Disasters: true or false?

‘The correct response to disasters is to immediately send international relief materiel, such as tents, blankets and drugs'; 'Foreign volunteers with any kind of medical background are needed'; 'Disasters are random killers'; 'Unburied corpses of disaster victims cause the spread of contagious diseases'.

Background

Natural and human-induced disasters, including, but not limited to droughts, floods, epidemics, extreme temperatures and fires commonly occur in South Africa and in South African cities. Such events negatively impact communities and individuals, livelihoods and infrastructure and cause social and economic losses at all scales. Disasters also compromise (sustainable) development and the implementation of city strategies.

In order to mitigate the negative impacts of disasters, cities must be constantly prepare to deal with a variety of disasters and must be able to ensure speedy and appropriate action, both before and after disasters. Despite legislation designed to coordinate government bodies and minimize the impacts of disasters in SA, officials have historically been unprepared to deal with disasters and their actions have been uncoordinated, with government often having to rely on civil society to manage most of the after-effects of disasters. South Africa has typically been overly focused on disaster response and relief, instead of on reduction of risk and vulnerability. Effective management of disasters places a heavy burden on many institutions, especially those at the local or metropolitan level, who need to develop, coordinate and implement appropriate disaster risk management strategies.

Purpose
The purpose of this workshop is to:

• Consolidate disaster risk concepts and strategies amongst municipal officials, with an emphasis on preparedness and mitigation strategies;
• Review the current legislative and regulatory framework in SA;
• Learn lessons in DRM from public and private experience (both local and international);
• Discuss the key challenges facing municipalities in anticipating and mitigating disasters and then workshop strategies to improve South Africa’s disaster reduction.

For more information Download [In pdf format]:

• DRM Workshop Handout
• Schedule
• RSVP
• Attendance register
• Download Presentations:
• DRM Introduction
• Photos of Disasters
• Hazard, Risk Mapping, and Contingency Planning
• Bhopal Case Study