Draft_Final_Paper-RP_on_Auditing_Emergency_Preparedness.pdf

03rd Aug 2023

A Reference for the Rest of Us

Disaster Preparedness
for
SUPREME AUDIT INSTITUTIONS

A reference for Supreme Audit Institutions to understand
basic concepts of disaster/emergency preparedness besides
government’s efforts, policies, an d fund ing mechanism to
prepare for di sa sters and examples of audit assignments
on the issues

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In recent decades, there has been a consistent upward trend in the impact of disasters. Rising populations
in the areas of greatest hazard, increasing investment in fixed capital in such places, the complexity of
global interco nnections, and the impact of climate change in producing more extreme meteorol ogical
events all conspire to drive this trend.
Over that period, billions people were directly affected by disasters. While those disasters can be
devastating, the vast majorit y of casualties are caused by a lack of preparation. Emergency planning is
thus facing a challenge that is very much greater and more complex than it appeared to be in the 19 70s,
when the first attempts were made to dev ise a systematic approach to it .
In r esponse to those calamities, a lot of fund was allocated. However, the bulk of this sum, was mostly
spent for relief and post disaster activities. There should be a notice to warn people that knowing what
to do besides having supplies, equipment, and capac ity to do it with may increase people’s chance of
survival and limit damages.
Another challenge of emergency planning is internationalization. Cross border disasters are common.
However, most emergency planning is designed to cope with local, regional, or at least domestic inputs,
but less so international ones, as these tend to be much less predictable. In this case, r esources are too
scar ce to p ermit lavish preparations for na tional high impact events that may occur only once in a
millennium. Therefore, d ifferent kind of collaboration among governments, humanitarian and
development actors, and other actors is required. Partners need to work together across mandates,
sectors and institutional boundaries and with a greater diversity of partners toward suppor ting local and
national actors to reduce risk and vulnerability in support of the 2030 Agenda.
Considering the above mentioned issues, in line with KSC workplan 2017 – 2019, Research Project
“Auditing Disaster Preparedness for Supreme Audit Institutions” w as carried out. The research was
intended to identify the need of disaster preparedness and components of disaster preparedness to
take into account, provide examples of disaster preparedness practices across nations, provide
examples of audit topics and c ase studies, and lastly derive recommendations based on identified
problems.
The research has revealed that focusing on disasters after they occur is essential from a humanitarian
point of view, but not sufficient for reducing their tragic consequences to people, economies and the
environment. A functional response reduces felt consequence and enables rapid recovery, reducing
cumulative impacts to public safety and the economy. Consequently, a well capacitated emergency
preparedness system becomes the firs t line of defense for protecting community, and therefore, all
related parties need to move beyond traditional silos to overcome the challenge. Thus, besides getting
informed on a few basic rules when it comes to preparedness, it is also important to devel op
preparedness approach based on hazard types.
Moreover, g iving restriction on public spending will mean achieving efficiencies and reducing waste in
preparing for emergency response. Therefore, SAI may come with its mandate to ensure that the
allocated funds would be spent in an ethically sound, lawful and efficient manner. Moreover, the audit
carried out by SAIs may examine the arrangements made with regard to the spending of the fund
allocated to the disaster preparedness programs and the effects of the se arrangements to the assigned
objectives of disaster preparedness policies, programs and activities.

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The research has also identified that the current ISSAI 5500 series did not discussed about the audit of
government readiness for emergency situ ation. T herefore, we recommend that it will be better if we put
some degree of attention to discuss this specific topic in the I SSAI or other INTOSAI documents. Moreover,
communicating and incorporating the results of the research project to projec t leader of FIPP ’s Project
2.10 on consolidating and aligning the audit of disa ster -related aid with ISSAI 100 will be beneficial.
Pursuant to KSC’s document on Quality Assurance of INTOSAI Public Goods that are Developed and
Published Outside Due Process, the activities to prepare the research project comprise (a) preparation
of project initiation document, (b) circulation the proposal around project members for comment, (c)
studies in the literature related to disaster/emergency preparedness issues, (d) preparation of co untry
paper to collect data and information, (e) examination of audit reports, (f) drafting the paper, (g)
discussion the case studies with the Disaster Research Center of Gadjah Mada University, (h) distribution
of the draft to the INTOSAI Community for c omments, and (i) finalization of the draft.
The Audit Board of the Republic of Indonesia took the initiative to lead this project to show our
commitment on supporting KCS’s project in particular, and in supporting SAIs and their respective
government to be more prepared to cope from disasters, and thus the trully value and benefit of SAIs
can be felt by the stakeholders, including the local and community. Therefore, we are very grateful to
the SAIs which replied to our surveys and other members of INTOSAI C ommunity for their contributions
and assistance.
We must acknowledge that our commitment and untiring joint efforts throughout the project are concrete
evidence of our cooperation in supporting the world to be more resilient to disasters and will be a
mile stone towards the success of such KSC project .

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF TABLES
ACRONYMS AND ABREVIATIONS
CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION
1.1 Common phenomenon leading to disasters and their impact
1.2 Key terms
1.3 What is emergency preparedness?
1.4 Elements of emergency preparedness
1.5 Key components in emergency preparedness
1.6 Mapping out the actors and their responsibilities in alleviating the crisis
CHAPTER 2 – FROM PANIC TO PLANNING
2.1 Prepare for natural disasters
2.2 Prepare for outbreak
2.3 Prepare for cybercrime
2.4 Prepare for forced migration
2.5 Prepare for nuclear deto nation
CHAPTER 3 – AUDITING EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
3.1 Overview of ISSAI 5500 series
3.2 Types of audit on emergency/disaster preparedness
3.3 Audit topics on emergency preparedness
CHAPTER 4 – CONCLUSI ON

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Disaster Management and Disaster Preparedness
Figure 2 Estimated Percentage of People Falling into Poverty from Selected Disasters in the
Asia -Pacific Region
Figure 3 Development vs Vulnerability to Disasters
Figure 4 Location of Risk Assessment in Emergency Preparedness Planning
Figure 5 Emergency Preparedness Planning Models: Some Examples
Figure 6 The UN Cluster Approach in Disaster
Figure 7 The Components of Warning Process
Figure 8 The Chaos of Evacuation and Re fugee Shelter during Disaster
Figure 9 Five Ps of Self Evacuation
Figure 10 Pre Disaster Activities is Only a Tiny of Total Assistance
Figure 11 Interaction between Basin Flood Management and Flood Emergency Planning

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Disaste r Risk Management
Table 2 Functional Differences between Different Sizes of Events
Table 3 International Agreement and Commitment on Preparedness
Table 4 Probability Use of Disaster Preparedness Fund
Table 5 Threshold of Capacity in Emergency Response
Table 6 Flood Emergency Preparedness Activities at Various Levels
Table 7 Actions to Prepare Severe Winter
Table 8 A Number of Agencies Dealing with Cyber Crime in UK
Table 9 Selection Criteria for Determining Audit Topics

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ACRONYMS AND ABREAVIATION S

BNPB Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana (National Disaster Management Agency in
Indonesia)
BPBD Badan Penanggulangan Bencana Daerah (Local Disaster Management Agency in
Indonesia)
FEMA The Federal Emergency Management Agency
GIS Geographical Infor mation System
IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency
IDMC Internal Displacement Monitoring Center
INTOSAI The International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions
IPCC SREX Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Ad vance
Climate Change Adaptation published by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
KRB Kawasan Rawan Bencana (hazard zones)
NGO Non Government Organization
RPB Rencana Penanggulangan Bencana (Disaster Management Plan)
SAI Supreme Audit Institution
SDGs Sustainable Development Goals
UK The United Kingdom
UNISDR The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction

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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

1.1 Common phenomenon leading to disasters and their impact
Disasters have always been present in hu man history. History records disasters that have
happened in the past and provides us with lessons on those that will happen in the future. However,
the world has reacted, and since the Second World War, governments have created acts to reduce
and prevent disasters.
This is because w hen disasters strike a geographical location, they tend to disproportionately alter
the social fabric leading to widespread damage and losses of lives and resources. To day, our
populations and communities have even become increa singly vulnerable to disasters and this has
been aggravated by some issues, such as rapid environmental degradation, climate change, as
well as poverty, lack of safety nets, and so on.
Disasters even have a devastating impact on d evelopment. Families lose homes and livelihoods;
communities and nations lose businesses, jobs and services; children miss school, impacting a
generation. Over the past twenty years, d isaster impacts are alr eady at extremely high levels .
The World Bank reported that losses from disasters had increased rapidly, rising from $50 billion
a year in the 1980s to nearly $200 billion a year in the last decade. According t o IPCC SREX
report , disasters f rom natural hazards themselves have affected 4.4 billion people, claimed 1.3
million li ves and caused $2 trillion in economic losses – and will worsen by 2030. It is even claimed
that global average annual loss from dis asters is estimated to increase from an annual average
of $260 million in 2010 to $414 billion by 2015 (UNSIDR, 2015).
The W orld Bank’s Shock Waves: Managing the Impact of Climate Change on Poverty report finds
that almost 75 per cent of the losses are attributable to extreme weather events, and climate
change threatens to push an additional 100 million people into extreme pove rty by 2030. Besides,
population growth and rapid urbanization are driving the increase in disas ter risks. According to
the Bank ’s Investing in Urban Resilience report, by 2030, without significant investment into making
cities more prepared and resilient , disasters may cost cities worldwide $314 billion each year. 1
On the other hand, disasters act as great leveler s defying all existing social differences and
stratifications, affecting all, but in a unique way, unifying the communities across boundaries. An d,
thus, creating necessities for people who live in high risk places to reduce disaster risk and prepare
for those disasters. This was clearly recognised in The Future We Want which called for ‘disaster
risk reduction and the building of resilience to dis asters to be addressed with a renewed sense of
urgency in the context of sustain able development and poverty eradication ’ (para 186).

1.2 Key terms
Disaster : A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society causing widespread
human, materi al, economic or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected
community or society to cope using its own resources. A disaster is a function of the risk process. It

1 http://www.worldbank.org/en/ topic/disasterriskmanagement/overview downloaded on February , 10, 2018

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results from the combination of hazards, conditions of vulnerability and in sufficient capacity or
measures to reduce the potential negativ e consequences of risk (ISDR 2017 ).
There are many definitions for a disaster. Different organizations may have slightly differing
definitions. Still, the following are fundam ental components a ccross all definitions. A disaster
– is a severe event,
– causes damage to infrastructure, economic and socia l structures, or human health, and
– requires external assistance.
Disasters can result from natural hazards or from human -related activities. Therefore, disasters
are typically classified into distinct categories based on the cause of the hazard as either natural
or human -induced (man -made) 2.
An emergency is an event or situation which threatens serious damage to human welfare in a
place and to the enviro nment of a place, or war, or terrorism which threatens serious damage to
security requiring implementation of special arrangements by one or more category responders
(UK Civil Contingency Act 2014).
Emergency is sometimes used interchangeably with the term disaster, as, for example, in the
context of biological and technological hazards or health emergencies, which, however, can also
relate to hazardous events that do not result in the serious disruption of the functioning of a
community or society (ISDR 20 17).
Hazard: A process, phenomenon or human activity that may cause loss of life, injury or other helath
impacts, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation.
Hazards may be natural, anthropogenic or socionatural in origin. Natural hazards are
predominantly associated with natural processess and phenomena. Anthropogenic hazards, or
human -induces hazards, are induced entirely or predominantly by human activities and choices .
Several hazrads are socionatural , in that they are associated with a combination of natural and
anthropogenic factors, including environmental degradation and climate change. Hazards include
biological, environmental, geological, hydrometeorological and technoloical processess and
phenomena (ISDR 2017).
Mu lti-hazard: (1) The selection of multiple major hazards that the country faces and (2) the specific
contexts where hazardous events may occur simultaneously, cascadingly or cumulatively over time,
and taking into account the potential interrelated effects (ISDR 2017).
Disaster Management: The organization , planning and application of measures preparing for,
responding to and recovering from disasters (ISDR 2017) . Disasters do not just appear one day –
they may exist throughout time and have a life cycle of occurence. This cycle is matched by a
series of management phases: establish strategies to mitigate hazards, prepare for and respond
to emergencies, and recover from effects. Prevention/Mitigation and Preparation relate to the
preventive and preparatory me asures which government can establish and operate in advance
of potential disaster. Meanwhile, Response and Recovery (which consists of Rehabilititation and
Reconstruction ) describe the activities which follow the occurence of disaster.
2 Ifrc.org .Types of a Disaster: Definition of Hazard website. Available from: http://www.ifrc.org/en/what -we -do/disaster – management/about -disasters/definition -of-hazard/

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Mitigation : refers to the structural and non -structural measures undertaken to limit the adverse
impact of natural hazards, environmental degradation, and technological hazards and to ensure
the ability of at -risk communities to address vulnerabilities aimed at minimizing t he impact of
disasters.
Preparedness: is the ability of governments, professional response organizations, communities and
individuals to anticipate and respond effectively to the impact of likely, imminent or current
hazards, events or conditions, the know ledge and capacities developed by governments,
professional response and recovery organizations, communities and individuals to effectively
anticipate, respond to and recover from the impacts of likely, imminent or current disasters (IASC,
2011).
Preparedn ess is based on a sound analysis of disaster risks and good linkages with early warning
systems , and includes such activities as contingency planning; the stockpilling of equipment and
supplies; the development of arrangement for coordination, evacuation a nd public information;
and associated training and field exercises. These must be supported by formal institutional, legal
and budgetary capacities. The related term “readiness” describes the ability to quickly and
appropriately respond when required .
Resp onse: any concerted effort by two or more agencies, public or private, to provide assistance
or intervention during or immediately after a disaster to meet the life preservation and basic
subsistence needs of those people affected and in the restoration of essential public activities and
facilities.
Recovery: is the effort to restore infrastructure and the social and economic life of a community
to normal, but it should incorporate mitigation as a goal.
The disaster management cy cle can be depicted in Figu re 1 below.
Figure 1 . Disaster Management and Disaster Preparedness

Source: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Disaster -Management -Cycle_fig3_258343662

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) : An inclusive agenda and universal call to action t o end
poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. The SDGs
work in the spirit of partnership and pragmatism to make the right choices now to improve life, in
a sustainable way, for future generations. They provide cle ar guidelines and targets for all

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countries to adopt in accordance with their own priorities and the environmental challenges of the
world at large (UNDP) 3.

1.3 What is emergency preparedness ?
Disasters strike in every corner of the world and often unexpected by their very nature, leaving
little time, if any, to prepare. Nevertheless, t o date, scientists have the ability to predict disasters
with more accuracy. They know the areas prone to earthquakes and susceptible to wildfires and
even can tell hours in adv ance whether a tsunami will hit the shores. However, inspite of all the
capabilities for advance warnings, new challenges may be encountered everytime a disaster hits.
Hence, all places need emergency preparedness which involve a coordinated, co -operative
process of preparing to match urgent needs with available resources. The essence of emergency
preparedness is its capacity to tackle pressing needs with maximum efficiency and celerity but
with scarce resources and in the absence of much necessary informa tion.
Emergency preparedness can be defined as the arrangement to ensure that all resources and
services required for coping with any imminent emergency or actual emergency are identified,
determined, mobilised and deployed. 4 Meanwhile, FEMA (2015) states that preparedness is the
state of being ready for action during a disaster or emergency, and based on this definition, the
prepar edness phase is achieved and maintained based on a continuous process of planning,
training, organising, equipping, exercising, evaluati ng and taking corrective action.
In other words, preparedness is best thought of as a process – a continuing sequence of analyses,
plan development, and the acquisition of individual and team performance skills achieved through
training, drills, e xercise, and critiques. It is a continuous and integrated process resulting from a
wide range of risk reduction activities and resources rather than from a distinct sectoral activity
by itself . This also infers that planning for emergency or being prepared for emergency is the
development and maintenance of agreed procedures to prevent, reduce, control, mitigate and
take other necessary actions in the event of an emergency.
The concept of preparedness planning is very important for those involved in disaste r
management. During an actual emergency, quick and effective action is required. This action often
depends on having made and implemented preparedness plans. If appropriate action is not taken
or if the response is delayed, lives may be needlessly lost.
Disaster preparedness planning involves identifying organizational resources, determining roles
and responsibilities, developing policies and procedures and planning preparedness activities
aimed at ensuring timely disaster preparation and effective emergen cy response. The aim of
preparedness planning is to identify assignments and specific activities covering organizational
and technical issues to ensure that response systems function successfully in the event of a disaster .
In a preliminary plan, even thou gh the details of a disaster remain uncertain, disaster managers
can identify emergency shelter sites, plan and publicize evacuation routes, identify emergency
water sources, determine chains of command and communication procedures, train response
personne l and educate people about what to do in case of an emergency. All of these measures
3 http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable -development -goals.html
4 Fagel (2011 ) in A Strategic Approach to Emergency Preparedness in the UAE. Hamdan Rashid Alteneiji . UK. 2015

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will go a long way to improving the quality, timing and effectiveness of the response to a disaster.
The actual planning process is preliminary in nature and is performed in a state of uncertainty until
an actual emergency or disaster occurs. 5
Therefore, e mergency preparedness should
provide a platform to design effective,
realistic and coordinated planning, reduce
duplication of efforts and increase the overall
effectiv eness of national societies, household
and community members’ emergency
preparedness and response efforts.
Emergency preparedness activities embedded
with risk reduction m easures can prevent
disaster situations and also result in saving
maximum lives and l ivelihoods during any
disaster situation, enabling the affected
population to get back to normalcy within a
short time period . And, thus , the purpose of
preparedness itself is to anticipate problems in
disasters so that methods can be devised to
address th e problems effectively and so that the resources required for an effective response are
in place beforehand. 6
Besides, the steady growth of disaster risk, including the increase of people and assets exposure,
combined with the lessons learned from past dis asters, indicates the need to further strengthen
disaster preparedness for response, take action in anticipation of events, integrate disaster risk
reduction in disaster preparedness and ensure that capacities are in place for effective response
and recove ry at all level. This awaken awareness that strengthening disaster preparedness is a
top priority of disaster management programs at both national and local levels. 7
Accordingly, s trengthened preparedness is mainly concerned with two objectives: (1) incre asing
capacity to predict, monitor and be prepared to reduce damage or address potential threats and
(2) strengthening preparedness to respond in an emergency and to assist those who have been
adversely affected. Therefore, being prepared can reduce fear, anxiety, and lossess that
accompany disasters. Moreover, people can also reduce impact of disasters and, sometimes, avoid
the danger completely. 8

Emergency preparedness and SDGs
Disaster and development are like two sides of a same coin that cannot be se parated from one
another. The formidable challenge of humanitarian relief and recovery following a disaster puts
5 Disaster Preparedness Training Programme International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies . 2000
6 Community Diagnosis for Sustainable Disaster Preparedness. Yoko Matsuda and Norio Okada. Journal of Natural Disaster Science Vol. 28 Number 1. 2006
7 Priority 4: Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response and to build back better in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction. Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015 – 2030
8 https://www.fema.gov/media -library -data/20130726 -1549 -20490 -4325/why_prepare.pdf
Box 1 . InaSAFE for a Better Planned Disaster
Management: Indonesia

InaSAFE is a free software that was developed
jointly by Indonesian Disaster Management Agency
(BNPB), Australian Government, and the World Bank
(Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and
Recovery).
It produces realistic natural hazard impact scenarios
for better planning, preparedness and response
activities. It provides a simple but rigorous way to
combine data from scientists, local governments and
communities to provide insights into the likely impacts
of future disaster events. President of the World
Bank rec ently noted the effective use of InaSAFE as
one of the seven steps safe from disasaters.

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incredible strain on limited public resources. In developing countries especially, it can force shifts
in national development priorities, plac ing at risk fragile gains in areas such as poverty reduction,
health and economic development. They undermine development achievements, impoverishing
people and nations. Disasters, even, play a major role in pushing household below the poverty
line and kee ping them here. Evidence showed, for example, that the 2000 – 2001 drought in
Sindh Province in Pakistan increased poverty up to 15 per cent and the Haiti earthquake pushed
succesful poverty eradication efforts back 10 years. Figure 2 reveals some examples indicating
that disasters can derail hard -earned development plans and progress
Figure 2 . Estimated P ercentage of People Falling into Poverty from Selected Disasters in the Asia –
Pacific Region

For a long time, the cause and effect relationship between disasters and development was
ignored. Ministries of Planning and Finance and other development planners in a country may not
concern themselves with disasters. At best, development planners hoped that disasters would not
occur and, if they did, were most effectively handled by relief from donor countries and relief
organizations. Development programs were not assesed in the context of disaster s, neither from
the effect of disaster on the development program nor from the point of whether the development
pro gram increased eith er the likelihood of
a disaster on increased the potential
damaging effects of a disaster. However,
the growing body of knowledge on the
relationships between disasters and
development then indicates fou r basic
themes as presented in Fig ure 3 .
The side effect of well -meaning
development efforts sometimes have
disastrous consequences. Some types of
development projects commence without
fully assessing their impact on the
environment. This can occur even in the
programmes resulting from a disaster, such
as a reconstruction projects that increase
Figure 3. Development vs Vulnerability to Disasters

Development can increase vulnerability
Development can reduce vulnerability
Disaster can set back development
Disaster can provide development opportunities

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demand for wood to fortify houses. The resulting deforestation can then bring increased
vulnerability to mudslides and possibly long -term environmental changes.
On the other hand, it often takes the actual or imminet occurence of a large scale disaster to
stimulate individual government to think about a developmental approach. Thus, a disaster can
serve as a catalyst for introducing mitigation activities. Disasters often create a political and
econom ic atmosphere wherein extensive changes can be made more rapidly than under normal
circumstances. For example, in the aftermath of a disaster, there may be major opportunities to
execute land reform programmes, to expand and modernize the economic base of the community,
and so on.
Considering the above , without concerned efforts to address their root cause, disasters represent
an increasingly serious obstacle to the achievement of SDGs. Thus, t he Sendai Framework will have
an important role in the implement ation and achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development and vice versa. There is much to be gained from viewing the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development through the lens of disaster preparedness, disaster risk reduction and
the Sendai Frame work in particular. This is because disaster -related issues cut across different
aspects and sectors of development. There are 25 targets related to disaster risk reduction in 10
of the 17 SDGs, firmly establishing the role of disaster risk reduction as a core development
strategy. 9
However, some goals deal most with disaster preparedness, like Goal 11 “Make cities and human
settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable” (especially target 11.5 ) and Goal 13 “Take
urgent action to combat climate cha nge and its impacts” (particularly target 13.1 and 13.3 ).

1.4 Elements of emergency preparedness
Emergency preparedness is important since it deals with being able to avoid or plan to manage
both natural and man -made disaster. It should take into account “all hazards ”, “all impact ”, “all
phases ”, and “all stakeholders ”. Thus , elements of preparedness should also be maintained
continuously during preparedness phase . This is vital to help to reduce the impacts of risk of
disaster and its possible occurence which can cause harm and disruption to the plans and safety
of people, the public, and the country.
The following session highlights the importance of element s of emergency preparedness – which
consist of risk assessment , planning , training and exercise , organi se and equip , early warning
system and information system , and public education – independently and jointly, implemented as
a continuous process and inevitable aspect of preparedness phase . Those elements are considered
essential and should no t be compromi sed on if response to any nature of emergency or disaster is
to be effective in saving lives and minimizing costs and impacts.

