at short notice. Amongst other things, it should contain drinking water, nutritional food/snacks, spare warm clothes, a torch, a communication device, and important medication. It is best to place it in a waterproof bag, as evacuations from landslides will often take place in heavy rain and muddy conditions.
AFTER A LANDSLIDE
An area that has experienced a landslide may remain unstable for some time, however when it is considered safe to return, there are a number of things that require attention.
1. STAY AWAY
Initially, the safest option is to remain away from the landslide location, as to avoid being caught in any reoccurrence. You should look to authorities to provide assessment and information regarding when it is safe to return to your home after a landslide.
2. CHECK FOR INSTABILITY
Upon returning, survey your immediate area and check for signs of land instability surrounding your home. Check your home itself for cracks or shifts in the structure, as well as gas and electricity connections for signs of rupture. Do not stay in your home if there are still danger signs related to any of these things.
3. REPLANT DAMAGED GROUND
Longer-term, a great way to help avoid a landslide reoccurrence is to replant surrounding land with trees and bushes native to your area. This will help compact and stabilise the soil, as well as support draining and diverting groundwater runoff in future wet weather events.
Written by : William Shea | Photo : AHA Centre
MONTHLY DISASTER REVIEW AND OUTLOOK
AUGUST 2019 | DISASTER MONITORING & ANALYSIS
(DMA) UNIT, AHA CENTRE
GENERAL REVIEW OF AUGUST 2019
The total number of disasters during August 2019 was almost two times higher than the previous five-year average for August, potentially due to the existence of several low pressure systems that resulted in floods. Previously, a majority of floods were caused by the Southwest Monsoon rainfall. However, the total number of affected people during this month was only about 30% of the five-year average, possibly due to the significant size of previous disasters during the month of August. For example, the 2013 Tropical Storm Trami in the Philippines, and the 2018 earthquake in Lombok, Indonesia, each affected more than 3 million people. In addition, several massive floods occurred during August 2018 in the Philippines affecting another 3 million people, as a result of several tropical storms including Soulik, Karding, and Luis. On the other hand, the casualty figures for August 2019 were much higher than the five-year averages (with the number of deaths more than three times higher), primarily as a result of the deadly landslide that occurred in Paung Township (Mon State) during the Myanmar floods that was caused by monsoonal rains.
During August 2019 there were 29 earthquakes of at least magnitude 5.0 recorded in Indonesia, Myanmar and the Philippines, but these events caused no more than minor damage. In addition, several earthquake swarms were reported during August 2019 on Java island, Indonesia, near to the Indonesian volcanic arc formed from subduction interaction between the Indo-Australian plate and the Eurasian plate.
SEASONAL OUTLOOK
According to the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC), the Southwest Monsoon season typically persists until October, meaning the northern ASEAN region will likely continue to experience the rainy season, while dry conditions should continue to prevail over the southern ASEAN region. However, inter-monsoon conditions are forecast to start in late October, and are typically characterised by light and variable winds, including an increase in shower activities over the southern ASEAN region. In addition, above-average temperatures during the next three months of 2019 are expected over most parts of the ASEAN region, except for south of the equator, where near-average or below-average temperatures will likely occur. With drier-than-usual conditions forecast to persist over many parts of the southern ASEAN region, hotspot activities in the fire-prone Indonesian provinces of Sumatra and Kalimantan may escalate, and could lead to an increased risk of transboundary haze occurrence. While in the northern ASEAN region, hotspot activities are expected to remain generally subdued due to rainy weather.
To further develop and strengthen coordination to deal with the transboundary natural hazards in the ASEAN region – such as floods, droughts, and tropical cyclones – the AHA Centre participated in the 8th ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM) Working Group on Risk Assessment and Awareness (WG RAA) meeting held back to back with the Expert Dialogue on Scaling up Regional Cooperation in Multi-hazard Early Warning Systems in Asia-Pacific. This took place on the last week of August 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand, organised by the ASEAN Secretariat and co-organised by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).
Data Sources: ASEAN Disaster Information Network, ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre
Written by : Lawrence Anthony Dimailig, Shahasrakiranna, and Justin Chin Jin Jie
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.
ASEAN STRATEGIC POLICY DIALOGUE ON DISASTER MANAGEMENT (SPDDM) 2019:
BUILDING ASEAN’S RESILIENCY TO DISASTERS
Building on the success of 2018’s forum, the ASEAN Strategic Policy Dialogue on Disaster Management (SPDDM) 2019 turned its focus to the region’s resiliency in the face of disaster. Titled Building ‘ASEAN’s Resiliency to Disasters’, the 2019 SPDDM took place in Singapore on the 21st of August 2019, and was attended by some of the region and the world’s leading disaster management professionals. The event was co-organised by the ASEAN Secretariat, the AHA Centre, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), alongside the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies as the forum’s knowledge partner.
In 2018, the SPDDM focused on “Strengthening a Disaster Resilient ASEAN through Effective Cross-Sectoral Cooperation and Innovation”, with the theme of enhancing ASEAN’s disaster management capabilities through multi-sectoral engagement. 2019’s SPDDM continued on this track, aiming to develop discussions on how ASEAN how partnerships contribute toward building ASEAN’s resiliency in times of disasters, in line with ASEAN’s theme of ‘Partnership for Sustainability’ under Thailand’s Chairmanship in 2019. This topic pushes to continue building on ASEAN’s achievements to enhance resilience for communities and other stakeholders across the region. As part of the day’s discussions, participants and speakers discussed ongoing efforts to realise the ASEAN Vision 2025 on Disaster Management, with the range of inputs to act as a reference in the upcoming development of the AADMER Work Programme 2021 – 2025.
