MONTHLY DISASTER REVIEW AND OUTLOOK
JANUARY 2019 | DISASTER MONITORING & ANALYSIS
(DMA) UNIT, AHA CENTRE
GENERAL REVIEW OF JANUARY 2019
Statistics of recorded significant disasters in January 2019 are significantly below the average for the previous five-years during the same period. While January saw the ASEAN region only registered a little over half of the number of disasters, as well as significantly lower numbers of affected and internally displaced people, the number of casualties and damaged houses were notably much higher than the previous five-year average, with an almost two-fold number of casualties, and twenty times the number of damaged houses. These high numbers were primarily caused by flooding and rain-induced landslide incidents in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. This unfortunate event was a result of the combination of the prevailing Northeast Monsoon and Tropical Cyclone Riley in Australia, which pulled large masses of rain clouds over several parts of Indonesia.
The number of hydro-meteorological disasters is to be expected for this time of year, and influenced a majority of registered situations. Also as expected, due to the effects of the prevailing Northeast Monsoon, the affected areas were mainly found in the equatorial and southern parts of the ASEAN region. Meanwhile, the northern area is experiencing dry conditions, resulting in haze and hotspot situations. In terms of geophysical hazards, there were 65 recorded earthquakes with a magnitude 5.0 and above during January, and several activities reported on active volcanoes in Indonesia and the Philippines. Fortunately, although there were notable incidents such as the M6.7 earthquake in West Sumba Regency and the eruption of Mt Agung, both in Indonesia, there were no significant effects that constituted a disaster situation.
SEASONAL OUTLOOK
The ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre is expecting the Northeast Monsoon to persist until March, before entering into the inter-monsoon period in April. With this seasonal setting, the southern parts of the region will continue to experience scattered rain showers, while the northern areas will continue to experience dry conditions. Flood and rain-induced landslides will continue to be threats in the equatorial and southern parts, especially in areas where above-normal rainfall is expected – such as Malaysia, Sumatra, and Kalimantan. The continuous dry conditions and the expected above-normal temperatures in the north will likely exacerbate haze and hotspot situations, especially in the Mekong sub-region (see Figure 1).
Figure 2. The Rainfall and Temperature Outlook for the first half of February displays dry and warm conditions for some areas in the northern part of the region. Similar effects, with possible difference in spatial distribution, are expected to continue until March due to the Northeast Monsoon.
With these potential incidents, the AHA Centre is strengthening its Disaster Monitoring and Analysis Unit through an internship programme. Successful interns will help the Centre in monitoring hazards throughout the region on a daily basis, preparing necessary datasets, and analysing disaster events to support decision-making and drive actions.
Data Sources: ASEAN Disaster Information Network, ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre
Written by : Lawrence Anthony Dimailig
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.
THE AHA CENTRE
ANNUAL PLANNING MEETING 2019
BOGOR, INDONESIA
TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK
Failing to prepare means preparing to fail. Therefore, the AHA Centre team dedicated two full days away from their regular duties to reflect on their 2018 achievements, as well as undertake the planning of the organisation’s activities for 2019. The AHA Centre’s Annual Planning Meeting took place in Bogor, just outside of Jakarta. Alongside consolidating their 2019 agenda, the Centre’s staff also worked together to ensure that all planned activities will contribute to the AADMER* Work Programme 2016-2020.
“The AHA Centre has several departments and we are here as a reminder that each individual is important to the team. If the AHA Centre is a boat, the operations team might be the hull. But, the boat will not move without the propeller that gives it power to move forward, which in a way symbolises the Corporate Affairs Division who takes care of finance and human-resources management. The boat also needs a steering wheel as it gives direction on where the boat needs to go, which symbolises the role of the Office of Executive Director who holds control of the steering wheel and gives direction for the organisation”, said Arnel Capili, the newly-appointed Deputy Executive Director of the AHA Centre. Arnel was using the metaphor of a boat to describe the working mechanism of the AHA Centre.
Throughout the meeting, AHA Centre’s team identified room for improvements based on 2018’s learnings, and scheduled priorities for the business as usual agendas, including induction courses for the ASEAN Emergency Response and Assessment Team (ERAT), the 6th Batch of the AHA Centre Executive Programme, and many other integral programmes and projects. On top of that, the Centre also began preparations for the launch of two new satellite warehouses to strengthen the Disaster Emergency Logistics System for ASEAN (DELSA), as well as the humanitarian mission in Rakhine State, the establishment of the ASEAN Resilient Village in Central Sulawesi, and the implementation of Integrated Programme in Enhancing the Capacity of AHA Centre and ASEAN Emergency Response Mechanism (EU-SAHA) project. The Team also agreed to reorient the organisation’s core business into five core services, in accordance to its main mandate to facilitate cooperation and collaboration in disaster management in ASEAN. The five core services of the AHA Centre cover coordination, data intelligence and analysis, resource management, knowledge and outreach, and financing.
Dipo Summa, the Knowledge and Change Management Officer of the AHA Centre underlined that, “The Centre has completed numerous activities in 2018. However, we learned that we over-estimated our capacity and placed too many plans on our plate. It is good for us to reflect on our strategies in order to re-prioritise our forthcoming agenda in 2019”.
*AADMER : ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response
Written by: Shintya Kurniawan | Photo : AHA Centre
PROF. DRA FATMA LESTARI
“PREPARATION THROUGH EDUCATION IS LESS COSTLY
THAN LEARNING THROUGH TRAGEDY”
Prof.dra. Fatma Lestari is one of Indonesia’s leading academics in the disaster management field, with her particular interest in chemical safety and toxicology allowing her to provide specific insight into the recent the ASEAN Regional Disaster Emergency Response Simulation Exercise (ARDEX-18) held in Cilegon, West Java, that included a scenario on the effect of hazardous materials (hazmat) during disasters. During the preparation of ARDEX-18, The Column caught up with Prof.dra. Fatma, to gain her unique insight on matters such as hazmat, gender empowerment, and community preparedness in the ASEAN disaster management field.