Risk Assessment
Risk assessment can be defined as the process for determining the quality or quantity value of risk
in relation to a situation or place and t he recognized threat called hazard (Jakob, 2009).
9 Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: A reflection paper prepared by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, October 2015

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Determining the quantity value of risk requires that components such as magnitude or potential
loss are calculated or acknowledged in relation to the probability that the loss w ill eventually
occur. This process usually determines the acceptable risk or the ones which can be tolerated.
The process for risk assessment involves that risk be identified, analysed, evaluated, treated and
monitored. Risk in relation to disaster manage ment is usually threat and scenario based, which
affect places, time and process of managing disasters and the activities in society.
Risk assessment helps to identify and determine risk categories such as environmental, social,
technical, economic and ot her categories that can pose a potential threat to the safety of the
public. Risk assessment also plays a central role in influencing the types of actions taken for the
other elements of emergency preparedness – risk assessment and ability to manage risks can
determine the process of planning, the content of plans, how organise and equip is conducted, and
other essential elements of emergency preparedness. Once potential, actual or foreseen risks are
identified, the risk(s) can be mitigated, transferred, ac cepted or avoided completely. Table 1
provides example on how disaster -related risks are prevented, mitigated, transferred , and
prepared .
Table 1. Disaster Risk Management
Activities Definition Example
Prevention Activities and measures to avoid existing and
new disaster risks
Relocating exposed people
and assets away from a
hazard area
Mitigation The lessening or limitation of the adverse
impacts of hazards and related disasters
Constructing flood defences,
planting trees to stabilize
slopes and implemen ting strict
land use and building
construction codes
Tranfer The process of formally or informally shifting the
consequences of particular risks from one party
to another whereby a household, community,
enterprise or state authority will obtain
resources from other party after a disaster
occurs, in exchange for ongoing or
compensatory social or financial benefits
provided to that other party
insurance
Preparedness The knowledge and capacities of governments,
professional response and recover
organization s, communities and individuals to
effectively anticipate, respond to, and recover
from the impacts of likely, imminent or current
hazard events or conditions
Installing early warning
systems, identifying evacuation
routes and preparing
emergency supplies

The impact of any identified disaster risk helps to determine the decision, mitigation and
preparedness measures to put in place to ensure the safety of public. While risks are part of
living, they still need to be managed, their impact reduced and mitigat ed. This can only be done
through good, effective and adequate preparedness. Thus, government needs to understand the
role of risk assessment in determining the appropriate level of emergency preparedness in order

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to increase public trust, competence, effi ciency and accountability. Figure 4 illustrates the
relationship between risk assessment and how it influences other elements in preparedness phase.
Figure 4 . Location of Risk Assessment in Emergency Preparedness Planning

Source: A Strategic Approach to Emergency Preparedness in the UAE , 2015
Risk management, therefore, should incorporate the social, ethical, scientific and factual
implications of risks on the public and should be addressed within the decision making process.
Therefore, “governance ” sho uld involve the implementation of strategies to mitigate risk and
ensure appropriate preparedness for any disaster. In other words, while emergency preparedness
involves strategie s which are structural and non -structural, risk assessment can contribute
sig nificantly when there is adequate understanding of central role it plays in ensuring that
emergency preparedness is effective.

Planning
Planning is the systematic, ongoing and informed process which helps to prepare organizations
for response to emergenci es. Planning involves the process of deciding, combining and taking
actions, activities and documenting plans which serves as a guide for procedures, mobilising
resources and carrying out response arrangement. This preparedness element ensures that
organi zations responsible for planning are engaged, informed and know their roles, and
competent to carry out response activity assigned to them. Furthermore, planning is an essential
systematic ongoing process which evolves as lessons are learned and circumstanc es about
identified risks change. Hence, planning is viewed as part of cycle of act ivities which starts with
establishing a risk profile that helps to determine the priorities for developing plans, review and
revision of plans and then re -start the whole c ycle again.
Emergency planning for disasters derives from civil defense, a form of social organization
designed to protect civilians against aggression. Emergency planning is a relatively young field
that began to develop systematically in the 1970s, coinc identally with the rise of civil protection.
Initially, it did so largely in response to technlogical hazards such as toxic spills and industrial
explosions. Later, it is evolving rapidly, driven by intensifying hazards, burgeoning vulnerabilities,
and eme rging risks. Hence, there is no established formula according to which a plan should be
prepared.
To date, emergency preparedness planning can be defined as the process of preparing
systematically for future contingencies, including major incidents and dis asters. The plan is usually
a document, shared between participants and stakeholders that specifies tasks and responsibilities

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adopted in the multi -agency response to the emergency. It is a blueprint for managing events and,
as such, should be responsive t o management needs. It should specify the lineaments of action,
collaboration, command, and communication during a disaster or major event; in other words, it is
the framework for emergency response.
In this case, plans are needed, not only for responding to the impacts of disaster, but also to
maintain continuity while managing the crisis, and to guide recovery and reconstruction
effectively .10 And, thus , emergency preparedness planning is often called contingency planning.
At its most essential, emergency plan must match urgent needs to available resources, and do so
in a timely way that avoids procrastination and delay. Contingency planning aims to prepare an
organization to respond well to an emergency and its potential humanitarian impact . Developing
a contingency plan involves making decisions in advance about the management of human and
financial resources, coordination and communication procedures, and being aware of a range of
technical and logistical response. 11
The practice of emergency preparednes s planning varies considerably among communities. In
some, the planning process is quite formal; there is a specific assignment of responsibility to an
office having an identifiable budget. In other communities, it is informal; responsibility is poorly
def ined and limited budget is dispersed among many agencies.
Moreover, the planning products might be either written or unwritten. To some extent, the
emergency planning process correlates with the size of the community in which it takes place.
Larger communi ties — characterized by an elaborate structure of governmental offices, many
resources and personnel, and perhaps higher levels of staff turnover — tend to evolve formalized
processes and rely more heavily upon written documentation and agreements. In smaller
communities, the planning process might generate few written products and rely principally on
informal relationships. Formalization of the planning process is also likely to vary with the
frequency of hazard impact. In communities subject to frequent thre ats, emergency response may
be a practiced skill rather than a hypothetical action. Figure 5 shows some planning models of
emergency preparedness.
Figure 5 . Emergency Preparedness Planning Models : Some Examples

1. United States Model
The US faces a wide ran ge of threats, from
hurricanes to impacts of acts of terrorism. This means
that various approaches are used for particular
threats and hazards, and various models and
frameworks employed. As illustrated in the figure,
the US model of preparedness is a clos ed, ongoing
process made up of five stages, starting with
planning, moving to organizing/equip, training,
exercising and evaluation in order to continue the
cycle again.

10 Disaster and Emergency Planning f or Preparedness, Response and Recovery. David Alexander. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Natural Hazard Science (online publication date: Sep 2015). DOI: 10.1093/acrefore/9780199389407.013.12
11 Contingency planning guide. IFRC. Geneva. 2012

17

2. United Kingdom Model
In contrast to the US, the UK emergency
planning cycles inclu des two main
processes – embed and consult – which are
expected to serve as guidelines for the
preparedness phase. The former involves
determining the actions and responsibilities
of organization s required to manage the
risk, after which all actions and
responsibilities are agreed upon.
The UK cycle appears to be two
independent cycles. One can only infer
that each main process is coordinated by
different organization s.

3. The Australia Model
The Australia emergency preparedness has been broken down into precise activities which can
be readily implemented and understood by community and emergency managers which includes
emergency response plan, warning system, evacuation plan, emergency communication, mutual
aid agreement, public education, public informat ion, resource inventories, training program, test
exercise, and refuge shelters.
On the other hand, emergency preparedness planning might be conducted in the face of apathy
by some and resistance from others. A basic reason is that most people, citizen an d public officials
are alike – they do not like to think about their vulnerability to disasters. Consequently, the
initiation of planning activities requires strong support from a jurisdiction’s Chief Administrative
Officer, an issue champion (or policy en terpreneur ) who has the expertise and organizational
legitimacy to promote disaster manageme nt, or a n emergency planning committee that can
mobilize a constituency in support of disaster management. Besides, emergency planning should
involve the allocation of power and resources (especially personnel and budget), so every unit
within an organization wants its “proper role” recognized and a budget allocation commensurate
with the role.

Formulating of emergency planning
The process of formulating an emergenc y plan is similar and parallel to urban and regional
planning. Like urban and regional planners, emergency planners need to study the geography,
demography, economics, social relations, and culture of the area that forms the jurisdiction of the
plan. This is essential if the plan is to respond well to local hazards and vulnerabilities and be
compatible with local perceptions, traditions, activities, and expectations.
Thus, plans for emergencies are expected to have specific requirements which makes them va lid
and capable of being used to respond to emergencies. Qualities of a good plan include, but are
not limited to:

18

– Context , such as aim of plan and legislative framework being used
– Scenarios , such as risk, hazard and vulnerable areas to the impact of the e mergency
– Emergency needs, e.g. medical care, public safety, search and rescue, food and shelter,
evacuation, etc.
– Resources availability and utilisation, e.g. roles of responders, equipment, building,
application of resources, testing, tr aining and validat ion arrangement and schedule
– Activation procedures and stand -down procedures of the plan
– Location of control centre
– Annex with other essential information such as risk register, contact details of key personnel,
etc.
In brief, emergency planning has three main components: an estimate of what is going to happen,
a plan based on this estimate of what the response should be, and some ac tion identified to be
best prepared. However, an emphasis on too specific detail on the plan can be problematic in at
least fo ur ways: (1) the anticipation of all contingencies is simply impossible, (2) very specific
details tend to get out of date very quickly, demanding virtually constant updating of written
products; (3) very specific plans often contain so many details that t he wide range of emergency
functions appear to be of equal importance, causing response priorities to be unclear or confusing,
and (4) the more detail incorporated into written planning documents, the larger and more
complex the y become. This makes it more difficult to use the plan as a device for training personnel
to understand how their roles fit into the overall emergency response and consequently makes it
more difficult to implement the plan effectively when the need arises.
On the other side, t he plan s need to exist in a nested hierarchy that extends from the local
emergency response (the most fundamental level) through the regional tiers of government to
national and even international levels. The “bedrock” level of emergency planning is the municipa l
level or local area. This is because, however extensive a disaster may be, the theater of operations
for managing and responding to it is always local. However, if local resources are overwhelmed,
it becomes necessary to move up the scale of response to inter -municipal, regional, national, or
even international responses.
In other words, the emergency plan should either prescribe or describe the structure of command
and management to be utilized in the case of a disaster. In a fully functional civil prot ection system,
emergency resources hubs usually operate as a nested hierarchy. They will function within the
compass of plans made at different levels of government and by different jurisdictions. It follows
that the emergency plans themselves will need to ensure interoperability and a rational division
of responsibilities, so that all tasks can be covered in emergencies of different sizes.
On the other hand, much has been made of the need for “all -hazards” contingency plans
(probably with hazard -specific a nnexes) . N o place on earth is entirely free from hazard and risk.
But, few of them are likely to be subject to only one kind of hazard. A good emergency plan
should, therefore, make provision for managing all the known and anticipated hazards (the
seasonal and recurrent events), while at the same time offering generic protocols to manage the
unanticipated ones.
In this case, emergency planners should identify the types of hazards to which their communities
are vulnerable. Following identification of these hazards, emergency planners should consider the

19

extent to which different hazard agents make similar demands on the emergency response
organization. When two hazard agents have similar characteristics, they are likely to require the
same emergency response functions. Commonality of emergency response functions provides
multiple use opportunities for personnel, procedures, facilities, and equipment. Only when hazard
agents have very different characteristics, and thus require distinctly different responses, will
hazard -specific appendixes be needed .
One issue that has long perturbed is the size of event for which plans should be configured. If one
assumes that recurrent hazards are in a steady state, then somewhere there should be a “happy
medium”, in which a n extreme event is neither too large and infrequent to be expected to occur
during the life of the plan, nor too small and frequent to need significant emergency provisions.
The first problem with this arrangement is that, especially regarding natural haza rds, there are
few cases in which an adequate magnitude -frequency relationship has been established. Hence,
the likelihood of an extreme event of a given size may be conjectural, rather than scientifically
determined. The second problem is that the time se ries of events may be non -stationary. For
example, there is overwhelming scientific consensus on the occurence of climate change, and few
scientists now doubt the speed at which it is occuring.

Humanitarian reform and the cluster system
Since 2005, there have been significant changes to the way the international humanitarian system
of response has been organized, i.e. the introduction of ‘cluster system’. This assigns coordination
and leadership responsibilities to a number of operational humanitarian age ncies globally for
some key sectors as seen in Figure 6 . Clusters are group of humanitarian organizations, in each of
the main sectors of humanitarian action. A cluster approach may be used in conflict -related
humanitarian emergencies and disaster situatio ns and ma y vary from one nation to another . The
cluster approach aims to strengthen system -wide preparedness, make sure that critical materials
and expertise are immediately available, and focus technical capacity. The core functions of a
cluster at countr y level are 12:
– support service delivery by providing a platform for agreeing approaches and eliminating
duplication
– inform strategic decision -making of the Humanitarian Coordinators (HC) or Humanitarian
Country Team (HCT) by coordinating needs assessment, gap analysis, and prioritization
– plan and develop strategy, including cluster plans, adherence to standards and funding
needs
– advocate to address concerns on behalf of cluster participants and affected populations
– monitor and report on the cluster strategy and its result, and recommend corrective action
when necessary
– undertake contingency planning, preparedness, or capacity building where capacity exists
in th e cluster.
12 Emergency Han dbook at https://emergency.unhcr.org/entry/61190/cluster -approach -iasc

20

Each cluster is also responsible for mainstreaming protection and integrating early rec overy from
the outset of the humanitarian response.
Figure 6 . The UN Cluster Approach in Disaster

Source: Emergency Handbook, https://emergency.unhcr.org/entry/61190/cluster -approach -iasc

Scenario and assumption in emergency planning
In the ab sence of an actual disaster , emergency planning against them should be based on
scenarios. These will enable urgent needs to be foreseen and situations to be anticipated by
providing the right resources in the right place and at the right time. Hence, scen arios should be a
vital ingredient of emergency plans. A scenario is a postulated sequence or development of events .
Scenarios can be used to reco nstruct past disasters, where the evolution of these is incompletely
known. For the purpose of emergency plann ing, the more accurate the scenario, the better
prepared the organization is likely to be.
Typically, a n emergency planning scenario will
be based on a “reference event”, or possibly
more than one event. This will be a disaster that
in the past affected t he area covered by the
plan, and which it is deemed may be repeated
in the future. Efforts must be made to assemble
a plausible set of hazard data that represent
the range of possibilities for the physical
impact, for example, the wind speed,
precipitation , or the magnitude and epicentral
location of an earthquake.
Therefore, it is often said that “we plan for the
last event, not the next one.” There is indeed a
tendency to base assumptions about the size
Box 2 . Preparedness Scenario based on
Previous Hazard: Case Study of Japan’s
Tsunami
The magnitude 9 earth quake that occured off the
east cost of Japan in 2011 caused a tsunami that
was considerably higher than those most parts of
the coast had prepared for. People were washed
off refuge monds and the Fukushima Da’ichi
nuclear plant was overrun with water, lea ding to
meltdown .
The plant actually was protected again st a tsunami
that would result from an offshore earthquake with
magnitude up to 7.5

21

and characteristics of each event that will be face d in the future on the historical record of such
events in the past, particularly the recent past. Moreover, the nature of built environment, the
economy, the demography, and social characteristicss of the area and the assets at risk will all
have changed since the reference event. So w hat if the next event is entirely out of character?
Consequently , m odern conditions must also be added to the scenario. This then needs to be
developed as a temporal sequences of evolution in terms of hazard occurence, the impact on
vulnerable people and assets, and the response of emergency services. Because aggregate
patterns of human behaviour also change, several runs of the scenario may be needed. For
example, an earthquake scenario may use the last seismic disaster as its reference, but the future
projection may need to be made for an earthquake that occurs during the night, on a working
day, or on a holiday as there will be different effects on people and buildings and structures that
they use.
In a simple way, the inp uts of a scenario are the
reference event and accompanying conditions
(social, environmental, economic, etc); the output is
the outcome of disaster and its management; the
throughputs and transformations are the evolution
of the scenario over time. Moreove r, t he plan itself
contains of assumptions about what is needed
during the event of disaster and is commonly
developed for specific sectors and scenarios. In this
case, t hose assumptions need to be considered
within the compass of what is feasible with the
available human and technical resources. The point
of using scenarios in emergency planning is to be
able to explore and anticipate needs generated by
predictable future disasters. Hence, the scenario should produce a range of possible outcomes
and should be used as an exploratory tool.
Emergency plan , thereof, should also take into account both the limitations and the capabilities of
response which is determined by the availability of trained personnel, expertise, equipment,
supplies, communications, vehi cles and buildings. Besides, emergency planning has to be realistic.
This means that it can only be applied to resources that actually exist or can be obtained within
an approximately brief time frame. The plan should be able to ensure that every participa nt in
the response to an emergency has a role, and that all anticipated tasks are covered such that the
risk of hiatuses or disputes about responsibilities is minimised.
Furthermore, emergency preparedness plan must be based on accurate assumptions about t he aid
from external sources. In major disasters, hospital might be overloaded; destruction of
telecommunication and transportation systems (highways, railroads, airports, and seaports) could
prevent outside assistance from arriving for days; and restorati on of disrupted water, electric
power, and natural gas pipeline systems could take much longer. Consequently, all social units
must be prepared to be self reliant for as much as a week before external assistance comes.
However, p roblems may come when p lans are often made for people and emergency agencies
without consultation or involving them in the process. This lack of consultation or involvement often
makes response to emergencies difficult and problematic. For example, emergency plans include
Box 3 . Important Elements for Developing
a Scenario

Some of the important elements for
developing a scenario are : (a) numbers of
people affected, (b) priority humanitarian
needs – this usually changes with time, (c)
demographic, vulnerability, (d) geography,
access, logistical considerations, (e) scale of
the response (community, government, aid
agencies), and (f) f unctioning of markets,
socio -political dimensions, resources.

Source: Contingency Planning Guide. IFRC

22

specifying the roles, resources and equipment necessary for response to emergency. In order to
document an effective plan, it is important to confirm if the responding agencies that will help with
response to the emergency have the capacity to respond and provide su ch expertise before
stating that they will do it.

Activation of the plan
The impact phase of a disaster is usually a period, more or less brief, characterized by dynamic
evolution and acute shortage of information. One of the first need is for an assessme nt that
determine whether to move into emergency mode. The declaration of a state of emergency allows
the formal abandonment of normal working procedures and the immediate adoption of those that
pertain strictly to disaster. Table 2 provides functional dif ferences needed within different size of
event.
Table 2 . Functional Differences between Different Sizes of Event
Incidents Major Incidents Disasters Catast rop hes
Size of impact Very localized Fully or partially
localized
Widespread and
severe
Extremely l arge in the
physical and social
sphere
Size of
response
Local resources
used
Mainly local
resources used,
with some mutual
assistance from
nearby areas
Intergovernmental,
multi -agency, multi –
jurisdictio nal
response needed
Major national and
international
resources and
coordination are
required
Plans and
procedures
activated
Standard
operating
procedures
used
Standard
operating
procedures used;
emergency plans
may be activated
Disaster or
emergency plan
activated
Disaster or
emergency plan
activated, but h uge
challenge may
overwhelm them
Impact on
response
resources
needed for
response
Local resources
will probably
be sufficient
Local resources
and some outside
resources needed
Extensive damage
to resources in
disaster area, major
international
tra nsfers o f
resources needed
Local and regional
emergency response
systems paralyzed
and in need much of
outside help
Involvement
of public in
response
Public
generally not
involved in
response
Public largely not
involved in
response
Public extensively
involved in response
Public overwhelmingly
involved in response
Note: adapted from Tierney, K. Hurricane Katrina: Catasthropic impacts and alarming lesson s
Almost as essential as knowing what you are going to do in a response, is to know when you are
going to do it. Therefore, every plan should have a small section outlining how the plan is to be
activated, when, and by whom.
Subsequently, the emergency phase may continue for hours or days, and in exceptional cases for
weeks. However, it should end with a formal decl aration of “stand -down”, as prescribed in the
plan, which releases personnel for leave and ordinary duties.

23

Policies and governmental responses on emergency preparedness
Emergency preparedness plan should clearly define the “institutional architecture” nec essary to
implement it. Some available protocols related to disaster preparedness are:
– The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction
The Sendai framework empha sized the roles of stakeholders in implementing some actions
and the need for cooperation and clarity of roles in implementing the priorities. All four
priorities are also closely connected to reducing related risk factors and reinforcing
disaster preparedness measures in order to respond effectively at all levels . Besides, it
provide s guidelines f or international institutions and countries to use in reducing risks to
disaster and for preparing to respond to disasters when they occur. The frameworks also
serve as guidelines for international institutions to use whenever international interventions
are required in a country .
– The Paris Agreement
The Paris Agreement is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) dealing with greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, adaptation
and finance starting in the year 2020. Under this agreement , each country must determine,
plan, and regularly report on the contr ibution that it undertakes to mitigate global
warm ing .
– Legal and regulatory framework of disaster preparedness at national level
Disaster law or legal framework is c ritical in helping to create the right legislative
environment within which disaster preparedness strategies and activities can become
effective. It is important because it is the main expression of a country’s commitment to
address the needs of the most a t-risk communities through institutionalized, sustained and
properly resourced mechanisms. It establishes legal authority for programs and
organizations that relate to hazards, risk and risk management. Therefore, a sound
legislation should outline a moni toring and enforcement regime that requires entities
responsible for building a preparedness capability to report back on their work, and set
targets for accountability within the system.
The legal and regularity framework serves as a basis for good govern ance and
accountability . Although disasters occur locally and often require locally specific action,
their transboundary nature calls for collaborative action between neighboring states, and
thus, it is important to make sure that national legislation is c ompatible regionally.
It is also important that the institutional arrangements necessary for preparedness are also
reflected in local/state and national legislation. This law (or laws) will guide which activities
can be implemented under what conditions an d establish who has overall responsibility in
disaster. It also defines a coordination structure, articulating both horizontal (between
different sectors) and vertical (between national, sub -national and local entities and
authorities) linkage. In other wo rds, it specifies the role of key ministries/agencies, national
and international organization s and civil society actors in preparedness and response to
avoid confusion in the early days of a response.

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– National disaster plans
These plans outline disaste r management strategies and provide the basis for setting
priorities for and coordinating disaster management – which includes emergency
preparedness – activities at all levels, following an analysis of potential risks. In some
countries, the national disa ster plan takes the form of a general framework for disaster
management and is complemented by more detail sub -plans, known as implementation
plans, specific plans, operational or emergency plans. In other countries, national disaster
plans themselves cont ain operational details.
– Disaster risk assessment document
Disaster risk assessment should guide the optimal allocation of resources to the phases of
disaster management. By identifying and assessing the likelihood and consequences of
potentially disastrou s events, risk assessment provides governments with the basis for the
prioritisation of investment in preparing for disasters. 13
Table 3 shows some of the main international agreements and commitment that include provisions
on preparedness.
Table 3 . Interna tional Agreement and Commitment on Preparedness
Sustainable
Development Goals
(SDGs)
SDG 1.3: Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and
measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage
of the poor and the v ulnerable.
SDG 1.5: By 2030, build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable
situations, and reduce their exposu re and vulnerability to climate -related
extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and
disasters.
Sendai Frame work for
Disaster Risk Reduction
2015 – 2030
Priority 4: Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response and to
“Build Back Better” in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction.
Agenda for Humanity Change people’s lives: from delivering aid to en ding need .
Core responsibility fo ur-B: Anticipate, do not wait for crises (para 118 –
122)
Good Humanitarian
Donorship
Principle 1: The objectives of humanitarian aid are to save lives, alleviate
suffering and maintain human dignity during and in the afte rmath of man –
made crises and natural disasters, as well as to prevent and stengthen
preparedness for the occurence of such situations.

Exercise and Training
Emergency planning document should include a statement about the nature of training and
exercisin g, how they are provided and their frequency. Within this context, exercise can be
defined as a simulation to validate an emergency plan to rehearse key staff and/or test systems
and procedures for emergency response . The role of exercise is to ensure that emergency plans
and planning process are effective, while training is provided for the appropriate number of
13 http://www.oecd.org/finance/insurance/G20disasterriskmanagement.pdf

25

personnel who are responsible for responding to emergencies when they occur. Exercise must be
simple but facilitated based on analysis of an actua l emergency situation and carried out in a
serious and professional manner. Thus the exercise will help to examine existing operational plans,
structures and procedures, while also helping to identify areas that require refinement and review
in the plan.

Exercices can be divided into table -top, live, drill, and discussion -based. Some of these types, such
as live and drill, can be large scale involving all emergency operations and members of public to
test emergency procedures. The exercise type u sed to test and validate a plan is determined
based on scenario, procedures, capability, communication and protocol that require testing .
Although exercise can be demanding and stressful, requiring detailed coordination, planning and
time to organise and c arry out, when done effectively it helps to enhance skills .
Meanwhile, training is defined as the required knowledge, skills and abilities provided to
emergency responders, emergency officials, and other personnel to perform key tasks required
for specific emergency preparedness capabilities which will b e used for response to emergencies
or disasters. Training is also provided for other people whom responders consider strategic to the
emergency response and whose roles are stated in the plan to support resp onse to emergencies.
Exercises helps to identify areas where existing capabilities to manage emergencies are
insufficient and where additional resources and training are required for the level of capability
desired. Training is distinct from exercise becau se training is about increasing the skills, capability
and competence of response personnel named in the plan and who will mobilised for emergency.
Exercising and training elements are important aspects of emergency preparedness because plans
need to be va lidated for them to be effective. They need to be designed with clear, well
formulated objectives, and the ir progress needs to be carefully monitored so that any need for
improvement can be detected and communicated to participants in post -exercise and tra ining
debriefings and reports.
To follow them up, emergency planning process must detect and respond to these changes.
Unfortunately, this point is frequently not recognized. In fact, there is nothing worse that the “paper
plan syndrome” in which the plan is formulated and relegated to a desk drawer without being
used or updated. Such plans can do more harm than good when they are eventually put to the
test by a crisis. As time wears on, both small and large changes will occur. Hence the plan should
Photo: Table Top Exercise (http://www.siwalimanews.com/post/18_negara_hadiri_ttx_ambon_direx_2016 )

26

includ e provisions, not only for disseminating it and training its users, but also for a process of
constant updating, with checks at regular intervals.