The forum was opened by Dr Ko Ko Naing, the Director-General of the Department of Disaster Management of Myanmar as this year Chair of the ASEAN Committee for Disaster Management (ACDM), in which he highlighted the importance of partnerships in reducing losses from disasters, and that the SPPDM could form a platform in which stakeholders could share and exchange their knowledge on the issues faced. During the speech Dr Ko Ko Naing also noted that the operationalisation of “One ASEAN, One Response” forms a key step to further building ASEAN’s resiliency to disasters. Mrs. Josephine Teo, Ministry of Manpower and Second Minister for Home Affairs of Singapore, followed-on by encouraging governments to be more resilient in the face of climate change and natural disasters, while highlighting the importance of sufficient resources being allocated to government agencies for disaster management efforts. Mrs. Teo also highlighted the importance of community engagement – particularly teaching people about the dangers and threats they are exposed to and how to deal with them – while highlighting several initiatives used in Singapore to raise awareness and capacity for the community in disaster management.
Following interesting speeches from other key representatives and organisers of the forum, a high-level discussion then took place on the topic of ‘ASEAN Resiliency: Forging Partnerships For Future Challenges’. Panellists engaged in the fruitful discussion included Ms. Cristelle Pratt, Deputy Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Dr Jemilah Mahmood, Under Secretary-General for Partnership at the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and Mr. Olabisi Dare, Head of Humanitarian Affairs, Refugees, and Internally Displaced Persons Division at the African Union. These panellists brought interesting perspective from outside of the ASEAN region, and highlighted efforts being taken in their own regions that could be of value to ASEAN.
The following session titled ‘ASEAN, sustainable Development and Disaster Impacts’, raised some of the contexts, challenges and learnings that would be applied to the ASEAN region on disaster management. Speakers included Mr. Kaveh Zahedi, Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), Ms. Lesley Jeanne Y. Cordero, Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist from the World Bank Group, Mr. Darren Klemm, Commissioner of Department of Fire and Emergency Services in the State of Western Australia, and Mr. Teong How Hwa, Deputy Commissioner (Future Technology and Public Safety) at the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
To round out the discussion sessions, the third thematic forum focused on “Adapting To Localisation as a New Norm In Humanitarian Response”, in which the AHA Centre’s Executive Director Ms. Adelina Kamal, moderated a range of participants through interesting insights on the application of local-based contexts and approaches to broad-scale disaster management efforts. The SPDDM was then capped-off with a range of questions and answer sessions regarding the content of earlier discussions and closing remarks from the Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC), Mr. Kung Phoak, that summed-up the day’s findings and the important points to be considered on behalf of the region as a whole.
Written by : William Shea | Photo : SCDF
WOMEN LEADERS
IN EMERGENCY RESPONSE
As part of the AHA Centre Executive (ACE) Programme, participants are engaged in a range of presentations from disaster management leaders who are at the forefront of their field in both ASEAN and beyond. In one of these recent sessions, women humanitarians became the central theme in a session focused on Women Leaders in Emergency Response: Challenges and Opportunity. ACE Programme participants and other interested listeners were privileged to hear from three of the region’s women leaders – namely Alexandre Jing Pura (Christian Aid, the Philippines), Rabeya Sultana (HelpAge International, Bangladesh), and Vanda Lengkong (Plan International Asia Region) – who shared their experiences, insights and knowledge from their work as humanitarian leaders in the emergency response sector. The session was moderated by the AHA Centre’s Executive Director Ms. Adelina Kamal, another leader in the region’s disaster management affairs.
The panel highlighted the importance of women’s leadership in disaster settings, particularly due to the fact that disaster affects women, boys and girls on a much greater scale than men. Jing Pura highlighted that women leaders working in humanitarian settings can transform leadership holistically into the mind, body and heart, as these are key underlying drivers of humanitarian work in general. In the humanitarian world there needs to be care not only for survivors, but also for humanitarian and disaster workers. As leaders in disaster response, this is a key theme that we must develop within our teams. Women as leaders can also channel their caring character when taking on roles such as mediation in challenging situations.
Rabeya’s insight and experiences are also based upon this theme of women’s strengths in leadership, in which she spoke of the power of women being reflected not only through motherhood, but also in their roles standing by the side of other women to empower them. She also highlighted that a key to working well with people of diverse backgrounds is to be humble and to listen, and that as leaders, we should solve problems by focusing on the system and not individuals acting within it. Rabeya realises that barriers for women can sometimes come from within themselves, due to self-confidence or the impact of the overall gender context. She reminded listeners that women must learn to push through discomfort, lack of confidence and shyness, and learn to believe in themselves, their knowledge and experience as women.
Vanda also provided insight on the importance of women’s education, while recommending women leaders to be visible in a professional manner, embrace your potential, and continue to chase education and new knowledge. Education for Vanda means not only in a formal manner, but also all other types of learning, in which women can equip themselves with knowledge as their own investment – an investment that will generate respect and recognition, that is then proven through working outcomes. Vanda believes that actions speak louder than words, and encouraged the audience to undertake their work sincerely, and deliver it respectfully. Vanda also highlighted the role of organisations in promoting women’s leadership and overall gender equality, by stating that organisations in the disaster management field must provide equal opportunities for both women and men, and that these values should be institutionalised in humanitarian organisations and within their overall business processes.
As people who work in disaster response, the three women leaders remain aware and agree on the importance of both men and women working side-by-side for the benefit of disaster victims. As leaders, they believe that we must recognise that gender discrimination and inequality are ongoing realities. The leaders reminded the group to advocate for gender equality, which will require such efforts from both women and men alike to achieve real equality.
Written by : Sridewanto Pinuji and Putri Mumpuni | Photo : AHA Centre