Prof.dra. Fatma has developed her disaster management portfolio working across a range of programmes and activities in the region, now working as a lecturer and researcher in the University of Indonesia’s Department of Occupational Health and Safety, under the Faculty of Public Health. She began her work with the university in 1995, engaging directly with the Government of Indonesia on industrial emergency response and preparedness measures. With a background in chemistry, Prof.dra. Fatma reminds us of the importance of the hazmat element within disaster response by stating “In our country, oil and gas industries are one of the major industries that contribute to the Indonesian energy. They face many challenges – one which is emergency response”.
It is the expansion and development of industry that adds to the risk, Prof.dra. Fatma states, not only in Indonesia but across the region and the rest of the world. Its proximity with the natural environment, alongside local communities, requires strong engagement to develop knowledge and preparedness mechanisms to avoid disastrous outcomes for the region’s people. Prof.dra. Fatma talks of recent efforts to work with communities on disaster preparedness and response at a local level, through a programme known as Kampung Tanggap Bencana (disaster prepared villages). “We provide them with the knowledge such as first aid, how to move victims from the disaster site to a safe zone – it focuses on community participation”, she explains. Prof.dra. Fatma highlights the importance of such programmes across the region, and ensuring they are implemented across a number of mediums, including local government, community centres and local schools.
Linked heavily within such community-based efforts is the role of women in disaster management. As Prof.dra. Fatma notes, “We need to empower more females, because once their knowledge improves, they can teach their children, as mothers are the primary teachers in the home in Indonesian society”. Empowerment is also strategic for information sharing within communities between women, as women tend to have their own forums and methods for engaging deeply within their communities – an element that must be utilised for stronger and more resilient local villages. “If women’s knowledge on disaster management is increased, they can become great leaders in their communities”.
The varying degrees of hazmat size and risks are a key element for Prof.dra Fatma, particularly as ASEAN disaster management begins to focus on increased inclusiveness of hazmat elements in disaster management – such as through the ARDEX-18 exercise. Whether large industrial chemical plants, local village Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG ) storage tanks, or anything in-between, all form a great risk to the lives and livelihoods of local communities should natural disaster strike. Central to this is the importance of community understanding and participation within disaster management efforts, as Prof.dra Fatma states “while emergency responders may arrive in some places, they can’t be everywhere automatically, so a key first step is if the community can undertake an independent evacuation”. Alongside this, Prof.dra. Fatma reminds us of the importance of government support to such community-based efforts, that can empower and develop them to support themselves during the initial stages of disaster. “Providing communities with the knowledge, equipment and mechanisms to protect themselves is key, then communities are ready and able to act at a moment’s notice.”
Written by : Valerie Bayhon | Photo : AHA Centre
ACE PROGRAMME GRADUATION
After over 1,000 hours of training, and the successful completion of 23 courses – including, amongst others, the humanitarian logistics in Subang, Malaysia, the Critical Incident Leadership Course in New Zealand, and a study visit to Japan – the AHA Centre Executive (ACE) Programme concluded its 2018 programme on the 14th of December, with its graduation day at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta. The seventeen ACE graduates of the programme’s Fifth Batch now enter a total pool of 79 graduates, who will serve as future ASEAN leaders on disaster management.
As part of the graduation, the ACE Programme’s closing gala for 2018, each of the participants receive a Graduation Certificate from the Deputy Secretary-General for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, H.E. Kung Phoak, and a Graduation Medal from H.E. Kazuo Sunaga, Ambassador of Japan to ASEAN. The ceremony was also attended by representatives from the ASEAN Member States, ASEAN Dialogue Partners, the United Nations, IFRC, and a number of AHA Centre’s partners.
As part of the ACE Programme, participants were also trained as ASEAN Emergency Response and Assessment Team (ASEAN-ERAT) members, enabling them to be mobilised during disaster responses across all ASEAN Member States. The overwhelming success of the ACE Programme Fifth Batch would not have been possible without strong support from partners – such as UNOCHA, UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, WFP, IOM, Red Cross, USFS, Red-R Australia, DKI-APCSS, and New Zealand Aid – who supported the programme through the delivery of various technical humanitarian skills and leadership courses and activities.
The graduation ceremony is an embodiment of the participants’ hard work and commitment to complete the courses, and also forms the starting point for them to embark on their new journey in the disaster management sector. “This is a message of victory, in the sense that ASEAN now has 17 additional warriors to respond, to work, and to strengthen the region when it comes to disaster risk reduction and management”, exclaimed new graduate Jose Angelo Mangaoang of the Philippines during his graduation speech.
The value of the ACE Programme was highlighted by Indonesian participant Ms. Rucky Dewi, as she shared her experiences throughout the course.
“The required humanitarian actions might be beyond our individual limits, and therefore that is the purpose of the ACE Programme training. To reach that individual limit, and to take on the impossible now becomes possible. To ensure the accelerated response for delivery of humanitarian assistance worldwide, and to promote greater benefit of strong leadership in times of disaster, particularly for the people affected by the crisis.”
With the support of the Government of Japan, through the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF), the AHA Centre can successfully close the book on its conduction of this programme for the fifth time. Finally, the AHA Centre once more offers its congratulations to all graduates – we are sure you will undertake this role with great professionalism and responsibility.
Written by : Ferosa Arsadita | Photo : AHA Centre