Organise and Equip
Emergency assistance can be difficult to impleme nt with limited materials, resources, equ ipment
and time. This makes organise and equip equally important elements of emergency preparedness.
Organise and equip involve identifying and organising a reliable database of key relevant
resources and an operations system capable of handling emergency communications, facilitation
and procedures. Organise and equip are also crucial because they help to ensure that
communication between and among emergency organi zations and with the public are well
understood and communicated .
Equip, which needs to be don e at preparedness phase, involves ensuring good service, supplies
and facilities which can facilitate effective emergency response. Equip as an element of
preparedness helps to determine the point of rendezvous as well as the vocal point of
correspondence from where response arrangements will be coordinated, monitored, evaluated
and mobilized, and this needs to be organized as stated in the emergency procedures in the plan.
Organise and equip are key to effective and efficient organising of facilities, reso urces and
services required for responding to emergencies and ensuring the safety of the public.
Furthermore, good equipping and organising is required in order to develop and implement
comprehensive public awareness, public education programs and informat ion systems and
modality . According to Phillips (2005), the importance of being well organised and equipped
during the planning phase of an emergency can encourage the participation and involvement of
the public in emergency management systems .

Early Warn ing System and Information System
There are two main aspects of communication in emergency preparedness that involve public
awareness about risks of emergencies. The first aspect involves informing the public about how the
emergency sector plans to deal wi th the risks of emergencies when they occur. The second aspect
is early warning, to warn the public and provide them with information and advice necessary for
the onset of emergenc y.
In addition, the emergency notification aligns with the early warning to alert emergency managers,
responders and the public. While it has been observed that emergency situations have the
tendency to disrupt communications put in place, it is important that early warning co mprises
detailed information, such that it can still fa cilitate the required communication for ensuring the
safety of the public . According to C ivil Contingency Act (2004) responders require regular
updates and information about emergency situations so they can take decisions that will help to
deal appropriate ly with emergency situations. Updated information is also required for activation
and stand -down procedures before and after emergency occurs and this is done through
equipped information systems .

27

W hether natural or antropogenic, hazards vary considerably in their predictability and the
amount of lead time, if any, for preparations to take place. To deal with it, emergency managers
should devise procedures for warning the risk area for each of the different hazards identified in
the community. In slow onse t incidents, such as main stem flood, there is likely to be adequate time
for mechanisms such as face -to-face warnings. However, rapid onset incidents, such as toxic
chemical release, might
require the acquisition
of siren system.
Therefore, short -term
war ning must be
distinguished from the
longer -term
predictability of
hazards .
Warnings have three
essential components:
scientific and technical,
administrative, a nd
social (as shown in
Figure 7 ). The absence
or ineffectiveness of
any of them renders
the war ning system
inoperable. Scientific information on an impending hazard must be transformed into a message to
be acted upon, and a decision must be taken to warn affected people who must then hear and
react appropriately to the warning. The emergency plan sh ould determine how to transform
information on hazards to advice or orders on how to react. It should prescribe the means of
disseminating the message and monitoring the social reaction to it. In practical terms, evacuation
or sheltering is usually the mos t appropriate reaction to warning and the best way of moving
people out of harm’s way.
Figure 7 . The Components of Warning Process

To facilitate this process, many use computer databases to provide information to responders .
Siren systems, emerg ency management software, notification systems, network -centric emergency

Photo: Cyclone Alert in Bangladesh

28

notification, mass text messaging services, mass automated dialing services, reverse emergency
calls, etc, are some of the commonly used information system gadgets .
Communication and information systems can be stretched and overloaded during major
emergencies due to power failure, congestion and collapse of system . There is a need, therefore,
to develop systematic approaches or procedures for ensuring that responders, emergency
manage rs and the public all understand the warning system and know what each information
system is used for . Furthermore, there are several limitations with information systems and warning
systems depending on the emergency or location. For example, if the emerg ency is an explosion,
it can render a public address system useless, while using a siren alarm in a deaf school would
also be useless.
Therefore, by examining early warning systems and information systems, it is evident that there
are several types of earl y warning systems based on risk assessment elements identified and
areas that will be affected by emergency. Information systems also depend on the types of
emergency response organi zations who will be involved in the emergency that might be
determined by the risk assessment . Both early warning system and information system also
influence the equip element of preparedness by helping to determine the information sharing
platform jointly decided by emergency response organi zations and other public stakeholder s. This
is because the wrong type of information sharing or early warning system, decided without the
consultation of all stakeholders, may cause confusion and inability to respond when emergency
occurs . The limitations of early warning systems and informa tion systems, such as network
breakdown and problems with connectivity during severe weather, emphasi ze the importance of
the next element, which is public education .

Public Education
Public education can be
defined as the process which
involves informin g and
educating the public about
risks and preparedness
activities which the emergency
organizations have put in
place to support them. Pre –
disaster public education (or
public awareness) involves
information to help the public
understand risks they may
face and the basic steps they
can take to avoid these risks.
Also the emergency sector
provides information about
contact details and how they can be further trained or educated in procedures that can ensure
their safety and that of their family or organizat ion.
Type or medium of public education depends on the composition of the public. For example, public
education can be undertaken through campaigns, door to door awareness, publishing pamphlets

Photo: Publication by FEMA ( https://www.fema.gov/media -library – data/1389294951288 -b25113d9aef2b877323d380720827f3b/R3_trifold_eng.pdf

29

containing of information, media announcements, and multimedi a message on billboards, direct
radio broadcasts, and public adress announcements in public buildings. While it is important to
make public education for emergency preparedness as simple as possible, it is also important that
the medium selected does not p rovide misleading or errneous information.

1.5 Key c omponents in emergency preparedness planning
Our capacity to respond to a disaster depends on the ability of numerous response systems to
work together . Moreover, disaster preparedness is not a simple conc ept. It is not only about
stockpiles of equipment and supplies. It is about what people know, what they think, and who they
trust. It is not only about individual preparedness, but more about community preparedness.

Evacuation and Shelter
Emergency p lans should include planning to address a myriad of threats and indicate when
evacuation and shelter is appropriate. Therefore, jurisdictions should consider existing concepts,
plans, systems, resources, and practices. Lessons learned from previous disasters ha ve proven that
evacuation and shelter protective actio ns vary based on the threat or hazard. They can also vary
based on a community’s demographics, infrastructure, resources, authorities and decision making
process.
One important matter in preparedness pl anning is the extent to which transitional shelter should
be provided. Meeting shelter needs after disasters should be seen as a process of “sheltering”
done by affected households with different materials, technical, financial, and social assistance.
Mean whi le, e vacuation refers to the arrangements established in advance to enable the moving
of people and assets temporarily to safer places before, during or after the occu rrence of
hazardous event in order to protect them. Evacuation may include interagency responses and
should be integrated with region or operational area plans. When conducting evacuation,
emergency preparedness committee should consider alternative locations, communications,
transport option, separation of evacuation routes for pick up and delivery of victims, cache of
supplies or resources, and employee and victims safet y. Evacuation also requires a command
structure to best manage the situation.
Figure 8 . The Chaos of Evacuation and Refugee Shelter during Disaster
Photo: https://news.d etik.com Photo: https://www.antaranews.com

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A shared understanding of evacuation and shelter planning is essential to effective emergency
planning. In this case, evacuation and shelter planning should be consistent with existing
jurisdictional authoriti es, roles, and responsibility, as defined in the current statutes, regulations,
delegations of power, MoUs, policies, and other guidance documents. In some jurisdictions, the
authorities to issue an evacuation order or shelter are probably not clearly defi ned or lie with a
vacant office. These situations will require a specific guidance on further authority and
coordination between levels of government to clarify processes before an event occurs.
An evacuation should move as few
people as possible the short est distance
possible while providing their safety.
Besides, evacuation orders should
target specific populations within zones
at risks. When conducting an
evacuation, evacuee tracking can
become a part of evacuation
operations based on jurisdictional
capa bilities and resource needs.
Additionally, jurisdictions should ensure
citizens that the systems will protect
personally identifiable information
while facilitating reunification and
ensuring safety during an evacuation.
Besides, jurisdictions should also
coordinate mass care efforts
concurrently with evacuation/sheltering
planning so that populations evacuating
from a disaster area have a safe
location to seek refugee. Evacuation plan should also account for critical transportation needs
(CTN) population w hich encompasses any evacuees with limited or no access to transportation who
require assistance to evacuate safely.
In addition, evacuation and shelter zones allows jurisdictions to target zone -based evacuation to
the most vulnerale areas, while also limi ting the need for evacuating large areas that are not
under the theat of a hazard. Zones need to be easily recognizable by both first responders and
citizens to ensure clear messaging on protective actions occuring because of the hazard. However,
the mecha nism for assigning these zones will vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
Being prepared for an evacuation includes identifying primary evacuation routes from multiple
locations as well as to make informed decisions on the appropriate transportation mode ls.
Meanwhile, preparation for shelter include s ensuring that the family or individual has a specified
shelter location. This shelter should provide a secure facility, a cot to sleep on, enough non –
perishable food, blankets, communication equipment, alter nate power sources, first aid supplies,
necessary medications, durable medical equipment , and any functional assistance .
Box 4 . Evacuation Chaos: Studi from Mount Merapi
Eruption, Indonesia

The number of affected communities continued to increase
after Government of Indonesia (GoI) announced the Merapi
eruption hazard zone to be expanded to 20km. It caused
panic among people since the days before GoI had warned
that only those who lived within 10km should evacuate. The
latest announcement had made the number of refugees 10
times swollen than predicted.
And the chaos was just to start. The disaster management
officers went back and forth using large vehicles to be able
to simultaneouosuly evacuate many victims once they arrived
in hazard zones. On the other side, there were also self
evacuation and volunteers coming to hazard zones to help
the victims. All these created a very bad traffic jam.
Existing evacuation routes were not sufficient to accomodate
the flow of the refugees. The vehicles could not even move
at all. And thus, people started to leave their cars because
they were worrying about being exposed to the hot clouds.
Conditions were getting worse causing officers, military
personnels and refugees had to walk to evacuate themselves
to the safer places.

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Moreover, w hen doing a self evacuation, b asic supplies should be stored so they can be grabbed
quickly when needed to evacuate. When making list, people may consider Five Ps of Evacuation
as reflected in Figure 9 .14
Figure 9 . Five Ps of Self Evacuation
Nevertheless, problems may come up in evacuation and shelter ing . The longer people have been
living in an area, the less likely they ar e to evacuate since usually they have been accustomed of
the hazards that kept on happening i n their areas, lost faith in officials ability to predict a threat,
and fear that their homes and business will be looted. Additionally, those who evacuated had
ex perienced frustration due to lack of system facilities within the area, such as not enough comfort
room, space for resting, privacy an d sanitation, and t hus deter s future evacuation.
Since lives are at stake, the government should ensure that some critical considerations are
weigh ed during evacuation and shelter planning, such as accessibility, contraflow lane reversal,
correctional facilities, possibility of domestic/sexual violence shelters, fuel management,
individuals with access and functional needs, a nd mass care services.

Logistics and stockpiling
The humanitarian supply chain is a complicated, dynamic and powerful mechanis m. Involving up
to 80 per cent of humanitarian organizations’ operational budgets, logistics are often the most
complex element o f an emergency relief operation.
Logistics mean s different thing to different groups. The common definition of logistics is the process
of planning, implementing and controlling the efficient, cost -effective flow of and storage of goods
and materials as w ell as related information, from poin t of origin to point of consumption for the
purpose of meeting the end beneficiary’s requirement. 15
Due to its expertise in the field of humanitarian logistics, the World Food Program (WFP) was
chosen by the UN to be th e lead agency for the Logistics Cluster. Logistics cluster is a mechanism
14 https://www.fema.gov/media -library -data/1409002852888 – 3c5d1f64f12df02aa801901cc7c311ca/how_to_prepare_flood_033014_508.pdf downloaded on July, 25 th, 2018
15 Study on International Humanitarian Transport, Logistics and Stockpiling Capacities for the European Comission Directorate General for Humanitarian Aid. 2009

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responsible for coordination, information management, and – when necessary – logistics services
provision to ensure that the effective and efficient logistic response takes place in humanitarian
emergency missions. Dealing with disaster, the logistics cluster project aims to create a common,
sustainable approach to supply chain preparedness. The core idea of supply chain preparedness
efforts is to support local and international actor s, before an emergency, to identify and address
systemic challenges in local supply chain systems, in a sustainable way.
The logistics cluster also works to develop and improve the capacity, efficiency, and effectiveness
of the logistics response in the fu ture emergencies. Preparedness training, activities, and tools are
also available to benefit the entire humanitarian community through the logistics cluster, and
represent the combined expertise of the humanitarian logistics sector.

Moreover, s upply chai ns are essential to humanitarian operations and emergency responses.
Emergency planning for them has two aspects. The first is an element of business continu ity. It seeks
alternative ways to ensure supplies of goods and services in order to keep productivi ty from
falling as a result of interruption of normal business. This requires planners to determine which
assets are critical and where the destruction or failure of assets may have a critical effect on the
whole production cycle. The second involves ensur ing efficiency in humanitarian supply, such as the
forces on the ground are not left bereft of the equipment, goods, and manpower that are needed
to tackle the emergency effectively.
Proper location of emergency resources within the supply chain in anticip ation of a disaster can
provide tremendous paybacks during times of crisis. In other words, part of being ready for a
disaster is being in the right place to start with. Besides, e mergency resources need to be located
in places that are not vulnerable to a ttack. Yet, they need to be close to the areas to which the y
are assigned to serve so they provides logistics managers with quick access to critical resources
while minimizing the total cost spent. Box 6 provides tips fo r relevant parties to deal with supp ly
chain security.
Box 5 . Role of WFP in Logistics Cluster: a Study from Bangladesh
Since 1992, Cox’s Bazar continues to experience an intermittent influx of refugee from Myanmar. A new
influx of undocumented Myanmar Nationals, estimated at 655,500 as of 31 December 2017, has
eroded already compromised resources in the existing make shift settlements and refugee camps at
Kutupalong and Balukhali. WFP, together with the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR),
is co -chairing the logistic secto r in Bangladesh, and as lead agency of the logistics cluster, is coordinating
the logistics sectors in Cox’s Bazar.
The main logistics constraints faced by humanitarian organizations responding to the emergency are the
lack of available storage facilities and clear custom procedures, as well as the inability to prepare for
the potential damages and impairments which the upcoming cyclone season may cause.
The logistics sector has set up logistics hub in the space allocated by the government; 15 mobile storag e
units for a total of 2,184m2 have been made available for all humanitarian organizations as well as
for the government, on a free to user basis.
The logistics sector has also been coordinating with the different governmental actors involved in the
respon se, including the military, and managing and sharing information on custom procedures, access
constraints and other key operational data.
It has also been gathering and compiling information on market assessment, price monitoring and local
procurement to f eed into the Bangladesh Logistics Capacity Assessment (LCA).
Source: https://logcluster.org/annualreport/2017/

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Box 6 . Tips to Build Supply Chain Security
1. Identify the emergency resources needed at each secure location
Medical supplies, water, food, blanket, generators, and any other c ritical items should be
outlined .The items of emergency reso urces can be added to the list based on the unique needs of
the vulnerable community.
2. Identify all critical facilities within the supply chain
The second step is to identify the locations within the supply chain that will need access to emergency
resources . The key to minimizing supply chain disruption is to consider all players within the supply
chain.
3. Set maximum response time goals for access to emergency resources
Because the storage of emergency facilities will be off -site and because each secure locat ion may
serve multiple facilities, a decision must be made about the maximum time it sould take any facility
in the supply chain to gain access to emergency resources. This constraint is important because it will
be a primary factor in determining how many emergency resource storage areas will be needed to
cover the whole supply chain.

System preparedness
Modern emergency responses are heavily reliant on information and communications technology.
Emergency plans should reflect these innovations and the op portunities they bring for sharing
information and developin g a sypnotic picture of a rapidly evolving situation on the ground.
To respond during emergencies or disasters, public agencies need to have core system capacities
in place. Those systems might a chieve these capacities by either establishing those services
themselves or through agreements with outside partners which may include among others:
– preparedness and response capabilities which refer to the capacity of agen cies to prepare
for and respond to disasters and emergencies
– communication services which refer to the capacity to disseminate accurate and timely
information to the public before and during an emergency
– information systems which refere to the structure and organization of information exc hange
and flows for rapid commu nication, analysis, and intepret ation of disaster -related data
and the public’s access to the data. The interface among agencies and departments
located in different jurisdictions and at different administrative levels is cri tical
– surveillance refers to the capacity to track and forecast events, including the detection of
any changes in the disaster patterns
– policy and evaluation activities include the work of public agencies to develop disaster –
related policies and laws.
A fu rther issue is the need for emergency planning in different system . The United Kingdom’s Civil
Contingencies Act of 2004 , for example, obliges the providers of fundamental services to draw
up system emergency plans. Industrial firms , for example, need plan s, so that they can cope with
technological failures and their consequences . Besides, e mergency plans are needed in both
hospitals and the health systems of which they form a part. Hospital plans should state the
preparations needed for int ernal and exter nal emergencies. In addition, public transport services
need emergency plans to guarantee the movement of people and goods dur ing a crisis and its
aftermath.

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Educational institutions should also take into consideration the importance of providing a safe
ed ucation to pupils and students. Today, there is a requirement to ensure that school students are
looked after in safety throughout an emergency since schools and other institutions have been
target of natural hazards, terrorism (such as marauding gunmen) a nd structural collapse and fire.
Finally, there is an increasing realization that emergency plans are needed to protect cultural
heritage, which includes a huge variety of sites and art efacts, many of which have highly
specialized conservation requirements . Loss of cultural heritage in disasters such as floods and
earthquakes can deal a catastrophic blow to the intellectual and artistic life of a country by
obliterating or damaging an irreplaceable legacy.

Community -based preparedness
Recent disasters hav e revealed limitations
in the timing and mobility of government
assistance to the public. Being the first to
suffer, the affected community usually
becomes the first responder in any disaster
situation. Local populations in disaster –
striken areas are the f irst to respond to a
disaster. They are usually involved in
search and rescue activities as well as in
providing emergency treatment and relief
to their families, friends and neighbors.
Involving communities in disaster
preparedness activities is crucial since
communities in high risk areas have often developed their own coping mechanisms and strategies
to reduce the impact of disasters. It is important to appreciate this local knowledge and resources,
and to build on them in order to improve the capacity of people to withstand the impact of
disasters. Furthermore, another reason to invest in community -based disaster preparedness is
because it is not only “big disasters” that destroy life and livelih oods. Accumulated lo sses from
small floods, droughts and landslides can probably exceed the lo sses from big disasters and
contribute significantly to increased vulnerability at the local level. These disasters att rac t little
media attention and communities are often left on their own to cope with the destruction .
Therefore, preparedness plans for communities that are based on the mutual a ssistances within the
community have been highlighted as areas for improvement. 16 Community level involvement and
interventions are crucial to the success of any disaster risk re duction and preparedness efforts. In
this situation , a central role for local communities as active participants should be acknowledged
and promoted. The government, in partnership with other community organization and networks,
can play an important role in improving the skills and knowledge of these “spontaneous” disaster
responders by providing them with education and training in preparedness measures, basic rescue
techniques, and first aid and emergency treatment. Therefore, community -based disaster
16 http://www.bou sai.go.jp/keikaku/20111227_basic_plan.pdf
Box 7 . Bosai Girl: Get Japanese Youth Prepared
for Emergencies
Triggered by 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster
that hit the Tohoku region, Bos ai Girl (translated into
Disaster Preparedness Girl) tries to break down the
conservative concept of disaster preparedness. It
builds collaboration project with some companies and
communities to create new products for disaster
preparedness, for example fo lded shoes, bags
covered with 3D hazard maps, and healthy food.
The group also organised evacuation drills in areas
popular with the youth. They use a smartphone
application to find their way to evacuation centers
and support stations as quickly as possibl e

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pre paredness is a process that seeks to develop and implement a locally appropriate and locally
“owned” strategy for disaster preparedness and risk reduction. 17
Endangered communities must be able to learn about their risks and op tions and work together
flexi bly and creatively to solve problems . Therefore, when emergency responses of local and
national governments often cannot reach affected populations immediately after an event,
especially when a disaster strike s a large area at the same time , the preparedne ss of community
has been proven to be a cornerstone of support to the affected victims. The UN even gives more
attention to public part icipation in disaster . United Nations Public Sector Award (UNPSA) 2019
has awarded PetaBencana.id, a n open source and participatory platform initiated by Indonesian
National Disaster Management Agency. This p latform enables crowdsourcing and public report ing
for disaster in Indonesia , and thus those disasters can be managed properly as soon as possible.
The sustainability of community based
disaster preparedness lies in empowerment
and participation of the community. They
are like two sides of the same coin, as one
will not be effective without the other.
Therefore, focusing more on a participatory
approach linked to the culture of the
community should be the key success of
community based disaster preparedness.
Therefore, capturing the local relevance
and incorporatin g it in any national, or even
international program, besides providin g
adequate and supportive facilitators , has to
be dealt in a very delicate manner to
encourage community participation.
Here, community based disaster
preparedness looks at local knowledg e and
local wisdom as important point s for the
following two reasons . First, they are hidden
in people’s daily life, thus it is difficult to
share without installing the designated device, and secondly, the end -victims of a disaster are
none other than com munity people, and they are eventually responsible for their own survival and
saving their property. Therefore, their ideas, their attitudes and their questions should be
thoroughly taken into account in the management process.
People have gained experienc e in dealing with disasters because they have had to, and the
knowledge an d expertise they have acquired are invaluable to effective disaster preparedness.
This local knowledge, including wisdom obtained from indigenous populations, is a welcome
supplement to scientific knowledge to build strong disaster preparedness management.

17 Disaster Preparedness Training Programme International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. 2000
Box 8 . Community Preparedness in Indonesia:
Living in Harmony with Active Volcanoes through
Sister Village Program
Four million people live around volcanoes in
Indonesia. Mt. Merapi, for example, was surrounded
by huge number of residents. When it erru pted in
2010, a million people were displaced (compare to
major volcanic eruption in Japan, 2011, which
displaced “only” 90 people).
This creates big problem for government and disaster
manager to provide shelters for the evacuee. To
overcome the problem, Local Disaster Management
Agency of Sleman created “sister village program”.
This program enables people from disaster affected
areas to move to the nearest safe village. The
program has mapped designated emergency
meeting locations, suggested route and d estination
for each family in hazardous areas when they have
to evacuate.
Through this program, people in safe area will help
their neighbour village by providing them with
accomodation and basic needs.

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Financing Preparedness
There is a growing acknowledgement that the current business model for humanitarian assistance
does not adequately prepare for disasters. In the absence of p reparedness actions, it costs more
and takes longer to respond to humanitarian needs when a disaster strikes and when humanitarian
needs peak. While disaster relief captures the imagination of the public, pre disaster activities
often rank relatively low o n public agendas. Relief and rehabilitation constitute the primary form
of disaster management and account for most of spending on disaster -related activities annually,
leaving a very low balance for preparedness and mitigation as illustrated in Figure 10 below.
Figure 10 . P re Disaster Activities is Only a Tiny Fraction of Total Assistance
Investing in preparedness makes sense in many ways. C ost -benefit analyses suggest that
appropriate investments in preparedness and mitigation could substantially reduce the burden of
disasters. It is evident, a dollar invested in disaster preparedness and mitigation will prevent four
to eight dollars in disaster losses. Donors will still need to respond to emergency needs. But
preparedness, rooted in comprehensive risk a nd contextual analysis can maximise the potential of
response funds to meet humanitarian needs in a more timely, appropriate and effective manner.
Government, commonly becomes the leading party in providing source of fund for disaster
preparedness activiti es/programs. Government of Bangladesh and Guatemala , for example,
have provided funds for preparedness phase in their government annual budget. Besides, in
Bangladesh, some international agencies or donor funds, like climate change fund, green climate
chan ge fund and carbon emission fund are also used for disaster preparedness.
Another example can be seen from the Philippines. The National Government is required to
appropriate for the National Disaster Risk, Reduction and Management (DRRM) Fund and
allocate d to various National Government Agencies that are invloved in dealing with DRRM
activities/initiatives. Further, Republic Act 10121, known as the Philippines Risk Reduction and
Management Act of 2010, has stated that DRRM Fund shall be used for disaster r isk reduction or
mitigation, prevention and preparedness activities. It can also be utilized for relief, recovery,
reconstruction and other work or services in connection with natural or human -induced calamities
which may occur during the budget year or th ose that occured in the past two years from the
budget year. Of the amount appropriated for the NDRRM Fund, 30 per cent shall be allocated
as Quick Response Fund or standy -by fund for relief and recovery program s in that other situation
and living conditio n of people in communities or areas stricken by disasters, calamities, epidemics
or complex emergencies may be normalized as quickly as possible. On the other hand, each Local

37

Government Units (LGUs) is required to appropriate at least 5 per cent of the es timated revenue
from regular sources for the local DRRM Fund.
Prepositioning emergency relief through a regular logistical chain and training national and local
capacity in an area that is prone to recurrent disaster clearly will cost less than flying in e mergency
relief and international experts during an emergency. Similarly, failure to make adequate
financial provision against risk is extremely costly for individuals and govenments who face a crisis
as well as for donors. The cost of responding to a disa ster is greater when no one was prepared
for it. Disaster preparedness funding can take ma ny forms, of which some examples are listed in
Table 4 below.
Tab le 4 . Probability Use of Disaster Preparedness Fund
Preparing Funds for an Early Response Preparing P artners fo r Early Action and
Immediate Response
Emergency financial reserve
It is available for unforeseen events requiring
urgent funding. Any left over funds are released at
the end of each financial year and made available
for regular activities, if no crisis requiring them
occurs in the budget cycle. Emergency reserve
provides a degree of financial preparedness: funds
are available, can be released rapidly and help to
shorten lag time between the crisis onset and
delivery of aid funds. Good practice is to create
drawdown arrangements with humanitarian
partners.
Emergency supply pre -positioning and training
Demand for relief materia ls spikes in crises, as
does the price of commodities and transportation .
Stockpiling critical supplies in strategic location s in
anticipation of future emergencies is a traditional
preparedness activity. Most countries supply items
through a national disaster management agency
or related ministries. Pre -positioning items and
training field staff to respond can address regular
and foreseeable humanitarian needs.
Building contingent capacity for disasters into
planning process
Development planning processes rarely plan for
and build in contingent financing capacity against
risk, even in countries where shocks are common
and pred ictable. It is, therefore, good practice to
ensure that contingency planning for known risks,
such as seasonal hazards like droughts and
hurricanes, are systematically included in
development and humanitarian plans. These
contingency sections of the overa ll plans should
also have potential funding sources attached, so
that when disaster strikes relief providers know
immediately where funding for the response will
come from, and do not have to undertake a
lengthy appeals process.
Foreca st-based financing

Forecast -based financing is an innovative approach
that triggers humanitarian action and funding for
preparedness, based on forecast of extreme
weather and climate conditions. Humanitarian
responders, meteorological services and
communities agree on specif ic preparedness actions
that are worth carrying out once a forecast reaches
a certain threshold of probability. Each action is
allocated a budget and funds are disbursed
automatically once the threshold is reached,
according to predefined standar d operatio nal
procedures.
Disaster relief emergency fund (DREF)
The IFRC established DREF to provide immediate
financial support to National Red Cross a nd Red
Crescent Societies. The DREF acts as a loan facility
only for those national societies in countries
affect ed by a disaster. Both loan and the grant
facilities are also used to help national societies
prepare for imminent crises.

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Box 9 presents an example of innovati ve financing that combines preparedness, resilience building
and early action, based on weath er forecast.
Box 9 . Forecast -based Financing (FbF) Partnership between Germany and the IFRC
Many climate -related hazards can be forecasted, and humanitarian actors have access to information
about when and where to expect extreme weather events such as sto rms, flood or drought. The German
Government supports the German Red Cross and IFRC in the creation of an anticipatory humanitarian
system that acts on increased risk of climate extremes before a disaster happens. In this system, funds for
agree d humanitar ian preparedness actions are released after a forecast is issued and before a potential
disaster strikes.
With FbF, the Peruvian Red Cross and its partners have better prepared for possible flood in Peru during
El Nino years. They have defined guidelines r egarding who takes action and when, where and with what
funds, based on forecasts. These actions may include the purchase of materials to reinforce houses when
a seasonal, or three -month, forecast predicts floods, for example. Then, if a short -term, or a s even -day,
forecast indicates that flooding is likely, the Peruvian Red Cross immediately distributes the materials and
residents can quickly reinforce their homes.
The success of FbF depends on a coordinated effort by a range of actors, including meteorolo gists,
climate scientists, humanitarian and development actors, governmental authorities, donors and local
communities. Together, these partners determine the prepredness actions to be taken as thresholds of
forecast risk are met. Each preparedness action, defined in advance, is budgeted so it can be
implemented quickly when needd.
No forecast is 100% certain and FbF presupposes that a forecasted extreme event may not always
materialise. But the essence of FbF is that over to ne, “the losses implied by occas ionally ‘acting in vain’
will be more than offset by the added benefits of scientifically enabled early actions” before a disaster
does materialise.
Source: German Red Cross, 2016 at https://www.oecd.org/development/humanitarian -donors/docs/financingprepar edness.pdf

1.6 Mapping out the actors and their responsibilities in alleviating the crisis
Disaster management is commonly
institutionalized with the creation of any
specific agency/ institution . This may indicate
a change in orientation from specialized
preparedness for single or narrowly defined
categories of hazards toward an all -hazard
approach that includes potential threats to
life and property.
Emergency preparedness should be a co –
operative effort in which the users and
beneficiaries of the plan are the
stakeholders who have an interest in ensuring
that the plan works well and do not lead to
chaos. This is about finding resources and
ensuring that the assemblage of response units, plans, and initiatives is generally going in the right
direction so th at it will meet the needs of population affected by disaster.
Generally, emergency planning should promote interorganizational coordination. This obviously
should include public safety agenc ies such as disaster management, fire department, police, and
emer gency medical services. However, it should also include organizations that are potential
hazard sources, such as hazardous materials facilities and hazardous materials transporters
Box 10 . Effective Emergency Planning: A
Participato ry Planning

Planning is most effective when it is a participatory
process involving all the actors who will be required
to work together in the event of an emergency. A
contingency plan should ideally be a dynamic
document, i.e. continually updated. Plan ners should
encourage screening, analysis and discussion from
those who must approve and/or implement its
components. This means the plan should be widely
distributed and communicated to Central
Government, board members, headquarters’ offices
and departme nts, branches, volunteers and to
relevant external agencies.

39

(pipeline, rail, truck, and barge) and organizations that must protect sens itive/vulnerable
populations, such as schools, hospitals, and nursing homes.
Coordination is required because emergency response organizations that differ in their
capabilities must work in coordination to implement an effective emergency response. To perf orm
their functions effectively, efficiently, and promptly requires members of the community emergency
response organization to be aware of one another’s missions, organizational structures and styles
of operations, communication systems, and mechanisms fo r allocating scarce resources. Table 5
indicates the capacity and involvement of actors in emergency response.
Table 5 . Threshold of Capacity in Emergency Response
Local incident Local response
Small regional
incident
Co -ordinated local response (regiona l response)
Major regional
incident
Intermunicipal and regional response (regional response)
National disaster Intermunicipal, regional, and national response (national response)
International
catastrophe
Intermunicipal, regional, and national response with international assistance
(national response)
Therefore, o ne source of complexity in contingency planning is the need to integrate several
dimensions into the programmed emergency responses, i.e.:
– Hierarchical divisions refer to the tier of government – from national, through regional, to
local
– Geographical divisions indicate the spatial jurisdictions to which plans refer, and possibly
also to questions of mutual assistance
– Organizational divisions refer to the different agencies that participate in em ergency
response, such as “blue light” services (police, fire, and ambulance), technical groups and
volunteer organizations
– Functional divisions indicate the different fields involved, such as government, health care,
public order, public works, economy an d employment, finance, and private sector.

Government
When disasters threaten or strike a jurisdiction, people expect their leaders to take immediate
action to deal with the problem. The government is expected to marshal its resources, channel the
efforts of voluntary agencies and private enterprise in the community, and solicit assistance from
outside of the jurisdiction if necessary.
Government of the affected area has the primary role in the initiation, organization, coordination
and implementation of h umanitarian assistance within its territory. When the capacity of local and
national government is surpassed, the timely involvement of external actors including governmental
organ iza tions, the private sectors, NGOs and civil society groups can significant ly alleviate the

40

hardship suffered by afflicted communities. Therefore, l inkage between the government and those
external actors should also be clearly articulated in advance.
In most cases, responsibility for the overall coordination of disaster prepared ness activities is
assigned to one government department (for example the Prime Minister’s Office) as well as an
implementation authority (e.g. a designated disaster management office or other authority).
However, it may be necessary to account for specifi c types of emergencies that m ay require
different agencies assuming authority (e.g. outbreak or pandemic that may require greater
leadership from the Ministry of Health).

Disaster Management Office/Agency
Disaster management is the primary responsibility of the respective Disaster Management
Office /Agency of an area/country. It should set up the legal and organizational framework as
well as required resources. For all types and magnitudes of disasters, Disaster Management
Office /Agency should seek to prov ide a coordinati ng role and pass on information on the needs
of the affected communities. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an example
of Disaster Management Office in the United States. In some countries, e.g. Philippines, there is no
sepa rate Disaster Management Office. In these countries, disaster management functions,
particularly, the coordinating functions are executed by an ad -hoc body or a Council composed
of relevant agencies involved in disaster management by virtue of their respec tive mandate.
Government of Guatemala, for example, has built System of the National Coordinator for Disaster
Reduction (CONRED System) and assigned Executive Secretariat of the National Coordinator for
Disaster Reduction (CONRAD SE) to deal with disaster -related issues. Regarding the matter,
National Response Plan of Guatemala has stipulated an organizational structure based on the
incident command system which delegates functions and responsibilities to the institutions at all
levels. Many line ministries support the plan, such as Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of
Public Health and Social Assistance, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Public Finance, Ministry of
Communication, Transportation and Public Works, Ministry of the Interior, National Fire Brigades,
Assembly of President of Professional Associations, and Coordinating Committee of Agricultural,
Commercial, Industrial, and Financial Associations.

Local Community
Each of emergency plannings is associated with a threshold of capability, which is determined by
the availability of trained personnel, expertise, equipment, supplies, communications, vehicles, and
buildings. If the magnitude of the emergency exceeds or overwhelms local capabilities, then it is
necessary to invoke higher levels of res ponse . However, these should always aim to reinforce, not
supplant the local ability to respond to the emergency. Supplanting local resources, decision
making capabilities, and responses will only leave the local area weaker and less able to manage
the lon ger term aftermath and any emergencie s that may occur in the future.

41

Supreme Audit Institutions
Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) play a major role in auditing government accounts and operations.
SAIs have different mandates but similar responsibilities t o provide legislatures and society with
the information they need to hold government accountable.
In this context, SAIs play a central role in holding governments to account. SAIs can play its role
towards improving the economy, efficiency and effectivene ss of these initiatives as well as better
utilisation of aid and fund. The intervention of SAIs would also help to ensure that disaster
preparedness management activities are resilient and sustainable and are given due importance.
SAI s’ mandate
The extent of SAIs engagement in the audit of disaster preparedness management would depend
on their mandate. Audit mandate can permit and encourage broad audits encompassing most or
all of the activities and organizations involved in disaster preparedness managemen t, or they can
prove an obstacle to complete audits of full scale disaster management.
Depending on their mandate and also nature of disaster preparedness management activities in
the country, SAI may choose to conduct financial , compliance or performance audit of disaster
preparedness management.
While it may not be the primary responsibility of the SAI to detect fraud and corruption in the
audit of disaster preparedness management, SAI should be aware of the risk of fraud and
corruption. SAIs can urge gov ernment to prepare for these risks by proposing the development of
an anti -fraud and corruption strategy. To do this, SAIs can evaluate the adequacy of controls
already in place and where necessary recommend improvements to them. Where appropriate,
SAIs ca n also recommend the development of additional controls specifically designed to prevent,
detect and respond to identified risks in a manner consistent with the legal and regularity
framework.

International Community
When government ’s efforts fail or its resources and capacities are insufficient, international efforts
are requested. This may take the form of assistance from other countries or of international
organizations or institutions. However, such efforts or interventions should be undertaken based o n
agreed terms of involvement.

Volunteer
Volunteer s common ly collaborate with local
governments, emergency managers, and other
non profit organization during and after a
disaster. Therefore, i t is essential to cultivate these
kinds of relationships in a pre disaster
environment. The clumsy coordination, response,
and recovery efforts needlessly contributed to
loss of life. These highlights the need for strong
Photo: NGO participates in alleviating crisis

42

communication and preparation before high stress disaster situation.
There are two categories of disaster volunteers: affiliated volunteers and spontaneous unaffiliated
volunteers. Affiliated volunteers work with specific agencies and have been trained in disaster –
response techniques. Because they have been training and are known to the agencies, the y usually
require little supervision. Spontaneous unaffiliated volunteers, on the other hand, are ordinary
citizens who want to help in the aftermath of the disaster. Therefore, despite their best intentions,
spontaneous unaffiliated volunteers can be hard to manage if there is no plan for doing so in
place.

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CHAPTER 2
FROM PANIC TO PLANNING

The year 2016 may well prove to be a turning point in how humanitarian aid responds to crises. For one,
the need is great: forced migration from conflict is at its hi ghest since World War II (IDMD, 2016); the
number and scale of disasters triggered by natural hazards are increasing (UNISDR, 2016); and 2015
was the hottest year ever recorded (NASA, 2015) .18 World Economic Forum : Global Risks Perception
Survey 2016 also showed that climate change and rising cyber dependency have become trends that
determined global development. 19 Combined at times with growing civil ins tability demonstrate that the
need for disaster intervensions will continue to grow. Some even argue that radical change is needed
because the formal system faces a crisis of legitimacy, capacity and means, blocked by significant and
enduring flaws that prevent it from being effective.
Focusing on disaster s after they occur is essential from a humanitarian poi nt of view, but not sufficient for
reducing their tragic consequences to people, economies and the environment. Identifying and measuring
risks and vulnerabilities before a disaster occurs – and prepare for it – are essential tasks for effective
disaster m anagement. Thus, b eside getting informed on a few basic rules when it comes to preparedness ,
it is also important to develop preparedness approach based on hazard types. This session will provide
readers with some preparedness examples for some types of di sasters .

2.1 Prepare for natural disasters
Scientific research suggests that climate change has the potential to affect ecosystems, water
resources, food production, human health, infrastructure, energy system, etc . Evidence shows that
over the past two decades, the number of recorded disasters has doubled from approximately
200 to over 400 per year. It is also believed that n ine out of every ten of these disasters have
been climate related.
The increase in disaster frequency was largely due to a sustained rise in the number of climate
change disasters, such as storms and flood. EM -DAT recorded nearly 240 climate -related disasters
per year before 2000, compared to 341 per year after that date, a 44 per cent increase .20
Current projections regardi ng climate change suggest this trend is set to continue and that weather –
related hazard events will become more frequent and more volatile. In this case, c limate change
may increase disaster risk in two ways: by increasing weather and climate hazards and b y
increasing the vulnerability of communities to natural hazards.

Flood
Flood is the most common natural disa ster in many countries. Flood is believed to be a temporary
overflowing of water onto land that is normally dry. It may occur during any season and in several
ways, including the following:
18 World Disaster Report. Resilience: saving lives today, investing for tomorrow. IFRC. 2016
19 The G lobal Risks Report 2017: 12th Edition. World Economic Forum
20 The Human Cost of Natural Disasters 2015: a Global Perspective. CRED. 2015

44

– Rivers and lakes cannot contain excessive rain or snowmelt .
– Excessive rain or snowmelt cannot be fully absorbed into the ground .
– Waterways are blocked with debris and overflow .
– Water containment systems break, such as levees, dams, or water or sewer systems .
– Strong winds from tropical storms or hurricanes cause a storm surge by pushing seawater
onto land.
Flood can occur slowly as rain continues to
fall in many days. This type of flooding,
sometimes called a sl ow -onset flood, can
take a week to develop a nd ca n last for
months before floodwater s recede.
Meanwhile rapid -onset flood occur more
quickly, typically within hours or days. These
types of floods usually occur in smaller
watersheds experiencing heavy rainf all,
particularly in mountainous and urban areas.
Some rapid -onset floods, known as flash
flood, occur very quickly with little or no
warning, such as when dams or water system break.
The physical destruction caused by flooding depends on the speed and lev el of the water, the
duration of the flood, terrain and soil condition, and the built environment (e.g. buildings, roads,
and bridges). Flood -related injuries and deaths are often the result of individuals trapped in
floodwaters. Therefore, having sources for information, preparing home or workplace, developing
an emergency communication plan, and knowing what to do when a flood is approaching can
save lives and property. Table 6 shows various flood emergency preparedness activities from the
individual to t he national level.
Table 6 . Flood Emergency Preparedness Activities at Various Levels
Individual, family and
household level
Community or village level Municipality, district, province and
national level
 Know the risk: drow ning,
waterborne diseases,
elect rocution, poisonous
animals
 Install protective railings
around the house
 Scout for safe areas and
know how to get there
 Know what to do when
warning is received
 Know whom to contact in
case of emergency
 Keep life jackets or buoys or
tires ready for use
 Identify and maintain safe
havens, areas and
temporary shelters
 Put up signs on routes o r
alternate routes leading to
safe shelters
 Inform the public of the
location of safe areas and
the shortest routes leading to
them
 Have all important contacts
ready and have a focal
point in the village
 Make arrangements for the
set up of teams in charge of
 Determine roles and responsibilities
of each agency
 Prepare maps to provide essential
information and data on current
situation and to plan for assistance
in those areas
 Make sure that critical roads are
built up to certain height
 Identify new safe areas and
maintain existing shelters, making
sure t hey have sanitary and other
basic necessities
 Implement public awareness
activities to create a proactive and
prepared society

Photo: Flood in Republic of Azerbaijan

45

 Kee p first aid kits raeady
for use
 Store clean water and food
in a safe place
 Listen to daily flood
forecasts
 Move valu able items to
higher ground
 Get ready for evcuation
health issues, damage and
need assessment
 Set up community volunteer
teams for a 24 -hour flood
watch or keep
communication channels open
to disseminate warnings
 Distribute information
throughout the communtiy
 Educate the public on what to
do/not to do
 Educate the public on environment
management, water resource use
and land use planning
 Stockpile relief goods
 Prepare resource inventories
 Plan resource mobilization
 Set up emergency teams
 Conduct drills for search and
rescue teams
 Make sure that communications
channels are functioning well
 Issue orders for various agencies
and organization s to get prepared
 Disseminate public safety
information through the
establishment of early warnig
system
 Specify the source and actions to
be taken immediately after
receiving warnings.
Source: Flood Management Planning. World Meteorological Organization 2011
Flood risks increases with higher population density; increasing values of economic activity and
infrastructure in flood prone areas; and various needs for tourism and leisure that accompany
development. A strategy to decrease risks from flooding thro ugh structural and non structural
measures can provide only a partial safety for individuals inhabiting floodplains. When protection
fail, damage is multiplied owing to increased investments made in floodplains by individuals who
live behind protective str uctures (for example dykes and embankments).
Flood preparedness planning is required at several levels: national, state, district, sub -district and
community level. Although flood emergency plans are generally developed for emergencies at
specific geograph ical locations, such plans should be developed in paralle l with basin -wide flood
management planning . Figure 11 illustrates the interaction between basin flood management and
flood emergency management planning.
Figure 11 . Interaction between Basin Flood Management and Flood Emergency Planning
Source: Flood Management Planning. World Meteorological Organization 2011

46

Formal advanced plan for flood has the advantage that those involved are aware of the most
important steps to take and have adequate resource s on hand. To develop a flood preparedness
plan, consider taking the following things:
– Understand the potential flood events to which low lying areas are exposed. It is critical to
know how much time relevant parties will have to put the plan in place. Imp ortant aspects
include warning time, h ow fast the water will rise, and how long it will last
– Ensure a reliable method of flood warning exists
– Try to organize actions into indiviual steps
– Be alert to the resources available day and night and make sure all t ime periods are
adequately covered
– Where possible, take advantage of make -up capacity at “sister operations”, subcontract
capabilities or other possible alternatives
– Differentiate between normal preparedness (routine activities commonly performed and
commu nicated by in charge department, e.g. Water Di vision) and emergency preparedness
Box 11 shows an example of flood preparedness plan developed in Jakarta, capital city of
Indonesia.
Box 11 . Preparedness Plan for 2017 Flood Management in Jakarta: Case Study from Indonesia
Government of Jakarta Province had stipulated Local Government Decree Number 15 Year 2017 on the
Contingency Planning for Managing Flood in Jakarta . The plan was developed to (a) identify several
areas risky for flooding, (b) establish stra tegies and policies for managing flood, (c) synergize the role
of government and community to manage flood, and (d) determine operational plan for managing flood.
The scenario was developed based on the highest rainfall during 2017 as basic assumption and
elaborated potential impacts of the flood to people, region, vital object, and transportation. Based on
the analysis of potential flood, Government of Jakarta Province determines three scenarios including
flood preparedness, emergency response, and transit ion to recovery.
Based on the stipulated scenarios, the plan has included strategies and efforts to meet minimum service
standard per cluster, i.e. (a) search and rescue, (b) evacuation and protection, (c) health, (d) logistics, (e)
facilities and infrastr ucture, (f) education, and (g) community participation.
Each cluster has also specified emergency situation; activities; coordinator of each activity; supporting
units; command function; estimated need, personnel, expertise, facilities and infrastructure, a designated
emergency meeting location , et c. for the developed scenario.
Source: Local Government Decree Number 15 Year 2017
Moreover, Box 12 provides an example of building disaster -resilient communities in flood -prone
areas in Philippines.
Box 12 . Phil ippines Flooding: Disaster Preparedness
Approximately 20% of Metro Manila is flood -prone, with some cities more vulnerable than the others.
Flood mitigation programs had been implemented since the 1970’s. However, rapid urbanization,
encroachment into floo d-prone areas, climatic changes, and land use changes have resulted in an increase
of flood risk and flood -related los ses.
Asian Development Bank (ADB) conducted pilot project that was originally focused on helping the
community increase their flood prepa redness through workshops on disaster risk reduction and assistance
to construct a livelihood center on stilts. In response to the priorities identified by the residents, the project
also funded the construction using local, low cost materials and technolo gies. A disaster risk assessment
manual and toolkit on developing disaster -resilient construction materials and technologies in the local
language were also produced.

47

Besides, in co -operation with Government of Phillipines, ADB runs t he Integrated Flood R isk Management
Sector Projec t. T he project will assist the government of Philippines to reduce flood risks in six river basins
(Apayao -Abulog and Abra in Luzon, Jalaur in Visayas, and Agus, Buayan -Malungon, and Tagum –
Libuganon in Mindanao) by (i) improving flood risk management planning through strengthening data
acquisition and data management, and improving flood protection asset management; (ii) rehabilitating
and constructing flood protection infrastructure; and (iii) raising community awareness, and pr eparing
and implementing disaster (flood) risk reduction and management plans to reduce different groups’
vulnerabilities
Source: https://www.adb.org/results/country -water -action -philippines -flooding -disaster -preparedness and https://www.adb.org/projects/ 51294 -002/main#project -pds

Severe winter
Severe winter weather may knock out power,
public transport and communication services.
Heavy snowfall and extreme cold can even
bring entire regions to a standstill. Winter storm
has also been labelled as “decep tive killers”
because most deaths are indirectly related to
winter storm. This is because winter storms
create a higher risk of car accidents,
hypothermia, frostbite, car bon monoxide
poisoning, and heart attacks from overexertion.
Winter storm and blizzard s can bring extreme
cold, freezing rain, snow, ice, and high winds ,
or a combination of all of these conditions .
Planning and prepar ing can make a big
difference in safety and resiliency in the wake of a wi nter storm. The ability to maintain or quickly
rec over following a winter storm requires a focus on preparedess, advanced planning, and
knowing what to do in the event of winter storm. Actions to prepare for seve re winters are drawn
in Table 7 below .
Table 7 . Actions to Prepare for Severe Winter
Planning Coordination Facility and
Service Area
Personnel Power, Energy
and Fuel
 Actively
monitor
weather
conditions
 Review and
update utility’s
emergency
response plan
and ensure all
emergency
contacts are
current
 Conduct
briefings,
trainings and
Coordinate with
relevant authorities
to discuss:
 response
activities, roles
and
responsibilitiesand
mutual aid
procedures
 full scale
exercises
 interconnecti ons
between systems
and agreements
with necessary
 Inventory and
order extr a
equipment and
supplies as
needed
 Ensure
communication
equipment
works and is
fully charged
 Prepare
equipment and
vehicles to start
and run in cold
weather
 Identify
essential
personnel and
ensure they are
trained
 Establish
communication
procedures with
essential and
non essential
personnel
 Ensure all
personnel are
familiar with
emergency
 Documemt
power
requirements
of the facilities
 Ensure
hazardous
materials are
located in safe
zone
 Dev elop a
back up
fueling plan

Photo: Icing in the Republic of Moldova

48

exercises to
ensure utility
staff is aware
of all
preparedness
procedures
 Conduct a
hazard
vulnerability
analysis
approvals to
activate the
alternate source
 communication
protocols and
equipment to
reduce
misunderstandings
during the event
 potential
distribution of aid
 prioritization of
utility
 Develop a map
of all system
components and
prepare a list
of places for
each facility
 Consider
inst alling wind
or snow drift
barriers at
critical facilities
evacuation and
shelter in place
procedures
 Establish
alternative
transportation
strategies
 Identify
possible staging
areas for
mutual aid crew
if needed in the
response
Box 13 below gives example on early warning issued by authorized party.
Box 13 . Watches and Warnings for a Winter Storm: FEMA

The National Weather Services (NWS) provides alerts and warning for all hazards through a National
Oceaninc and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio (NWR) receiver. There are radio
receivers that are designed to work with external notificationdevices for people who are deaf or hard of
hearing. Besides, community should learn the differences b etween Advisories, Watches, and Warnings
(issued by NWS) which describe changing winter weather conditions as follow:
Source: https://www.fema.gov/media -library -data/1494008826172 -76da095c3a5d6502ec66e3b81d5bb12a/FEMA_2017_WinterStorm_HTP_FINAL.pdf

Dro ught
Drought, sometimes, is considered a normal,
recurring feature of climate; it occurs in
virtually all climatic regimes. The effect of
drought accumulate slowly and its impacts are
spread over a larger geographical area than
damages that result from oth er hazards. Of
the many climatic events that influence the
earth’s environmental fabr ic, drought is
perhaps the one that is most linked wit h

Photo: Drought in Somaliland, www.oxfam.org

49

desertification. Drought differs from aridity in that the latter is restricted to low rainfall regions
and is a per manent feature of the climate.
Drought may disrupt cropping programs, reduces breeding stocks and threatens permanent
erosion of the capital and resource base of farming enterprises. Continuous droughts stretching
over several years in different parts of t he world in the past significantly affected productivity
and national economies.
Drought affected more than one million people between 1994 and 2013, or 25 per cent of the
global total. This is despite the fact that droughts accounted for just 5 per cent o f disaster events
in this period. Evidence showed that s ome 41 per cent of droughts were in Africa. 21 The World
Bank’s recent report indicates that droughts will likely to increase in severity in southern Africa, the
United States, southern Europe, Brazil, and Southeast Asia, amongst other areas, translating to
increasing evaporation and dry periods, reduction in arable land, and ultimately greater food
insecurity. The likely intensification of extreme droughts from climate change in many regions
accross the planet has magnified the importance of proactive measures to increase resilience to
the expected impacts.
The traditional approach to drought management has been reactive, relying largely on crisis
management. This approach has been ineffective because re sponse is untimely, poorly
coordinated and poorly targeted to drought stricken groups or areas. Accordingly, i n case of
drought, drought preparedness , and the policies which facilitate its implementation, can increase
adaptive capacity and resilience of wa ter resource management. Proactive drought preparedness
and risk management measures can also purportedly help reduce economic losses and costs
associated with more reactive disaster response and recovery.
The United States , for example, has developed 10 steps drought preparedness planning as
follows: 22
– Appoint a drought task force
– State the purpose and objectives of the preparedness plan
– Seek stakeholder participation and resolve conflicts
– Inventory resources and identify groups at risk
– Develop organizatio nal structure and prepare the drought plan
– Identify research needs and fill institutional gaps
– Integrate science and policy
– Publicize the drought plan and build public awareness
– Teach people about drought
– Evaluate and revise drought preparedness plan.
21 The Human Cost of Natural Disasters 2015: A Global Perspective. CRED. 2015
22 Drought Preparedness and Drought Managem ent . M.V.K. Sivakumar and Donald A. Wilhite. Downloaded from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Donald_Wilhite/publication/267362571_Drought_preparedness_and_drought_management/links/558952ce08ae2affe71444de/Drought -preparedness -and -drought -management.p df

50

The two following boxes provides example s of drought preparedness carried out by Government
and corporation .
Box 14 . Prolonged Drought Preparedness: Lesson Learned from Brazil

Large portions of Brazil’s Northeast have experienced the worst drought for the pas t 100 years,
especially during 2013 in term of water av ailability, proving devastation to some agricultural, livestock,
and industrial producers. It has caused a lack of drinking water in residential wells and left dams and
streams completely dry. The impa cts of the recent droughts are not only manifested throughout the
economy, but also exacerbate many social problems throu gh the indebtedness of farmers, migration,
disease, and malutrition, among others.
There have been recent efforts to shift Brazil away from reactionary drought response (ad hoc drought
relief) and sole dependence in the long term on infrastructure solutions to mitigate the drought
impact/proactive management (e.g. thro ugh improved monitoring, decent ralization and democratization
of water resource management, etc.), and there is a growing interest in improving coordination and
institutionalizing these elements into a coherent drought policy, both at the national and sub national
levels.
Drought preparedness in Brazil involves :
 monitoring a nd early warning/prediction
In Brazil, drought monitoring and early warning is supported by an array of various ministries and
agencies which deals with some sectors, namely weat her and climate forecasting, water resource
information, agrometeorological in formation, and research.
 vulnerability/resilience and impact assessment
At the national level , vulnerability/resilience assessments have not been formalized, nor have the
network s for monitoring and evaluating associated vulnerability indicators. The Brazi lian Atlas on
Natural Disasters has been produced. Meanwhile, raising awareness of the importance of exercises
is carried out participatory.
 mitigation and response planning
The federal government recognizes one of two special states that can be declared b y the Mayor
of an affected region during a drough t event (i) a situation of emergency (less severe) or (ii) a state
of public calamity (more severe). However, the classification of the disaster is really assessed on a
case -by -case basis. Funds allocated fo r relief action are based on the severity and according to
the available budget.
Broadly on mitigation policies, there are several efforts that could eventually be integrated into a
more coherent drought policy framework. Besides, the Civil House of Presid ency has created an
inter -ministerial committee to monitor and coordinate actions for specific drought response in semi –
arid region carried out by the federal, state, and municipal governments.
Source: Drought preparedness in Brazil downloaded at https://r eader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S2212094713000340?token=4CD8BD7A56CD20CF141EFD28AE95D96F0D9D24 4652C7AE949CDD296A339C6E7C3EE8852B81AF2D3103ECE4F2261F66DA

Box 15 . Drought Preparedness Plan for City West Water Corporation: a Study from Melbourne

City West Water Corporation, South East Water Corpporation, and Yarra Valley Corporation (the
Metropolitan Corporations) are established under the Water Act 1989 to provide water and sewerage
services throughout metropolitan Melbourne.
Under their Statement of Obl igations, each Corporation must prepare a Drought Response Plan and in
accordance with the guidelines issued by the Minister for City West Water’s Urban Water Strategy, the
Drought Response Plan must form part of a Drought Preparedness Plan, also required to be developed
in accordance with the Minister’s guidelines. The broad purpose of a Drought Preparedness Plan is to
ensure that the Metropolitan Water Corporations and Melbourne Water jointly develop their
preparedness strategies to meet the agreed level s of service (Water Supply Objective) through an

51

adaptive management framework. This framework comprises a number of inter -related long and short
term processes; ensure that the community is informed and prepared about impending water shortage
periods an d City West Water has a timely and effective short -term response to the occurrence of water
shortage, with the aim of minimising the impacts (social, economic, and environmental) of such shortages .
Source: https://www.citywestwater.com.au/about_us/reports_ publications/drought_preparedness_plan.aspx

Wildfires
A wildfire is an unplanned fire that
burns in a natural area such as forest,
grassland, or prairie. With more and
more people ch oosing to live in fire –
prone wildland -urban interface than
ever before and as building
development expands into those areas,
homes and businesses may be situated
in or near areas susceptible to wildfire.
Wildfires can occur at any time
troughout the year, but the potential is
always higher during periods with little
or no ra infall, which make brush, grass,
and trees dry and burn more easily.
High wind can also contribute to
spreadig the fire. Wildfires can occur at anywhere. They can start in remote wilderness areas or
in national parks . Wildfires can start form natural cause s such as lightning, but most are caused
by humans, either accidentally or intentionally. The destruction caused by wildfires depends on
the size of the fire, the landscape, the amount of fuel – such as trees and structures – in the path
of the fire, and t he direction and intensity of the wind. Wildfires can destroy homes, businesses,
infrastructure, natural resources, and even agriculture and threaten the safety of the public and
the firefighters who protect forests and communities.
While fire management a gencies attempt to reduce the impact of wildfire on residents through
preventative (e.g. fuel treatments) and responsive (e.g. fire suppression) actions, they cannot
prevent all wildfires from causing harm to life and property. When exposed to wildfires, p eople
can reduce the probability of loss and increase the probability of survival by being prepared.
Consequently, wildfire plans are a valuable tool for people and in charge parties living and deal
with fire -prone landscapes.
Preparing a plan for action is a vital guide to decision making before, during, and after a wildfire.
A complete plan requires actions and roles are identified and assigned for all individuals. Multiple
contingencies must be included in the plan to account for the highly vulnerable nature of wildfire,
e.g. fallen trees or power lines resulting in closure of potential escape routes, fires impacting on
the property from an unexpected direction, and equipment failure. Triggers for action must be
included in the plan and may come from a rang e of sources including visual cu es (smoke or flames),
or information received via television, social media or radio. Most importantly an y plan must
identify pathways f or exiting the property safely and alternate approaches sh ould the original

Photo: Flam es in Gippsland, Victoria, www.theguardian.com

52

plan fail .23 Box 16 provides an example of management to protect community in case of a
wildfire.
Box 16 . Mexico’s National Forest Fire Management Progr am
On average, 7,500 fires occur each year in Mexi co, affecting 300,000 hectares o f pasture, scrubland,
forest, an d regrowth. Recently, however, the country has experiened some especially bad years, including
in 2017, when fires burned 715,714 hectares and killed 12 people. Extreme climate conditions and the
accumulation of fuels such as dry leaves, twigs, grasses, de ad trees, and fallen timber have contributed
to especially severe fire seasons.
Until 2012, Mexico’s national forest fire program focus es on the complete suppression of fires by
contracting helicopters to douse the flames. State forest fire programs were w eak and there was little
institutional coordination.
In 2013, the country recognized that the total suppression of fires was not enough and set out to revamp
the country’ national forest fire program in the context of a changing climate. Recognizing the ec ological
and social functions of forest fire marked the transition from a policy of total suppression of fires to a
policy of fire management.
The transition provided a unique opportunity to reform forestry policy while at the same time making
improvements in operations under existing laws. The budget did not increase. Instead, the way money
was spent underwent an overhaul to strengthen the two fundamental pillars of fire man agement: better
coordination be tween the three levels of government and greater par ticipation by society.

A range of measures implemented are:
 Increasing community -based fire management and training for rural crews
 Establishing agreements with federal, state and local agencies
 Increasing the number of forest firefighters from 5,000 to 2 2,000
 Improving the management of fuels
 Building the capacity of forest firefighters and technical staff
 Promoting public engagement.
Source: http://blogs.worldbank.org/endpovertyinsouthasia/mexico -s-national -forest -fire -management -program

Earthquake
An earthquake is the sudden, rapid shaking of the
earth, caused by the breaking and sh ifting of
underground rock as it releases strain that has
accumulated over a long time. Initial mild shaking
may strengthen and become extremely violent
within seconds. Additional earthquakes, called
aftershocks, may occur for hours, days, or even
months. Most are smaller than the initial
earthquake, but larger magnitude aftershocks
also occur. Earthquakes can happen at any time
of the year and occur without warning. Ground
shaking from earthquakes can collapse buildings
23 Wildfire Survival Plans in Theory and Practice. Christine Eriksen, et.al. 2016 downloaded from https://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=4793&context=smhpapers

Photo: Liquefaction impact, Palu, Indonesia, www.bbc.com

53

and bridges; disrupts gas, electri c and phone service; and sometimes trigger landslides,
avalanches, and fires. In coastal areas, earthquakes under the sea floor can cause tsunamis.
Buildings with foundations resting on unco nsolidated landfill and other unstable soils are at risk
because they can be shaken off their mountings during an earthquake. When an earthquake occurs
in a populated area, it may cause deaths and injuries and ex tensive property damage.
Nevertheless, if a community live in an area at risk for earthquakes, there are two i mportant things
that they can do , namely:
– Comply building code
Make houses and buildings safer to be in during earthquakes and more resistant to
earthquake damage by assessing their structure and contents. Make sure that they comply
with the seismic provis ions of local building code besides providing safe places that enable
people to drop, cover, and hold on. Authorized ministries/local agencies could promote
seismic design and construction guidance for residential structures or commercial buildings
and mon itor the implementation of that building code.
– Practice
Everyone should know what to do in an earthquake and have practiced safe earthquake
procedures regularly. Plan to follow in the event of an earthquake should also be provided
by relevant party. Theref ore, government should ensure that communities know what to do
by drilling earthquake and evacuation plans on a regular basis.
Surviving an earthquake and reducing its health impact requires preparation, planning, and
practice. Far in advance , affected co mmunity can gather emergency supplies, identify and reduce
possible hazards in their home, and practice what to do during and after an earthquake . The
extent to which disaster preparedness fall short in engaging communities in pre -quake
preparedness activi ties results in an increase in the local community’s likelihood of suffering from
physical, financial, and emotional injuries post -quakes .24
Therefore, in providing effective earthquake preparedness programs, planning should be based
on periodic need assess ment of the communities at risk. This will allow planners to consider
knowledge, attitudes, behaviors and skills of the at risk communities in preparedness goals,
designs, activities and expected outcomes. These two following boxes illustrate how countries deal
with earthquake.
Box 17 . Earthquake Management: Study from the US
The events of September 11, 2001, drastically altered how the U.S. system as a whole would prepare
for and respond to future disasters. This disaster led to the use of an inclusive aut hority model, whereby
the federal government has an increased responsibility for disaster management, with states and
localities simply carrying out policy enacted at the federal level.
In the United States, FEMA is the federal -level agency responsible for emergency management and
response. Since its inception, one of FEMA ’s major focuses has been to increase the nation ’s capacity to
respond to major earthquakes. To achieve this, FEMA assists in disaster preparedness development,
guides the planning effort for disaster response, and institutes and maintains disaster recovery programs.
FEMA also produces literature and funds research to advance general knowledge of earthquakes and
ways to reduce risk (e.g., strategies to implement strict building codes) .
24 People’s Perspectives and Expectati ons on Preparedness against Earthquakes: Tehran Case Study . Katayoun Jahangiri et. al. Downloaded from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3134911/pdf/jivr -02-85.pdf

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In r esponse to the fact that 48 out of the 50 states are threatened by earthquakes, Congress passed the
National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977, establishing the National Earthquake Hazards
Reduction Program (NEHRP). This act was meant to help govern ments reduce earthquake risk in seismically
active areas by developing earthquake management plans and supporting research on earthquake risk
reduction. The act was the lead responsibility of FEMA until the NEHRP Reauthorization Act of 2004,
which reassign ed lead responsibility to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, although
earthquake emergency response and management, along with the estimation of loss potential, are still
the duties of FEMA.
Source: https://ascelibrary.org/doi/pdf/10.1061/ %28ASCE%29LM.1943 -5630.0000179

Box 18 . Earthquake Preparedness : Study from Tokyo
Various disaster risks lurk in Tokyo. It is even predicted that there is a 70 per cent possibility of an
earthquake directly hitting Tokyo within the next 30 years. And, thu s, Disaster Preparedness Tokyo is an
urgent need.
Disaster Preparedness Tokyo is a Tokyo -style disaster preparedness manual that is tailored to the various
local features of Tokyo, its urban structure, and the lifestyles of its residents. This manual doe s not just
prov ide readers with knowledge of disaster pre paredness, but also contains many specific disaster
preparedness actions that readers can start taking immediately.
The manual elaborates simulation of a major earthquake. This provides readers with simulation of what
to do from the moment of an earthquake occurs to evacuation and reco nstruction of their liv es. It also
compiles things that readers can do to prepare for disasters and provides various types of knowledge
and in genuity that will be useful for readers when earthquake occurs. The manual is also equipped with
illustration to explain survival tips in an easy to undertand manner.
Source: http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/english/guide/bosai/index.html

Volcanic eruption
A volcano is a mountain t hat se rves as a vent th rough which molten rock and other gases escape.
When pressure fro m the gas and molten rock becomes too great, an eruption occurs. Volcanic
eruptions may be subtle or explosive and can produce dangerous lava flow, poisonous gases, and
flyin g rocks and ash. Many volcanic eruptions may also be accompanied by other natural hazards,
such as earthquake, landslides, debris flows, flash floods, fire and tsunamis.
Photo: Krakatau’s eruption 2018

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Against the more violent manifestation of
volcanic activity, the only possible protection is
escape from the threatened areas. And, thus,
awaren ess of th e need to prepare for volcanic
eruptions and to provide protection against
them, rather than simply to await and endure
them, then, has been growing stea dily
throughout the world. Besides, scientific
knowledge of the potentially dangerous
volcanoes is sufficiently advanced to permit
the elaboration of “scenario” of possible
eruptions, their destrcutive effects and their
social and economic consequences.
One important question which must be
examined at the outset is the relation between the time sca le of volcanic events and the time
needed to put various protective measures (i.e. on site protection ad/or evacuation) into effect.
Experience has shown that th e interval between the onset of an eruption, or of significant
precursory phenomena, and a violent climax, eruption, may range from a few hours to several
days, weeks or months. On the other hand, the time required to put emergency protective measures
into effect depends on the size of the area at hazard, the density of population and settlement,
the degree of mobility of the population, the transport and communication facilities available, and
the general technological level of development.
The emergency p lan for each volcanic eruption contains of the following elements: 25
– Identification and mapping of the hazard zones
The first element of volcanic emergency plan is a map showing the hazard zones around the
volcano which are liable to be affected by one or m ore destructive phenomena caused by
volcanic activity ( pyroclastic flows, mudflows, lava flows, heavy ash falls, etc.) during an
eruption . Such maps normally include the subdivision of the area exposed to each type of
hazard into two or three subzones corr esponding to eruptions of different magnitudes.
Box 20 . Hazards Zones for Volcanic Eruption of Merapi: Case fom Indonesia
Government of Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia has launched map of Hazard Zones (KRB) of
Merapi. This map is zoning design which include s areas prone to geological disasters, river
boundaries, residential areas, agricultural areas, and community forests. The map can provide
local government with consideration to clarify policies for communities and investors and determine
what activities s hould/not be carried out within the prone areas.
The map has divided Merapi prone areas into three dangerous zones, namely (1) KRB III
representing the closest areas (3km) forbidden for residential area, (2) KRB II located 3 -10km
from the top, and (3) KRB I located 10 -15km from the top.
KRB II dan I are allowed for living and daily activities. However, people within those two KRBs
must evacuate at any time ordered by authorized parties when Merapi erupted. The evacuation
order to certain KRB will depend on the scenario of Merapi eruption.
Within stipulated KRBs, local government has specified evacuation shelter addressed for the
evacuee and also the shortest and fastest route to the evacuation shelters.
25 http://www.disastersrus.org/emtools/volcano/volcano_emergency_plan.htm#Intro
Box 19 . The Absence of Contingency Planning in
Krakatau: Case Study of BPK

When carrying out audit on volcanic eruption
preparedness in 2017, the A udit Board of the
Republic of Indonesia (BPK) had found that several
regions had not prepare d for contingency planning
for volcanic eruption. BPK had highlighted the
potential danger for those regions when the eruption
happened. And, this concern was prove n when
Krakatau erupted in December 2018.
Tsunami followed the eruption resulting in deaths of
hundreds of people and loss of homes and livelihood
of thousands.

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– Population census and inventory of property
In orde r to plan for evacuation it will be necessary to compile a census of the population in
the hazard zones and to update it a least once every five years, or whenever there are
signs of abnormal volcanic activity. This census will include not only the people permanently
residing in the zones but those who enter them regularly, for instance for their daily work. It
may also be useful to establish an inventory of animal livestock in each zone, so that
arrangements can be made for their removal if time and facili ties permit .
– Identification of safe transit points and refuge zones
If the evacuation of a hazard zone is to proceed in an orderly manner, it is essential that
each person in the zone knows where to go when evacuation starts. For each hazard zone
(or part of each zone), the nearest easily accessible point outside the zone may be identified,
to which the people should go or should be taken, as quickly as possible, and where they
may assemble in safety while arrangements are made for their reception in a refu ge zone.
At each such safe transit point, arrangements will be made for evacuees to be identified so
that, if necessary, a search can be made for any persons who may be missing. All evacuees,
including those proceeding to their own alternative accommodatio n in a safe area, should
register their departure from the danger zone at one or other of the transit points.
The plan should also specify the arrangements for the transfer of evacuees as quickly as
possible from transit points to temporary accommodation i n refuge zones elsewhere .
– Identification of evacuation routes
The next element in emergency planning will be to carry out a survey of the number of
people to be moved to safety, the number of vehicles (and, if appropriate, boats and
aircraft) available, an d the serviceability and traffic capacity of each of the roads leading
out of the hazard zones to the location, type and magnitude of the eruption, and according
to the direction of the wind at the time. The main objective will obviously be to distribute t he
expected traffic flow as evenly as possible along all the escape routes which are likely to
remain open. In this context, it will be advisable to consider the vulnerability of each route
not only to ash falls, pyroclastic flows, mudflows or lava flows e manating from the volcano,
but also to landslides and bridge or tunnel damage which may be caused by strong local
earthquakes.
– Accomodation in refuge zones
One factor in the case of volcanoes which does not normally apply to cyclone, earthquake
or flood di sasters , is, that the eruption may continue for many months with repeated
destructive paroxysms (possible exceeding in scale the first one), and that it may not be safe
to allow or encourage the return of evacuees, or to commence rehabilitation and
reconst ruction, for many months after the initial disaster -causing event.
Box 21 . Eight Years of Refugee Uncertainty: Case of Sinabung, Indonesia
After hundred years of no eruption, Mount Sinabung in Karo, North Sumatera, Indonesia erupted
in 2010. It is said th at Sinabung has erupted 2,314 times ever since and keep erupting. Even today,
after its long sleep, volcanic earthquake and magma activity seem to occur frequently causing
people to stay in evacuation shelter for more than eight years. The authorised party has not even
been able to predict when the eruption of Sinabung will stop.

57

Refugee s start ed to get depressed. This is because they have to stay in such alarming evacuation
shelter and they find difficulties to get money to meet their daily needs.
Local Di saster Management Agency of Karo stated that local government has planned to relocate
about 1,655 householders to permanent safer location. However, this plan was hampered due to
the issuance of land use permit from Ministry of Environment and Forestry.
– Rescue, first aid and hospital services
During or after an evacuation, some people known to be living or working in a hazard zone
may fail to appear at any of the safe transit points or in a refuge zone, and it may be
necessary to organize searches for them . There may also be people isolated in areas which
are not exposed to any danger but to which the access routes are blocked by pyroclastic
flows, mudflows, or lava flows. There may be need for aerial and/or marine reconnaissance
missions as soon as conditi ons are favorable, for food supply or rescue. It will be necessary
to plan what equipment will be available and how such missions will be carried out . First aid
and hospital treatment will be needed mainly for respiratory problems; broken limbs, lesions
an d bruises; skin burns and burns to breathing passages and lungs.
– Security in evacuated zones
Unless the danger to life is immediate and obvious, people will be reluctant to leave their
homes without assurances that these will be guarded against burglary an d looting during
their absence. Adequate precautions must therefore be taken to prevent the access of
unauthorized persons to evacuated zones, and regular police patrols of the zones should be
maintained as long as this does not endanger the lives of the p olice .
– Alert procedures within government
The emergency plan will define the responsibilities of the various departments of government
in dealing with the situation and the procedures by which the various elements of the plan
will be put into effect when r equired . In general, it will be possible to define several stages
of alert, each corresponding to a different level of hazard as assessed by the scientific team
monitoring the volcanic activity. The responsibility for declaring the various stages of alert
will lie with a designated official, who will act on the advice of the scientific team monitoring
the volcano.
– Formulation and communication of public warnings
Since the measures that can be taken to protect life and property during a volcanic eruption
wil l affect to some degree the whole population, it is of vital importance to keep the public
fully and accurately informed of the nature of the hazard and of what is being done (and
what they should do) for their protection. This inevitably entails some degr ee of control of
the information transmitted to the public by the news media. This control will usually be
exercised by a responsible official on behalf of the government. In order to avoid panic or
other adverse reactions to the situation, the form and co ntent of public announcements will,
as far as possible, be decided in advance of any emergency, and the public will be
familiarized with the arrangements made for their information, so that they know what to
expect. The details of these arrangements will v ary from place to place and from country
to country, according to the political and social structure of the community and the technical
means available.

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– Review and revision of plans
No pl an of this kind will remain for ever valid, and it will always be advi sable to provide
for its review and revision with appropriate publicity at regular intervals, say every two or
three years. Changes may become necessary as a result of progress in scientific knowledge,
changes in pattern of settlement, and changes in the a dministrative structure of national or
local government. In addition, the plan will certainly have to be revised after each eruptive
episode, in the light of the practical experience gained.
One important question, which must be examined at the outset, is the real iza tion between the time –
scale of volcanic events and the time needed to put various measures into effect . Experience has
shown that the interval between the onset of an eruption, or of significant precursory phenomen,
and a violent climax, eruptio n, may range from a few hours to several days, weeks, or months.
On the other hand, the time required to put emergency protective measures into effect depends
on the size of the area at hazard, the density of population and settlement, the degree of mobili ty
of the population, the transport and communication facilities available, and the general
technological level of the development.
In practice, it will usually be appropriate to plan for two types of action:
– Phased response to a gradually developing volca nic crisis, during which one may expect to
have warning of potentially dangerous volcanic events at least 24 hours before they occur
– Immediate response to a situation calling for the fastest possible evacuation of people by
whatever means are immediately a vailable.
The more that is known about the history of a volcano, and the greater the effort that have been
devoted to scientific studies and monitoring of its behaviour, the easier it will be to foresee how
much time may be available to take protective act ion when an eruption does occur. Box 22
provides example on the health preparedness guide for volcanic eruption.
Box 22 . Preparedness Guide for Volcanic Eruptions: Latin America and the Caribbean Studies
Most active volcanoes in the world are located in La tin America and the Caribbean, and millions of
people live in town and cities near them. Th roughout histrory, some of these volcanoes have shown their
capacity for destruction. The Health Preparedness Guide for Volcanic Eruptions provides support materia l
for the preparation of health sector contingency plans for these emergencies.
The guide have five moduls, namely:
 The health sector and volcanic risk , presents a conceptual framework on volca nic risk, the effect
of volcanic eruptions on heallth, organizati on of the health sector, and practical recommendations
to manage volcanic risk. Concepts of epidemiologic surveillance and mental health during volcanic
crisis are also presented.
 Protection of health services during volcanic eruptions , desribes strategies to diagnose volcanic
risk, analyze health facilities’ vulnerability, and plan response operations in case of volcanic
eruptions. This modul also includes a guide for the preparation of the hospital contingency plan for
volcanic events.
 Damage assessment a nd health needs analysis during volcanic eruptions , outlines the main
aspects of the preparation and implementation of the damage assessment and needs analysis
during volcanic eruptions, in the areas of epide miologic surveillance, basic sanitation, and hea lth
infrastructure.
 Environmental health and volcanic risk , develops on the impact of volcanic eruptio ns on the
environment, as well as management measures and environmental health ones for populations and
health facilities.

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 Communities planning for volcan ic eruptions , presents basic conceptual aspects of
communications and volcanic risk management, as well as guidelines for the preparation and
execution of a health communication plan for volcanic risk.
Source: https://www.paho.org/disasters/index.php?optio n=com_content&view=article&id=2426:preparedness -guide -for- volcanic -eruptions&Itemid=924&lang=en

Hurricane
Hurri canes are massive storm systems that
form over warm ocean waters and move
toward land. Hurricanes are considered to
be the most violent storm s on earth and
consist of condensed water vapor which
forms into large clouds.
Potential threats from hurricanes include
powerful winds, heavy rainfall, storm surges,
coastal and inland flooding, rip currents,
tornadoes, and landslides. Some countries
exp erience the most active hurricanes in
September.
Predicting hurricane’s path can be
challenging; there are many global and
local factors that come into play. The st orm
size and path can directly influence what sort
of wind patterns guide, enhance or hinder its growth, and vice versa! Forecasters have computers
that take huge amounts of data and try to predict where the storm will go and usually can calculate
2 – 3 days out fairly accurately.
One common trend seen when hurricanes are approaching is a wide -spread panic. When this
happens, people rush in large numbers to get all the supplies they think they need. However,
preparing ahead of time can alleviate a lot of the potential stress of a very chaotic situation.
There are some prepare dness effort for hurri canes:
– Prepare map of hurricanes risk for community and community plan
– Inform the community to determine how best they can protect the mselves (for example
familiarise them with community plan, evacuation zone, evacuation route, and emergency
shelter locati ons nearest to the community )
– Prepare designated storm shelter to protect property
– Prepare emergency suppli es
– Prepare community’s warning system in cooperation with related authorised parties (e.g.
NOAA weather radio, Meteorological and Climate Agency, et c.).
Box 24 . Hurricane Preparedness Plan Developed by University
The preparedness plan is divided into some phases including:
 Phase I – the six month period between December and May
Box 23 . Building Code to Address Hurricane: A
Preparedness for South Florida

The 1992 hurric ane season in South Florida was a
major turning point in how building codes would
adapt to address natural disasters. Hospitals in
Florida immediately started to focus on hardening
their buildings, adding emergency utilities and
reviewing the Florida Build ing Code.
The Florida Building Code has been rewritten to
address the specific effects of tropical storms and
acknowledges the critical need for buildings like
hospitals to remain open throughout a storm.
Hospitals are required by the code to describe how
they plan to stay open in a disaster through their
Disaster Preparedness Plan. The plan should also
identify how administration anticipates supporting
patients and staff.

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During this period, the director/his representative will review the existi ng plan, conduct training,
update staffing changes and emergency contact information, assign emergency personnel, and
coordi nate with relevant authorities
 Phase II – Hurricane advisory
During the period of June to November, upon the notification by the Nat ional Weather Service that
a tropical storm or formed hurricane’s projected track will come, the director/his representative will
review the plan, alert all emergency personnel, and determine the operation status .
 Phase III – Hurricane watch
When the Nat ional Weather Center declares that a hurricane watch is in effect, the director/his
representative will initiate corrective action, verify assignment and availability of emergency
personnel, ensure the readi ness status of supporting tools and equipment, en sure contracts and
purchase order are in place.
 Phase IV – Hurricane warning
When the National Weather Center declares a hurricane warning, the director/his representative
will ensure all operational vehicles are ready, ensure that all emergency personnel have been
issued all necessary emergency equipment, and prepare to close down all building systems as
necessary.
 Phase V – Implementation of emergency support operations
When decision to close and evacuate the university is made, the director/his represent ative will
ensure that all emergency personnel are in place and prepared to conduct recovery operations.
 Phase VI – Hurricane emergency support operations
After the university has been evacuated and closed, the director/his representative will conduct
dama ge assessment, develop a list of damages, prepare to implement contracts and emergency
requisitions to procure needed supplies and equipment for recovery operations.
Source: http://www.southeastern.edu/admin/phys_plant/emergpreparedness/hurricaneplan/index .html

2.2 Prepare for o utbreak
Epidemics of emerging and re -emerging infectious diseases are on the increase, with devastating
health, social an d economic consequences. Apart from the fact that epidemic preparedness is a
statutorily mandated service, a delay ed response can also lead to loss of lives . Therefore, d ue to
the nature of the outbreak, there is a
need to be familiar with epidemic
management framework for effective
preparedness and response.
Epidemic/outbreak management has
been described as the pro cess of
anticipating, preventing, preparing
for, detecting, responding, and
controlling epidemics in order that the
health and economic impacts are
minimized. 26 World Health
Organization adds that the
objective s of epidemic planning are
26 Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) National Policy on Integrated Disease Surveillance Response in Nigeria. Abuja . Federal Ministry of Health . 2009

Photo: attending to an H7N9 avian flu patient in China , www.nytimes.com

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to reduce transmissi on of the pandemic; to decrease cases, hospitalizations and deaths; to maintain
essential services ; and to reduce economic and social impact of a pandemic.
Outbreak preparedness planning is an all -embracing term that described all that needs to be
done bef ore, during, and after epidemics. It involves anticipating or predicting the occurrence of
an outbreak such that it could be prevented. However, if the outbreak could not be totally
prevented, it involves preparedness so that there is a readiness to respon d.
From the foregoing, preparedness is a subset of epidemic management. Epidemic preparedness
constitutes all the activities that have to be undertaken from the national to the health facility levels
to be ready to respond effectively to disease outbreaks . The elements of an epidemic
preparedness will include ensuring that routine surveillance system can detect outbreaks as soon
as it occurs and that staff are organized to confirm, investigate, and respond to outbreaks .
Preparing for an outbreak needs a mu ltisectoral approach and community involvement . A
multisectoral approach means the involvement of many levels of government and of people with
various specialties including policy development, legislative review and drafting, animal health,
public health, patient care, laboratory diagnois, laboratory test development, communication
expertise and disaster management. Meanwhile, community involvement means making optimal
use of local knowledge, expertise, resources and networks.
In addition, p reparing to resp ond to an outbreak includes the establishment of a functional
state/local government area , epidemic management committees/rapid -response team, and
health management team ; the need to prepare an epidemic and response plan ; set -up
contingency stocks of drugs , vaccines, reagents and supplies ; and training health -care workers
both clinicians and laboratorians .
Box 25 . Preparedness of EVD Outbreak: Case of Congo
Over the last three months, the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in the Eastern Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC) has been escalating resulting in the World Health Organization declaring the EVD outbreak
in DRC as a level 3 emergency.
The epicentre of the outbreak is located around Beni, an area that experiences continuous cross -border
movement of comm unities. As a consequence, neighboring countries, namely Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda
and South Sudan are exposed to the risk of transmission and need to be prepared to tackle an epidemic
at national, as well as regional level.
The National Task Force led by th e Ministry of Health, support s health partners in mapping border
screening cente rs (temperature measurement and observations of symptoms) as well as the capacities of
the organization s present in Western and Central Equatoria, the locations identified as f irst priority.
Besides, Ministry of Health also p rioriti zes coordinating the response, surveillance, contact tracing,
laboratory capacity, infection prevention and control (IPC), clinical management of patients, vaccination,
risk communication and communit y engagement, psychosocial support, safe and dignified burials (SDB),
cross -border surveillance and other preparedness activities in neighboring provinces and countries .
Source: https://www.who.int/csr/don/15 -november -2018 -ebola -drc/en/

2.3 Prepare for c yber crime
The era of cyber -disaster ma y finally be here since the information and communication
technologies (ICT) networks, devices and services are increasingly critical for day -to-day life. In
2016, almost half the world used the internet and according to o ne estimate, there will be over

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12 billion machine -to-machine devices connected to the internet by 2020. Yet, just in real world,
the cyber world is exposed to a variety of security threats that can cause immense damage. 27
And, thus, cyber attacks are not a matter of “if” but “when”. This is due to the evolution towards
e-society which has replaced persons by e -application and has interconnected all system.
Unfortunately, the dynamism in the technology world is increasingly posing danger to the safety
of ke y sectors when there is a poor security in legacy application and protocols. Besides, end users
may have not yet been educated to act properly.
Unlikely physical threats that prompt immediate action, cyber threats are often difficult to identify
and unde rstand. Cyber threats include viruses that erase entire systems, intruders that break into
computers and alter files, intruders using someone’s computer to attack others, or intruders stealing
confidential information from someone’ s computer . The spectrum of cyber risks is limitless; threats
can have wide -ranging effects on the individual, community, organizational , and national level .28
Since everything is interconnected, if hackers access the plans to one component, it may be
interchangeable and crea te vul nerabilities in other proc esses, divisions, intranets or extranets.
Therefore, implementing cybercrime preventing technologies is critical in today’s world.
Box 26 . The Culprit Named “Ransomware”
In 2016, nearly one percent of all emails sent were essentia lly malicious attacks, the highest rate in recent
years. Ransomware attacks increasingly affected businesses and consumers, with indiscriminate
campaigns pushing out massive volumes of malicious emails. Attackers are demanding more and more
from victims, w ith the average ransom demand rising to over 1,000 USD in 2016, up from approximately
300 USD a year earlier.
In May 2017, a massive cyberattack caused major disruptions to companies and hospitals in over 150
countries, prompting a call for greater coopera tion around the world . Interpol thinks that more than
200,000 people in more than 150 countries were affected – and things could get worse. The attack was
a remarkable global event which appears to have hit first in Britain, where it effectively shut down parts
of the National Health Service. This forced some hospitals to turn away patients and delay operations.
Although there is no international definition of cybercrime, UK Home Office defines cybercrime as
crimes that fall into two categories, that is “o ffences committed using new technologies, those
targeting computer systems and data such as hacking, or old offences facilitated by the use of
technology such as stealing illegal images or fraud”. Moreover, o ffences typically cluster ar ound
the following c ategories: a ) offences against the confidentiality, integrity and availability of
computer data and systems; b) computer -related offences; c ) content -related offences; and d)
offences related to infringements of copyright and related rights. 29 And thus cybe rcrime is an
evolving form of transnational crime. Table 8 provides an example on how UK handle cyber crime
issues.
Table 8 . A Number of Agencies Deal ing With Cy ber Crime in UK
NFA PC eU SOCA
The wide ranging Government
review of fraud reported in
2006 le d to the creation of the
National Fraud Authority (NFA)
The Government and the
Metropolitan Police Service (MPS)
jointly fund the Police Central e –
crime Unit (PCeU). The PCeU acts
The Serious Organised Crime
Agency (SOCA) is an
intelligence -led law enforcement
agency with harm reduction
27 Global Cybersecurity Index 2017. ITU. 2017
28 https://www.readynh.gov/disasters/cyber.htm
29 https://www.unod c.org/unodc/en/cybercrime/index.html

63

and the designation of the City of
London Police as the national
lead force for fraud. The NFA, an
executive agency of the Attorney
General’s Office is the
Government’s strategic lead on
counter -fraud activity.
Two key deliverables of this
strategy are Action Fraud which
is led by the NFA and the
National Fraud Intelligence
Bureau (NFIB) which is delivered
by the City of London Police as
part of its lead force
responsibilities.
Action Fraud will provid e a first
point of contact for individuals
and small businesses reporting
fraud using the public facing
name ‘Action Fraud’. Action
Fraud will not only provide
guidance for victims of fraud but
also the reports it receives will be
fed into the National Fra ud
Intelligence Bureau. The NFIB will
receive and analyse information
from Action Fraud and also from
a number of anti fraud
organization s enabling it to
provide comprehensive
intelligence about fraud taking
place across the country which
may lead to targe ted
enforcement action
as the central unit for UK policing
on promotion of standards for
training, procedure and response
to e -crime , and has brought
together forces, the NPIA and other
groups to develop training and to
coordinate activity to build up the
skill levels within policing.
The PCeU is working with Action
Fraud and the City of London
Police to develop a response to
electroni c fraud reported to the
Action Fraud service and passed to
the National Fraud Intelligence
Bureau (NFIB). As the NFRC
develops, protocols will be put in
place that will set out the way that
the PCeU will support the NFRC.
The Unit works with SOCA, ACPO
and ACPO(S) representatives,
HMRC, the Crown Prosecution
Service (CPS), CEOP and the NPIA,
through the ACPO e -crime
Committee.
responsibilities. Harm i n this
context is the damage caused to
individuals, communities, society,
and the UK as a whole by serious
organised crime.
The mandate of SOCA’s e -Crime
Unit is to reduce the harm caused
to the UK by online organised
crime and is resourced to
address the threat of technology
enabled organised crime, and in
particular to degrade criminal
capability to use the Internet and
IT networks as an operational
enabler or means of influence.
Additionally to use the internet
to obtain information on serious
organised crime to improve
understanding of how those
involved operate and to use the
Internet as a tool to assist in
disrupting criminal activities.
The Unit has access to the wider
operational capabilities of
SOCA both within the UK and in
nearly forty other count ries
worldwide.
Note: Adapted from Cyber Crime Strategy. Secretary of State for the Home Department. UK.2010
The complex nature of the crime as
one that takes place in the border –
less realm of cyberspace is
compounded by the increasing
involvement of org anise d crime
groups. The profile of a cyber
attacker may vary, but commonly
associated with organized crime,
terrorists, nation states, internal
threats or disgruntled employees
and ransom attacks. Meanwhile,
cybercrimes have various types of
victim impact ing t hem in short or long
term basis. S hort term cybercrimes
impact the daily activities of users
and business. Long term impact
includes national security breaches .
Besides, perpetrators of cybercrime

Photo : Cybercrime Infographis, www.yhrocu.org.uk

64

and their victims can be located in different regions, and its effects can ripple through societies
around the world, highlighting the need to mount an urgent, dynamic and international response .
Georgia, for example, established cybercrime legislation in line with the principles and rules of
the Budapest Co nvention both in terms of substantive and procedural aspects. The Personal Data
Protection Act was enacted by Parliament in 2011 and intended to ensure protection of human
rights and freedoms. Meanwhile, the New Zealand (NZ) Police, through NZ Police’s Pre vention First
National Cybercrime Strategy 2014 -2017, has been introducing a 3 -tiered training program for
specialist cyber staff, investigators and the frontline staff. Regarding the existence of technical
institutions, Egypt has provided computer emergen cy response team support to several entities in
the ICT sector, the financial sector as well as te government sector, in order to help them tackle
cybersecurity related threats. Practices for capacity building which includes developing the
technical and hu man res ources for fighting cybercrime w as also carried out by Latvia, for example,
through publishing a series of articles on its national CERT portal. Further, Denmark, Finlad, Iceland,
Norway and Sweden have collaborated through the Nordic National CERT Collaboration which
includes technical cooperation and cybersecurity exercises to assess and strengthen cyber
preparedness, examine incident response processess and enhance information sharing in the
region. 30
In today’s data -driven world, a reactive approa ch to cybersecurity will not cut it. By developing
a robust, proactive cybersecurity strategy, government agencies will be better equipped to
prepare for, prevent and resolve digital threats into the future. H ere are five key steps
government agencies can prepar e to improve cybersecurity and prepare for cyberattacks:
– Undertake a risk assessment
This can be carried out by (a) conducting a risk assessment to determine areas of greatest
vulnerability and potential consequences of an attack, (b) understanding t he worst and most
likely scenarios to engineer defences, and (c) ensuring dialogues between security experts
and stakeholders.
– Take an intelligence -led, analytics -based approach
Effective cybersecurity can no longer rely on a “gates a nd guards” approach. A nd, thus,
advanced analytics can help with cyber threat identification and intelligence.
– Invest in cybersecurity talent
Many public service organization s are finding themselves short on the right skills and
competencies to stave off digital threats. Public service leaders must allocate resources to
attract and build a strong cybersecurity team.
– Increase stakeholder collaboration
Government employees need to uderstand the risks and security protocols when using mobile
devices or operating in the cloud. There fore, employees should be educated about
cybersecurity so everyone can play their part in keeping data safe and working with peer
organization, academia and the private sector to minimize risk.

30 Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) 2017. ITU. 2017

65

– Devise a cybersecurity strategy
A crisis response plan is not enough , and thus, proactive data security strategy is needed
and prioritization is important.
Box 27 . Cyber Security in Australia
Cybercrime in Australia is a growing threat and is becoming an attractive way for criminals to steal
information, money, or di srupt business. Unfortunately, when a cyber -attack will occur and what it might
involve cannot be predicted. And thus, a cyber security policy and cyber security incident response plan
may be needed to prepare for and respond to an incident fas t and effect ively.
A cyber security policy outines the assets to protect, the threats to those assets, and the rules and controls
for protecting people and business. Meanwhile, a cyber security incident response management plan is
a guide that outlines the steps to ma nage a cyber security incident.
Preparing to cyber security incidents may include:
 Develop policies and proc edures to help community understand how to prevent an attack and
to identify potential security incidents
 Identify the financial and information ass ets and technology that most people rel ied on
 Consider the risks to these systems and the steps need ed to take to lessen the effects or damage
 Create roles and responsibilities so that everyone understands who to report to if an incident
occurs and the re covery procedures that follow .

2.4 Prepare for f orced m igration
Globally, more than 60 million people are displaced by wars and armed conflict s, violence, he alth
epidemics, disasters and human rights violations. This is the highest level of forced displacem ent
since World War II. 31 The number of migrants entering EU Member States has increased steadily
since 2008 but reached highest record in 2015.
The most recent surge is fueled by growing numbers of Syrians, Iraqis, Libyan, Afghans and
Eritreans fleeing war , ethnic conflict or economic hardship. M any are undertaking harzardous
journeys across the Mediterranean to reach the EU, often resorting to using sm ugglers. This resulted
in almost 4,000 deaths in 2015. 32 Even, it is predicted that the seismic turbulence in the Middle
East will continue and indeed worsen and that an army of the order magnitude of 450,000 men
would be necessarry to stabilize the conflict. Mass mig ration now poses the gravest threat to
Europe’s stability and tranquility since the end of the Cold War, and arguably since 1945. 33
The physical difficulties of preventing them from coming are immense. The people on these
odysseys are driven by motivations and passions more intense than most of us can imagine. They
see the societies they are heading for offer a wealth and security unimaginable in their homelands.
On the other hand, credible and coherent policies for checking or halting the flood, beyond
creating some frail fences on the Eastern margins have not existed yet. Besides, the vast majority
of policies, laws and procedures related to border management were designed for ordinary
“peaceful” conditions. Box 28 provide s an example on how Jordan dealt with refugee issues.
31 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/A -View -from -the -United -Nations -/disasters -are -fuelling -di_b_12121652.html
32 Managing the EU Migration Crisis: From panic to planning
33 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article -3499652/Could -lead -war -Europe -Apocalyptic -yes -conflict -avoided -MAX – HASTINGS -says -unchecked -mass -migration -make -Europe -unrecognisable.html

66

Box 28 . Win -win Outcome for Refugee Housing in Jordan
As large number of Syr ians fled their country and sought safety and protection in Jordan on e of the
obvious but less -discussed issues was the impact and consequences of the lack of available
accommodation in the country both for Syrian refugees and Jordanian households. Accordi ng to
governmental estimates, the Jordanian housing market was facing a shortfall of at least 24,000 housing
units prior to the Syria crisis. The influx of Syrian refugees has created a need for an additional 90,000
unit approximately, which inflated renta l price, increased competition and decreased housing standards
for all.
Jordan currently hosts around 630,000 registered refugees with the Government estimating about the
same number of citizens of Syria who do not consider themselves a refugee but are una ble to return
home due to conflict. Some 15 per cent of registered refugees live in official camps, the re st staying with
friends, relatives, or most frequently, renting accomodation in Jordanian house communities with large
refugee pockets across northern Jordan and in the capital city of Amman. Besides, the UN Refugee
Agency (UNHCR) stated that 86 per cent of refugees live under the official Jordanian poverty level and
unable to find legal income -earning opportunities and livelihoods.
Building on its exp erience within the Middle East region, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) decided
to address the complex issue through integrated approach that addresses immediate needs of the
refugee households. NRC has been identifying Jordanian landlords who had start ed but were unable to
complete their houses, and offered additional support to finalize their housing units. In exchange, the
landlords commit to offering rent -free accomodation to Syrian refugees for a pre -agreed period . This
approach addresses both the i ssue of availability of housing units and the refugee’s ability to afford
adequate housing.
Moreover, h umanitarian crises leading to mass cross -border flows have other specificities which
countries need to be ready to deal with. The starting point of cris is preparedness is solid
contingency planning for a potential surge in cross -border flows. This exercise inv olves various
actors – civil defence or a crisis management center, border guards and the police, health and
social services, asylum authorities, th e local government, the humanitarian organizations and the
civil society. 34
Box 29 . Forced Migratio n: Study Case of IDMC
By the end of 2016, there were 40.3 million people living in internal displacements as a result of conflicts,
violence and disasters. This number has already doubled since 2000 and has increased sharply over the
last five years. In 2017, there were even 30.6 million new displacement across 143 countries and
territories. 39 per cent of new internal displacement were triggered by conflict and 61 per cent by
disasters. This number is the equivalent of 80,000 people forced to flee each day .
The distribution of internal displacement across the globe in 2017 mirrored the patterns of previous years.
Most of that associated with conflict took p lace in Sub -Saharan Africa and the Middle East, although
there was also significant new displacement in South Asia, and East Asia and Pacific. Displacement
associated with disasters was most prevalent in East Asia and Pacific, South Asia and the Americas.
Since the publication of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement in 1998, programmes and policies
to protect and assist IDPs have not been sufficient to cope with, much less reduce, the growing number of
new displacements or the cumulative number o f IDPs over time. A new approach is essential.
Authority and accountability should lie with the highest levels of government, combined with the devolution
of resources and decision -making power to local authorities. To enable this, national capacity for
mo nitoring, planning and implementation needs to be systematically built and maintained. This is because
failure to address long -term displacement has the potential to undermine the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development and progress on other international agreements.
Countries facing internal displacement must drive policymaking. Over the coming years, countries will
have to better account for IDPs and displacement risk, and make addressing internal displacement an
integral part of development planning and governance at both the local and national level.
34 http://weblog.iom.int/humanitarian -border -management -better -response -migration -crises

67

To make genuine progress at the national, regional and international levels, there needs to be constructive
and open dialogue on internal displacement. This must be led by countries impacted by the issue, wi th
the support of international partners, and in line with their national priorities and realities.
Source: Global Report on Internal Displacement 2018

2.5 Prepare for n uclear detonation
One of the most catastrophic incidents
causing enormous loss of life and property
and severely damaging economic viability
is a nuclear detonation. It is incumbent upon
all levels of government, as well as public
and private parties within a country, to
prepare for this incident through focused
nuclear explosion response pl anning.
Nuclear explosions present substantial and
immediate radiological threats to life and
a severely damaged response infrastrctur e.
Thus , preparedness to respond to a nuclear
detonation could result in life saving on the
order of tens of thousands of lives.
Since the Chernobyl accident in 1986, major political and technological development (such as
improvements in international cooperation and advances in information techn ology) have provided
opportunities for improving the international
emergency prep aredness and response system.
Adequate arrangements at the national leval
are a precondition for a strong international
preparedness and response system. However,
response to a nuclear detonation will largely be
provided from neighboring response units;
therefore, advance planning is required to
establish mutual aid agreements and response
protocols. Response plans must be optimized to
maximize the benefits while minimizing the total
risks to the responders, including protecting
responders and maximizing r esponder resources
available for the duration of the response .
Nuclear accidents may also have transboundary
effects; therefore it is important to provide
adequate response based on scientific
knowledge and full transparency. One of
measures proposed in IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear Safety also correlates to emergency
preparedness and response. International Action Plan for Strengthening the International
Preparedness and Response System for Nuclear and Radiological Emergencies states that the
international e mergency preparedness and response system is deemed to comprise: (a) legal
Box 30 . Zone Characterization of Nuclear
Radiation
It is even stated that because of the unique nature of
radiation dangers associated with a n uclear
explosion, the most lives will be saved in the first 60
minutes through sheltering in place. Therefore, the
zone delineations are rough approximations that can
assist response planners. However, since there is no
clear boundaries between the damage zones, the
zones will need to be characterized based on
observations by early response units and if possible
by overhead photography.
Generally, the light damage (LD) zone is
characterized by broken windows and easily
managed injuries; the moderate damage (MD) zone
by significant building damage, rubble, downed
utility lines and some downed poles, overturned
automobiles, fires, and serio us injuries; and the severe
damage (SD) zone by completely destroyed
infrastructure and high radiation levels resulting in
unlikely survival of victims

Photo: Construction Site of the Chernobyl NPP as of May 29, 2014

68

framework provided by the Conventions, (b) arrangements for the exchange of information and
resources for identifying, assessing and responding to a nuclear or radiological emergenc y among
state parties, non -party IAEA member states, relevant international organizations and the IAEA
Secretariat, and (c) preparedness arrangements to maintain the capability to respond. 35 To
support these, the responsible authorities must have informatio n (regarding the event, its
development an consequences, and the response actios taken) and resources (e.g.: technical
expertise; human resources and tools for acquiring and processing information and making
assessments; trained personnel, equipmment and f acilities for carrying out response actions;
financial resources).
Preparing for these incidents is always difficult, but prearranged agreements and arrangements
may help to ease the initial hours of confusion. Some examples include the use of Memorandum o f
Understandings (MOUs) that allows for a neighboring jurisdiction to assume control of the
damaged locality’s operational duties. One example may include roadway network monitoring
through access to transportation management centers. Another example would be the availability
of pre -staged resources, including equipment needed to remove rubble, shore up infrastructure,
and stabilize utilities.
Some specific issues that should be considered to prepare for nuclear detonation are: 36
– Search and Rescue Operation
Initially, search and rescue operations will be most efficiently and effectively engaged in
non -radi ologically contaminated areas by utilizing visual cues and detected radiation.
Search and rescue within a con taminated area must be conducted by responders trained in
radiation protection in accordance with hazardous materials standard operating
procedures.
– Decontamination of critical infrastructure
In the early phase of response, decontamination of affected areas or infrastructure should
be limited to those locations that are absolutely necessary to access, utilize, or occupy in
order to accomplish the life saving mission. Examples of infrastructure that may need to be
decontaminated include public health and healthcare facilities, emergency services faciliti es,
and transportation and other critical infrastructure (e.g., power plants, water treatment
plants, airports, bridges, and transportation routes into and out of response areas). Affected
infrastructure should be prioritized and radiation exposure rates should be estimated to
determine whether postponing decontamination is preferable.
Decontamination of critical infrastructure should be initiated only when basic information
becomes available regarding fallout distribution, current and projected radiation d ose
rates, and structural integrity of the elements to be decontaminated . It is important first to
estimate how much decontamination is required to use or occupy the areas and for how long
these areas need to be used.

35 http://www -ns.iaea.org/downloads/rw/action -plans/ers -action -plan.pdf downloaded on 18 December 2018
36 Planning Guidance for Response to a Nuclear Detonation. National Security Staff Interagency Policy Coordination Subcommittee for Preparedness and Response to Radiological and Nuclear Threats. 2000

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– Waste management operation
An importan t aspect of managing waste from a nuclear explosion incident is that
decontamination decisions can profoundly affect potential waste disposal options and
quantities of wastes generated, and, conversely, waste disposal costs and barriers may
impact the deco ntamination strategies. State and local waste management personnel should
be incorporated into the planning process to lend their expertise to those that will be
responding, to obtain an understanding of debris that might be encountered, and to help
identi fy the appropriate equipment necessary to remove obstacles and obstructions for
expedient access to victims and access to medical facilities.
Traditionally, waste management operations would begin after life saving operations,
stabilization, and evidence c ollection . Another waste management activity that may be
necessary during the initial hours is hot spot removal. State and local authorities should
include waste management planning priorities in comprehensive nuclear detonation response
plans.
– Selection o f radiation detection systems
The need for radiation detection systems will be overwhelming and few resources will be
urgently required during the first 24 hours . The categories of radiation detection systems
can be organized according to the critical resp onse mission areas . Alternatively, responders
may prefer to categorize their detection systems according to functional tasks: detection,
survey, radionuclide identification, and dosimetry. All radiation detection systems should be
used within their functio nal limits and design specifications.
– Evacuation/shelter recommendation
The best initial action immediately following a nuclear explosion is to take shelter in the
nearest and most protective building or structure and listen for instructions from authoriti es.
No evacuation should be attempted until basic information is available regarding fallout
distribution and radiation dose rates . When evacuations are executed, travel should be at
right angles to the fallout path (to the extent possible) and away from t he plume centerline,
sometimes referred to as ‘lateral evacuation ’. Moreover, e vacuations should be prioritized
based on the fallout pattern and radiation intensity, adequacy of shelter, impending hazards
(e.g., fire and structural collapse), medical and s pecial population needs, sustenance
resources (e.g., food and water), and operational and logistical considerations
– Early medical care
The social, psychological, and behavioral impacts of a nuclear detonation will be
widespread and profound, affecting how the incident unfolds and the severity of its
consequences. Among key issues are the mental health impacts on the general public,
potential effects on emergency responders and other caregivers, and broader impacts on
communities and society.
– Population mon itoring and decontamination
The immediate priority of any population monitoring activity is identification of individuals
whose health is in immediate danger and requires urgent care. The primary purpose of
population monitoring following a nuclear detonat ion is detection and removal of external
contamination. In most cases, external decontamination can be self performed if

70

straightforward instructions are provided. Moreover, p revention of acute radiation health
effects should be the primary concern when mo nitoring for radioactive contamination.
– Providing emergency public information
Planners must consider options for communicating in areas where the infrastructure for
electronic communications has been disabled or destroyed. Any remaining operational
commun ications systems will be severely overloaded. Communications into and out of the
impacted area via these systems will be extremely difficult. Radio broadcasts may be the
most effective means to reach the people closest to and directly downwind from the nuc lear
explosion site. Accordingly, planners in adjacent communities should collaborate in advance
to determine the assets necessary to reestablish communications after a nuclear detonation.
They should also identify and remedy gaps in their capabilities .

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CHAPTER 3
AUDITING EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS : CASE STUDIES

3.1 Overview of ISSAI 5500 series
ISSAI 5500 series serve as main guidance for public sector auditors when auditing overall
government disaster management. The following part will provide some evaluat ion on those ISSAI s.

ISSAI 5510 – The Audit of Disaster Risk Reductio n
– This ISSAI mainly talk s about the audit of government disaster risk reduction effort s. To have
holistic understanding about disaster risk reduction program , this ISSAI is encourge d to
explore more about the business process, risk management of disaster management, and
enriched with some examples from some countries’ risk management. When we start by the
“risk management” then all possible risks can be detected. The current ISSAI already
identified the possible risk that should be address ed by government when implementing a
disaster risk reduction program . However , to be more systematic , these risks better come
from a sequenced business process.
– The ISSAI (par 10.5) mentioned the objectiv e of financial audit as follows: Financial audits
include a review of the accounts and the underlying transactions, including disaster -related
expenditure and are conducted to ascertain the legality and regularity of income and
expenditure. An example of a financial audit objective might be to examine the
management of funds earmarked for protection against floods.
The above objective is a bit mixed with the compliance audit. Actually, the current ISSAI
have mentioned that it will be more suitable to condu ct a compliance or performance audit
for this subject matter. And this is true, that it is a bit difficult to distinguish the evaluation of
the fairness of the use of disaster reduction fund as an independent subject matter. This is
because the objective o f a financial statement audit is to determine whether the financial
statement as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error,
thereby enabling the auditor to express an opinion on whether the financial statement are
prepared , in all material respects, in accordance with an applicable financial reporting
framework.
The criteria for this type of audit is free from material misstatement which are based on
applicable financial reporting framework. This financial reporting framewo rk are
applicable for every account that government has in its financial statement (whether it is
related to disaster risk reduction pr ogram or not). To be more easy to understand , this ISSAI
is encouraged to focus on the compliance and performance audit, and when conducting the
financial audit it will follow the criteria for the fairness of the financial statement as a whole.
– The current ISSAI did not discussed about the audit of government re adiness for emergency
situation. M eanwhile this issue is very im portant due to the big risk of losing lives either
because of the disaster itself or because of the chaotic situation in emergency situation. It
will be better if we put some degree of attention to discuss this specific topic in the ISSAI.

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– Assessing fraud risk in disaster reduction program are already mentioned in this ISSAI. It is
very good since the fraud incidents can hamper the effectiveness of government disaster risk
reduction program. To add some more information about fraud , this ISSAI may address s ome
examples of fraud risks in each business process of government disaster risk reduction
program. It will complementing the ISSAI 5130 that will specifically discuss the fraud risk in
emergency phase.
– This document is e ncouraged to remove some statements such as “ SAI participating in the
survey and parallel audit emphasised the importance of risk assessment in auditing disaster risk
reduction “(Part 2 poin t 9), “ Participants in the survey and parallel audit emphasi zed the
advantage of the performance audi t approach for auditing disaster risk reduction because it
allowed for more comprehensive objectives and scope ”, etc.
– The part of Basis for an Audit Program are encouraged to be put together with Part 2 The
Audit of Disaster Risk reduction. It will be suit able with the risk assessment part. The basis for
an audit program is a sound risk assessment for each business process of a subject matter
audited. The list of questions for risk assessment can be part of appendix.
– Literature review as a part of methods u sed for collecting and analysing data in
per formance auditing is encouraged to be moved as a source for obtaini ng background
information of the subject matter to be audited. The main types of audit procedures are
inspection of record and documents, physic al inspection of tangible assests, observation,
inquiry, confirmation, recalculation, reperformance, and analytical procedures.

ISSAI 5520 – Audit of Disaster Related Aid
– When SAI conduct s a financial audit, it will audit the whole government finance. This type of
audit will give an opinion whether the financial statement (as a whole) are prepared in all
material respects, in accordance with an applicable financial reporting framework . It w ill
not have a separate opinion of the disaster related aid. Instead , this audit will talk about
the government’s accounting treatment of its account that is related with the disaster related
aid. For example:
a) How government will record its revenue from donation which is received in cash, goods,
and in kind ( what is govern ment policy in recording the non -cash donation, etc).
b) How government will record some donation that has been commited under MoU but will
be received in the next period, and how government will record their commitment to
rehabilitate or to construct the inf rastructure in the next period by using the disaster
related aid fund.
c) How government will account for asset s given or buil t by donation fund either through
the budgetary mechanism or non -budgetary mechanism.
d) How matters related to the receipt and use of d isaster -related aid fund will be disclosed
in the notes to financial statement
Those are some examples that will affect the fairness of the financial statement that is
related to the accounting of the disaster related aid.

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– Meanwhile, the current ISSAI main ly expounds on the compliance issues instead of the
financial statement fairness issues when conducting the financial statement audit, as what has
been stated in paragraph 13.2 “ When conducting a financial audit of disaster -related aid,
auditors should ta ke account of the specific nature of disaster -related aid. The audit of
financial statements could address, among other things:
a) the requirements of the applicable accounting standards in the light of the special
circumstances surrounding disasters (emergen cy procedures, large volumes of public
expenditure during or after the emergency)
b) the existence and operation of adequate internal control
c) systems during the different post -disaster phases and activities (relief, recovery,
rehabilitation and reconstructio n)
d) the increased risk of fraud and cor ruption in emergency activities
e) whether the legislation regarding contracts provide for emergency provisions and
whether this is appropriately repor ted in the financial statements
f) reconciling disaster -related aid budge ted for and accounted for
g) the possible existence of gaps in funding between executive units engaged in similar
activities
h) reconciling donors’ and recipients’ records and reports
i) comparing project expenditure recorded by donors with figures for total aid.

ISSAI 5530 – Adapting Audit Pr ocedures to take Account of t he Increase d Risk of Fraud
and Corruption in The Emergency Phase Following A Disaster
– To be more straightforward (part 1), begin the discussion of this ISSAI directly specific to
SAI’s role in com bating fraud in emergency phase. It is encouraged to provide examples
that are specific to fraud in emergency phase.
– Before starting the discussion of the fraud risk, this ISSAI could mention the auditor ’s
responsibility in detecting fraud when conducting an audit related to emergency phase either
in financial, performance, or compliance audit.
– The reference about the types of fraud can be taken from Association of Certified Fraud
Examiner (ACFE) Fraud Tree, whereas the types of fraud are grouped into Asset s
Misap propriation, Corruption, and Financial S tateme nt F raud.
– The current ISSAI already mentioned the fraud risks. In order to make it more systematic
and easy to understand it is encouraged that this ISSAI explain first the busi ness process in
emergency phase, followed by the potential fraud risk that are derived from the business
process, and last is the identificat ion of the red flags for each f raud risk. The potential fraud
risks can be referred from the Fraud Tree provided by ACFE. For example:
Busin ess Process : The distribution of goods and supplies
The Fraud Risk : Conflict of interest (under corruption category)
Red Flag : Imbalance distribution proportion

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– This ISSAI could el aborate more about the importance of evaluating the fraud risk
management in emergenc y phase conducted by government. Enrich it with the internal control
measures (examples) that have to exist for government to be e ffectively prevent, detect,
and respond to fraud incidents .
– In addition to the above matters, this ISSAI will also be better by elaborating more on the
role of “government actor “ in emergency phase in order to have a picture of the responsible
parties that have a duty in preventing, detecting, and responding to fraud. The duty of
managing the fraud risk falls u nder the government, and SAI ha s a responsibility to evaluate
whether the responsib le pa rties have conducted their role to prevent, detect , and respond
to any fraud arising in emergency phase with its special characteristics.

3.2 Types and methodology for audit ing on emergency/disaster preparedness
A unique feature of disaster management is the impact it can have on saving lives and property
and restoring human dignity. This is because however well -prepared governments, commu nities or
individual plans are , they can never be prepared enough to avoid all adverse effects of major
disasters. And, thus, auditors can measure the effectiveness, economy and efficiency of the disaster
preparedness itself .
Depending on the SAI’s mandate and also their competen ce and experience, SAIs can audit
different aspects and elements of emergency/disaster preparedness. The scope and objectives of
each audit and the way it is planned and conducted depend on the mandate of the SAI and the
regulatory framework within which i t operates. Besides, the type of audit may also differ based
on the requirement. SAIs can carry out financial, performance, compliance or a mixture audit of
disaster preparedness.
In all cases the audits should fall within the mandate given to the SAI and be carried out in
accordance with the national and other elevant legislations and auditing standards which apply.
Clear objectives assist auditors to focus the audit work and facilitate follow up of audit
recommendations. There can be audits which are impl icitly focused on efficiency or effectiveness
of emergency/disaster preparedness elements/programs/activities.

Financial audit of emergency /disaster preparedness
The purpose of an audit of financial statement is to enhance the degree of confidence of int ended
users in the financial statements. This is achieved by the expression of an opinion by the auditor
on w hether the financial statements are prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with an
applicable financial reporting framework , or – in the case of financial statements prepared in
accordance with a fair presentation financial reporting framework – whether the financial
statements are presented fairly, in all material respects, or give a tru e and fair view, in
accordance with that framework. 37 In this case, financial audit may be relevant when
emergency/disaster preparedness has affected the quality of the financial statement.

37 ISSAI 200/16

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Performance audit of emergency /disaster preparedness
Performance auditing is an independent, objective and reliable ex amination of whether
government undertakings, systems, oper ations, programs, activities or organization s are operating
in accordance with the principles of economy, efficiency and effectiveness and whether there is
room for improvement. 38 When conducting pe rformance audit of disaster/emergency
preparedness, auditors should bear in mind the need to make recommendations to feed into
measures to prepare for the event of future disasters. In addition, SAIs may also seek to issue
recommendations of general applic ation regarding, for example, improvements to be made in
human resources and organization al capacity development.

Compliance audit of emergency /disaster preparedness
Compliance audit is the independent assessment of whether a given subject matter is in co mpliance
with applicable authorities identified as criteria. Compliance audits are carried out by assessing
whether activities, financial transactions and information comply, in all material respects, with the
authorities which govern the audited entity. 39 When carrying out compliance audit of
disaster/emergency preparedness, auditors may seek to verify compliance with the requirements
of stipulated laws and legislations.

Methods for collecting data
Methodology may be understoo d as a systematic approach to an swer the audit question. The
methods applied in an audit should therefore be closely related to the identified risks and the
topic of the audit. When choosing methods for collecting data, it is also important to get an
overview of sources that may provid e audit evidence. Here are some of the methodolo gical
possibilities when conducting audit on emergency/disaster preparedness.
– File examination
Review of documents is an efficient way of collecting data, and may provide important
evidence. Relevant files ma y include decisions of officials, ‘case records’ of programme
beneficiaries, and records of government programmes. Prior to collecting documents, it is
important to assess the nature, location and availability of the documents . However, it is
important to bear in mind that document review restricts the analysis to the existing
documentation. It will therefore often be necessary to collect data from other sources .
– Interview
Interviews are normally used to gather specific and detailed information in order to answer
the audit topic. This method is commonly used as a supplement to questionnaires, and may
be used in order to obtain documents, gather opinions and ideas related to the audit topic,
confirm facts, affirm data and explore potential recommendations. In terviews may enter into
the planning phase, or the investigation itself. It is important to bear in mind that the
38 ISSAI 300/9
39 ISSAI 400/12

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interviewees should, as far as possible, represent people with different positions,
perspectives and insights .
– Observation
Observation may be used to document the actual process of emergency/disaster
preparedness. Observation may therefore provide physical evidence in terms of photos and
recordings
– Use of statistics
Statistics may be retrieved from the databases of the public agencies, or from c entral
institutions producing official statistics. Although databases and statistics from secondary
sources may provide valuable information, it is important to assess the reliability and
relevance of the content. Statistics retrieved from databases and se condary sources may
provide the basis of simple analyses such as frequencies, mean and other types of
distribution. Statistics may also provide the basis of impact studies or cost -benefit studies
– Survey and questionnaire
Questionnaires or surveys may provi de the means of systematically collecting necessary
information. Surveys are useful when quantifying information, and are normally used in cases
when the required information is not available from other sources. When preparing a
questionnaire, the auditor must decide whether to collect data from a defined population,
or a sample of the population.

3.3 Audit topics on emergency /disaster preparedness
The selection of audit topics requires a thorough assessment of the relevant risk arising from the
failure to pre pare for emergency/disaster , assessment of materiality based on the number of
people who may be affected and the severity of the harm they may suffer. The greater the risk
for consequences in terms of economy, efficiency and effectiveness or public trust, the more
important the problems tend to be. Auditor should select audit topics that are significant, auditable
and reflect the SAI’s mandate. 40
Before embarking on an audit, SAIs should understand the processes for disaster preparedness
and its focuses. The y should assess the nature of the risks in each element , familiarise themselves
with the internal control applied by all parties responsible for managing disaster preparedness
and test whether those internal controls are operating and are sufficient to ove rcome or reduce
the identified risks.
Pe rformance and compliance audits usually involve a choice of audit topics. The first step is
deciding what to audit from the myriad of government activities. The audit should be directed
towards areas where an externa l, independent audit may support the oversi ght function in
promoting accountability, economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the use of public resources. The
aim is to select audit topics t hat are significant, auditable and can be expected to l ead to
impo rtant benefits for public finance and administration, the audited entity or the general public. 41
40 ISSAI 3000/89 -90
41 INTOSAI PAS Guideline on Selecting Performance Audit Topics/1.1

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The selection of topics should take into account the need to prioritise resources, capcity, budget
and time. This involves planning and scoping an audit to hel p appropriately focus resources on
addressing overall risk and to direct auditors in the field work and reporting stages. There are a
number of tools that can be used by SAIs to provide input to the selection of topics: 42
– Area watching
Area watching entails monitoring key issues in the public sector to keep abreast of
developments. Its purpose is to identify possible audit areas for further scrutiny. It is carried
out by reading relevant publications and previous reports relating to performance and
complianc e audits, listening to the experience of regularity auditors, listening to or reading
transcripts of parliamentary debates, attending conferences and seminars, discussions with
colleagues, stakeholders and specialists, listening to radio and television bro adcasts, and
reading newspapers and journals. 43 Area watching should be a continuous process that
ensures that the SAI is always in possession of updated information about what happens in
society and areas that may require further examination.
– Scanning of p ublic sector environment
Some information such as national budgets and guidelines, related policies, speech from
president, SDGs, news/articles from media can be inspected regularly to scan public sector
environments that raise public awareness /concern .
– Ge neral surveys
General surveys may cover a whole entity, a group of related activities or particular major
projects or programmes of expenditure or receipts. The general survey is aimed at providing
an understanding of the organization ’s objectives, its mai n activities and the level and nature
of resources used in carrying out its functions. Information is assembled and evaluated on the
background, objectives, activities, plans, resources, procedures and controls in the entities or
areas concerned. Much of t he information for general survey work can be obtained through
normal day to day work and contact with the public sector organization s.
– Internal discussions and assessments within the SAI
Internal discussions to debate and assesses the risks associated wit h possible topics should
take place within the SAI.
– Considerations of views of citizens
The perspective of the citizen that is related to the performance of the audited entity should
be taken into account where appropriate. This is because citizens are the source of ideas for
performance auditing, a source of demand for performance auditing and users of
performance audit reports.
– External stakeholders
Relationships should be built with external stakeholders and frequent interaction should take
place to iden tify and discuss possible topics. Inputs on topics may be obtained from relevant
role players in government, subject experts and the department’s internal auditors .
42 ISSAI Implementation Handbook – Perfomance Audit. IDI e -Learning course on Impleme nting Performance Audit ISSAIs
43 AFROSAI -E PA Manual/3.3.2

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Audit topics can also be evaluated against qualitative aspects to determine whether the top ics
are significant. The following criteria reflected in Table 9 are examples of aspects that may be
considered when identifying topics of auditing disaster preparedness .
Table 9. Selection Criteria for Determining Audit Topics
Criteria Factors
1 Materia lity Is the topic important to government/the public/the audited entity
(national priority) and does it involve a critical area?
Is it financially significant to the public exchequer or government
program?
2 Public concern Does the output impact the vulne rability of the target community?
3 Accessibility/auditability Is the project accessible geographically?
Is the data accessible?
4 Possible impact Will the topic have a powerful impact on reducing vulnerabilities?
5 Improvement Will the audit lead to im provement in disaster preparedness
initiatives?
6 Risk of fraud and
corruption
Is there lack of internal controls which compromise the program
objective and burden disaster preparedness budget?
7 Timeliness Is this the right or appropriate time to audit the topic?
8 Other major works
planned or in progress
Is other work being planned or done on the topic?
9 Request for audit Have any special request being made?
10 High political sensitivity Does the topic involve a delicate subject that is of governmen t
concern?
Note: a dapted from Module 2, Preparing for Audit of Pre -Disaster Activities, IDI -3I Program , 2015
However, auditing emergency/disaster preparedness is often not the main goal of the audit, but
just a part of the audit. For example, while auditi ng the effectiveness of disaster risk reduction
programs, auditing emergency/disaster preparedness -related elements/programs/activities can
be just a subtopic covered within the audit. These are several audit reports on the disaster
preparedness carried ou t by SAIs . The topics regarding audit of disaster/emergency
preparedness are as follow:
Title Audit of Disaster Risk Reduction Management on “Disaster Awareness and
Preparedness, Information Material and Tools Development and
Dissemination” of the Philippi ne Institute of Volcanology and Seismology
(PHIVOLCS)
Country and year Philippine s year 2018
Type of audit Performance audit using system -and result s-oriented approach

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Audit objective To determine whether PHIVOLCS effectively capacitated the key stakeh olders
through timely distribution of adequate information materials and conduct of
seminars/trainings.
This main objective was elaborated into two sub –objectives, namely:
a. To determine the existence and adequacy of information, education and
communication (IEC) policies to ensure proper implementation of the program
activities
b. To determine whether the conduct of trainings and distribution of information
materials to intended participants and recipients were undertaken within the
set guidel ines and timelines and monitored regularly to determine whether
the stakeholders were adequately capacitated.
Audit scope The audit covered the implementation of the project Disaster Awareness and
Preparedness, Information Material and Tools Development and Dissemination
covering the calender years 2016 to 2017 in selected areas ( Leyte, Cebu, Davao
Oriental, Bohol, General Santos City and Zambales )
The audit focused on DRR capacity building and DRR communication, two of the
four functions of Geologic Disaster Awareness and Preparedness Division
(GDAPD).
Audit criteria PHIVOLCS Strategic Initiative Plan
Methods used a. File examination
b. Interview
c. Survey/questionnaire
d. Before and after analysis
Findings a. The established guidelines/procedures for DRR capacity building and DRR
comm unication defined in the QMS need further enhancement through the
inclusion of identified processes and standards such as: timelines or duration
for each task or process, recommended profiles of preferred attendees in the
trainings/seminars, and monitoring and evaluation procedures to ensure that
the projects have attained the expected outputs and outcome provided in the
PHIVOLCS Str ategic Initiative Plan (five -year plan)
b. Not all targeted participants were able to attend the seminar -workshops for
LGUs and t he post training activities undertaken by the participants were not
adequately monitored and evaluated to assess the application of the
acquired s kills or knowledge from semin ars attended.
c. PHIVOLCS’s practice of disseminating information/IEC materials were only
upon written request by intended stakeholders, during conduct of
trainings/seminars, as part of the seminar kits distributed to participants, and
upon request by walk -in stakeholders, which suggests that a limited number
of recipi ents were informed a nd aware abo ut disaster preparedness and risk
reduction.
d. PHIVOLCS had satisfactorily capacitated selected key stakeholders in schools
and LGUs to engage and conduct DRR initiaves to reduce vulnerability to
disasters or limit the adverse impacts of hazards of volcano, earthquake and
tsunami
Recommendations a. Revisit the QMS and consider the inclusion of the following:
1) The period when each process is to be udertaken and its estimated
duration and completion
2) Procedures on the assessment/monitoring of key stakeh olders’
subsequent or post training initiatives conducted to carry out/apply the
acquired skills learned from the capacity building activities conducted.

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b. Specify in the guidelines and invitation letter of PHIVOLCS to Schools Division
Superintendent the pre ferred expertise or specialization of tar get
participants in the training .
c. Include in the memorandum of agreement (MOA) a provision for post training
initiative to be conducted by the trained key stakeholders to carry out/apply
the acquired skills learned from the capacity building activities conducted
down to the communities .
d. Continue to collaborate with other government agencies for continuous
development/feedbacks to keep the needs assessment and profile of the
stake holders updated, and their needs appro priately addressed.
e. Continue capacitating key stakeholders through the conduct of additional
and/or repeated seminars/trainings in a year, and consider the participation
of the youth .
f. Coordinate with the partner agencies together with DND and DILG being th e
lead agencies of NDRRMC to put in place enforcement mechanism to ensure
higher degree of attendance by the target participants of LGUs in the DRRM
capacity building and training .
g. Provide specific provisions in the MOA with LGUs/teachers to include:
1) The c ommitment to be done by the participants as their means of
application of acquired knowledge/skills from the seminars
2) The preparation and submission by the LGUs/teachers of monitoring
reports for the activities they conducted .
h. Based on the monitring report s submitted by key stakeholders, assess the
effectiveness of the seminars/trainings conducted .
i. Consider other strategies for mass distribution of information materials that
would address its concer ns on wastage, non -utilizat ion, and cost effectiveness.
j. Ens ure sustainability of the project by collaborating with the LGUs, NGA,
NGOs/PO s and to look into the several concerns raised by the recipients. For
those which cannot be addressed because of budgetary or technological
concerns, the agency planners may cons ider or opt to put them into discussion
in their future budget planning.

Title Performance A udit on Effectiveness of Dis aster Risk Reduction (DRR) Programs
During 2016 to First Mid 2017 Carried out by National Disaster Management
Agency (BNPB) and Relate d Entities in Jakarta, East Java, West Java, North
Sumatera, and South Kalimantan
Country and year Indonesia year 2018
Type of audit Performance audit using process -based
Audit objective To assess the effectiveness of D RR programs during financial ye ar 2016 to first
mid 2017 carried out by BNPB and related entities.
To achieve the audit objective, the audit assessed whether:
a. Regulation and planning of DRR programs have been sufficient
b. Implementation and reporting of DRR programs have been sufficient
c. Mon itoring and evaluation of DRR program have been sufficient
Audit scope DRR programs/activities carried out by BNPB and related entities during 2016 to
first mid 2017 allocated in BNPB’s budget.

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This scope is determined based on result of preliminary audit . The scope covers
three sub -topics, namely:
a. Regulation and planning of DRR programs
b. Implementation and reporting of DRR programs
c. Monitoring and evaluation of DRR programs
Audit criteria Better Management P ractices covering three main criteria and 28 sub criteria
Methods used a. Survey
b. Document analysis
c. Result analysis
d. Quantitative analysis
e. Field observation
f. Confirmation
g. Sampling
Findings Notwithstanding the achievement of BNPB in carrying out DRR program, there are
several problems that should be improved , namely:
a. Manual s to prepare hazard zones (KRB) and Dis aster Management Plan (RPB)
had been obsolete and not been up dated .
b. There was no information system to monitor the availability of KRB and RPB .
c. Manua l to prepare contingency plan was insufficient .
d. Man uals to prepare risk map and its study, RPB, and contingency plan had
been published but they had not been known and understood publicly (i.e. by
related stakeholders, internally or externally)
e. Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) on dis aster data collectio n system had
not been disseminated optimally .
f. BNPB had not prepared regulation on termination of emergency status.
g. National Disaster Data differed from Local Disaster Data .
h. The performance of emp loyee’s capacity development could not be measured .
i. The devel opme nt of risk map and risk study was insufficient .
j. Some cities/districts set as priority targets for reduc ing disaster risk index had
not developed Local Disaster Management Plan.
k. National Plan on Disaster Management 2015 – 2019 developed by BNPB
had not been stipulated
l. Local disasater data collection systems connected to national disaster data
collection system were inconsistent and inaccurate .
m. Contingency planning for every hazard type in all priority areas had not been
set .
n. Mechanism for implementing an d reporting of monitoring and ev aluation
carried out by BNPB had not been supported by sufficient SOP .
o. BNPB ha d not fully monitor ed and evaluate d the achievement of expected
targets and goals .
p. Results of m onitoring an d evaluation of DRR programs had not be en followed
up sufficiently.
Recommendations BPK recommended Head of BNPB to:
a. Instruct Deputy of Prevention and Preparedness and Legal Bureau to revise
manuals to develop KRB and RPB, prepare legal protection regarding the

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preparation of contingency plan, besides preparing and monitoring
mechanism for disseminating DRR to related parties
b. Instruct Head of Center of Information and Data to coordinate with Local
Disaster Management Agencies (BPBD) to verify and validate disaster -related
data, set annual targ et for BPBD to maintain the data, and monitor the
implementation of verification and validation based on applicable regulation.
Head of Center of Information and Data should also coordinate with Legal
Bureau to prepare mechanism and disseminate regulation related to disaster
collection data system, review the regulation to include sanction for violating
the regulation, besides preparing and disseminating SOP on mechanism to
verify the data.
c. Prepare and disseminate regulation on mechanism to terminate emerge ncy
status to relevant parties
d. Prepare and disseminate S OP on capacity building for BNPB officers,
implement policy on annual minimum standard of training hours for relevant
officers, and prepare MoU with local government to support DRR programs,
especiall y employee placem ent and their capacity building
e. Prepare and implement informa tion system on risk map and risk study to
support data management of risk map and risk study all over Indonesia,
prepare MoU with local government to support DRR programs, and mo nitor
and set target to prepare annual risk map and risk study
f. Instruct Director of DRR to improve oversight on the preparation of KRB for
district level; prepare manuals, SOP and guidance on mechanism to prepare
KRB and risk map; manage personnel to assis t the preparation of KRB in local
level; and set mechanism and target of preparation of KRB in each BPBD
g. Develop information system National Disaster Management Plan a nd local
RPB to help maintain RPB data all over Indonesia; prepare MoU with local
governm ents to support DRR programs, especially with regard to preparation
and implementation of RPB in local level; set review mechanism; and set target
on the preparation and implementation of RPB in local level
h. Improve data collection system by solving proble ms faced by BPBD.

Title Focus on the Dutch Contribution to the Reconstruction of Sint Maarten
Country and year Netherlands year 2018
Type of audit A focus audit ( It is a new type of audit performed by the Netherlands Court of
Audit which differs from standard audits in that it has a much shorter lead time –
around 14 weeks – focuses on a topical issue and starts out from a precise and
clearly defined question)
Audit objective The audit centers on the following question:
What are the consequences of th e governance structure for the planning and
progress of the chosen reconstruction projects on Sint Maarten funded from the
Trust Fund?
The central audit question was then subdivided into the following sub -questions:
a. What agreements have been made about the way in which the Dutch
contribution to the reconstruction of Sint Maarten should be spent?
b. Are these agreements observed in practice, and what effects does this have
on the planning and progress of the reconstruction effort on Sint Maarten?
Audit scope The team selected four of the signed commitments which included:
a. Repairs to roofs and houses

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b. The restoration of public utilities
c. Funding a hurricane -proof hospital
d. The skill and training program
Audit criteria National Recovery and Resilience Plan
Method s used a. Literature study and series of interview to answer first sub -question
b. Detailed research into four specific reconstruction projects on Sint Maarten,
document examination, interviews and field visit to answer the second sub –
question .
Findings a. Strate gic Results Framework was absent and no consensus has emerged about
the clearly measurable objectives that the Trust Fund intended to achieve.
b. The government of Sint Maarten has neither the capacity nor the expertise
that are needed to carry out all the re construction projects within the desired
time limits.
c. It is taking longer than expected to get the National Recovery Program Bureau
(NRPB) operational. Besides, there is a shortage of experienced project
managers, engineers and public procurement officers. The recruitment of
experts is proving to be a slow process, with only a small number of cancidates
applying for vacancies.
d. Skill and training program was funded by the Dutch and the World Bank.
About 80% of the money went towards income support for partic ipants, while
around 20% was spent on program costs. The World Bank took over the
funding of the program after it had been in operation for a short while, at
which point there was already a clear plan on the table and the SMTF had
already organised the log istics. However, t he World Bank will be funding the
scheme up to the end of Decmber 2019, after which the future is unclear

Title Performance Au dit on Volcanic Eruption Preparedness During 2015 to First Mid
2016 Developed and Carried out by National Di saster Management Agency
(BNPB) and Re lated Entities in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Central Java, North
Sumatera and North Sulawesi
Country and year Indonesia year 2017
Type of audit Performance audit
Audit objective To assess the effectiveness of volcanic erup tion preparedness activities during
2015 to first mid 2016 developed and carried out by BNPB and related parties.
To achieve the audit objective, the audit assessed whether:
a. Management has developed and prepared contingency plans
comprehensively
b. Evacuation route and sites have been available and ready to use
c. Emerge ncy management and mechanism have been adequately disseminated
and trained
d. Vo lcanic eruption preparedness have been supported by adequate logistic
and utilities management.
Audit scope Volcanic e ruption preparedness of Mount Merapi, Sinabung and Soputan
developed and implemented by BNPB and related parties during 2015 to first
mid 2016

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Audit criteria Better Management P ractices covering four main criteria and 11 sub -criteria
Methods used a. Intervi ew
b. Document analysis
c. Result analysis
d. Quantitative analysis
e. Field observation
f. Confirmation
g. Sampling
Findings a. The preparation and formulation of volcanic eruption contingency plan was
not fully adequate
Some local disaster management agencies (BPBD) in dis aster affected areas
had not completely prepared and formulated contingency plans. Some
contingency plans had not included all necessitated requirements, such as
coordination scenario pattern bertween BPBDs in district level to BPBDs in
higher level and BN PB, detailed prediction of refugee’s needs and available
resources. In addition, some existing contingency plans had not been
dsseminated and tested. There was also no periodic updating on the existing
contingency plans.
b. Evacuation sites and routes were not ready to use
Some BPBDs in district level had not provided sufficient signposts to assembly
meeting point and evacuation sites. Some BPBDs, even, had not determined
evacuation sites. Some routes and evacuation sites’ facilities are also found
broken. The limitation of policy and budget had made evacuation sit es and
routes inadequate and not ready to use.
c. Dissemination and training of emergency response mechanism and
management for officials were not adequate
The training materials on emergency response me chanism provided by
Training Center of BNPB and BPBDs in district and provincial level were not
comprehensive. They had not included rapid and accurate assessment on
location, damage, loss and resources. Besides, dissemination for public had not
been carri ed out in all affected areas.
d. Logistics and utilities planning had not been prepared accordingly
BNPB had set a broad logistics and utilities minimum standa rd, including those
for volcanic eruption. However, BNPB found some problems to meet the
objectives of the standards. BNPB had also signed MoU s with other relevant
entities to fulfil logistics and utilities needs. However, the MoUs had not been
equipped with technical agreement on their imp lementation.
Meanwhile, BPBDs in district and provincial level did not have the MoUs
indicati ng coordination planning to fulfil ligistics and utilities to prepare for
volcanic eruption. Lack of policy and budget support had made BPBDs unable
to meet the standard.
Recommendations BPK recommended Head of BNPB to:
a. Coordi nate with Head of BPBDs in Merapi, Sinabung and Soputan affected
areas to find an efficient joint financing alternatives to prepare contingency
plans and disaster management plans besides stipulating guidelines on
preparation of contingency plan and establ ishing measured parameters to
determine disaster scale and level. Those documents should be the reference
to prepare contingency plans and to monitor the completion of volcanic
eruption contingency plan preparation
b. Coordinate with Governor of Central Java, North Sumatera, Special Province
of Yogyakarta and North Sulawesi besides Mayor of Klaten, Magelang,

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Sleman, Minahasa Selatan and Karo to set final evacuation sites capacity and
facility development as priority in disaster preparedness
c. Mandate Head of Tra ining Center of BNPB to coordinate with Director of
Disaster Preparedness of BNPB and Head of BPBDs in Merapi, Sinabung and
Soputan affected areas to plan adequate training on emergency response
mechanism in addition to complete documents on planning and r eporting of
disaster management training during 2015 to 2016
d. Coordinate with Head of BPBDs in provincial and district level, particularly in
Merapi, Sinabung and Soputan affected areas, to establish policies on
inventory report of logistics and utilities n eed ed in national, provincial and
district level as reference to plan for logistics a nd utilities fulfilment to prepare
for volcanic eruption
e. Coordinate with head of BPBDs in provincial and district level, particularly in
Merapi, Sinabung and Soputan affec ted areas, to prepare MoUs on the
logistics and u tilities fulfilment and equip them with technical agreement
between working units managing logistics and utilities support other than BNPB
and BPBDs.

Title Audit 1681 -GB Participation in the Granting of Su pport of Those Affected by
the Earthquakes of September 7th and 19th, 2017
Country and year Mexico year 2017
Findings The following evidenced that there was not a census and a sufficient and reliable
registry to program and prioritize the supports and that it served as a tool for the
bank to provide reasonable security in the delivery of resources to the victims, in
an efficient, timely and complete manner
a. There were flaws in the control mechanisms of the National Savings and
Financial Services Bank (BA NSEFI – Banco del Ahorro Nacional y Servicios
Financieros) due to the fact that it did not give reasonable assurance of the
correct programming and delivery of the 6,405,031.5 thousand Mexican
pesos of the Natural Disasters Fund (FONDEN – Fondo de Desastre s
Naturales), delivered to the bank and that would be destined to the
reconstruction of homes and that led to risks that the supports were not
received in an efficient, timely and complete manner for the beneficiaries as
of December 31 of that year since. Although 92.4% (5,917,815.0 thousand
pesos) of the amount in 238,311 monetary and housing FONDEN cards had
been ministered, this did not mean that the amount and the cards would have
been granted to the beneficiary because the cards were active and with
resources available before delivery.
b. The bank did not have regulations that would empower it and regulate its
participation in the delivery of FONDEN’s support, which caused irregularities
in the coordination with the Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Developm ent
Secretariat (SEDATU – Secretaría Desarrollo Agrario, Territorial y Urbano).
c. There was lack of control mechanisms to guarantee the totality of the changes
instructed by the contracting entity to the censuses and registers of
beneficiaries
d. There were def iciencies in the administrative model hired by the bank to
control the information of the beneficiaries
e. There was lack of documentation and control in the integration of bank records
f. Failures in compliance with the 12 agreements with the contracting instit ution,
regarding to the validity, number of shares and amount to be dispersed, as
well as lack of opportunity in the delivery were identified.

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Title 1681 -GB Regulation and supervision of the participation of BANSEFI in the
granting of supports to those a ffected by the earthquakes of September 7th
and 19th, 2017
Country and year Mexico year 2017
Audit Objective Provide certainty about the regulation and supervision carried out by the CNBV
to BANSEFI, in the delivery of support to the victims of the eart hquakes on
September 7th and 19th, 2017, as well as to implement improvements to the
executed procedures by the bank to comply with the commitments established by
the Federal Executive, related to generating agile, efficient and timely
interinstitutional c oordination mechanisms that allow priority attention in the
affected areas, as well as the reconstruction of houses that were damaged by the
earthquakes
Findings a. The regulation and supervision of the National Baking and Stock Commission
(CNBV – Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores) to BANSEFI regarding the
process of delivery and administration of FONDEN support for reconstruction,
presented opportunity problems, since, prior to the earthquakes of September
7th and 19th of 2017, there was no regulation for the allocation of
Development Banking for the distribution of support before natural
phenomena.
b. Although the CNBV conducted an investigation into BANSEFI for alleged
infractions of banking regulations in the dispersion of FONDEN resources to
those aff ected by the earthquakes of September of that year, it did not
instruct the bank in a timely manner to modify its regulatory framework to
regulate its performance since 192 calendar days were issued after October
2, date in which it began the administratio n of resources, and 130 calendar
days after his investigation.
c. In the integration of the files and the lack of approved methodology to
identify, measure, monitor, limit, control, inform and disclose the business risk
to which it is exposed, the commission did not act in a timely manner since the
investigation began once they identified the irregularities in the FONDEN
resources management process and that on December 20, 2017, the CNBV
issued 20 observations and 4 recommendations, which at the end of that f iscal
year were in process .

Title Audit of Disaster Management Activities of the Government of Jammu and
Kashmir
Country and year India year 2016
Type of audit Performance audit
Audit objective s The audit was conducted to assess whether among other :
a. Disaster management structures, institutional arrangement and policies were in
place and working effectively
b. Financial resources were available and were adequate and financial
management was efficient and effective for prevention, mitigation, reduction
of risk and impact of disaster and intended results were achieved
c. Comprehensive risk assessment was conducted to identify the nature, location,
intensity and likelihood of major hazards and preparedness to deal with
disasters in the future was undertaken

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Au dit scope Disaster Management Activi ties covering period from 2010 -2011 to 2014 -2015
including the drought of 2009, the cloudburst in Leh of 2010 and the flood of
September 2014
Audit criteria Disaster Management Act 2005
Methods used Test -check of recor ds of the two Commissioner Secretaries, two Divisional
Commissioners (Kashmir and Jammu), seven Deputy Commiss ioners and other line
department s of the districts covering the period between 2010 -2011 and 2014 –
2015.
Findings a. The State Disaster Management A gency (SDMA), though established in April
2007, was not fully constituted as its full time members were yet to be
appointed (July 2016) .
b. The SDMA met only once (Februa ry 2012) during 2010 -2015 when State
Disaster Management Policy (SDMP ) was approved
c. The S DMP thou gh approved (February 2012) by the SDMA, had not been
impemented fully.
d. The State Advisory Committee had not been constituted as of October 2015 .
e. National plan and State plan had not been implemented. Guidelines for
preparation of disaster manageme nt plan by departments were also not laid
down .
f. Divisional Disaster Management Authorities had not been established as of
April 2016 .
g. Districts Disaster Management Authorities though constituted, were non –
functional. District Disaster Management Plans had not been formulated in the
six test -checked districts.
h. The approved District Disaster Management Plan of Leh District had neither
been implemented nor reviewed.
i. The State Disaster Response Force was significantly short of its sanctioned
strength. Besides, the bulk of the available manpower was neither fully trained
nor deployed for disaster relief and rehabilitation thereby defeating the
objective of the creation of the Force.
j. No hazard and disaster risk map of the State had been prepared though an
amount o f fund had been released (June 2014) under capacity building for
this purpose. Besides, data related to nature, location, intensity and likelihood
of possible major hazards and population and assets at risk a re not available
with the Sta te Government. Cons equently, re alistic and informed strate gies
and action plans for disaster risk reduction could not be formulated.
k. Fund was utilized for purposes not related to the flood spill channel and some
flood spill channel was not treated and excavated respectively.
l. Earthquak e-resistant designs had not been mandatory for private buildings.
Further, disaster resistant designs and retrofitting techniques had not been
ensured in reconstruction of houses which were fully or severely damaged
during the floods of September 2014 and for which relief was provided by
the Government. Hence, the constructions remained vulnerable to earthquakes
in a seismic sensitive zone.
m. The mechanism for early warning systems had not been established and fund
was surrendered .
n. Some fund for cap acity building and public awareness for managing disasters
was surrendered.
o. The State Government had not undertaken capacity building activities
including public awareness and preparedness as envisaged. Further, some
fund was utilized for procurement of v ehicles instead of capacity building.

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Re commendations a. Establish and operationalize the instituti onal structures and disaster re lated
policies envisaged in the Disaster Management Act 2005 for efficient and
effective management of pre and post disaster act ivities .
b. Conduct vulnerability, hazard and risk assessment especially in the 13 multi
haz ard districts and prepare risk maps that would enable formulation of
informed strategies and prioritization of resources for disaster preparedness
including an early w arning system .
c. Ensure the personnel of t he State Disaster Response Force undergo the
mandatory trainings in a time bound manner and thet they are thereafter used
solely for the intended purpose .
d. Formulate and implement a time bound plan for capacity buildi ng including
promotion of general awareness and community training and building
capacity to combat disasters as an important pre -disaster activity.

Title 2013 Public Account
Country and year Mexico year 2013
Findings Finding of Audit 127 -GB Civil Pro tection
a. The National Center for Disaster Prevention (CENAPRED – Centro Nacional de
Prevención de Desastres) carried out research, training, dissemination and
monitoring actions to generate information that allows the prevention of
hazards, risks and damage s caused by disrupting agen ts that could lead to
disasters. However, it lacked records and documentary evidence that would
allow its contribution to the reduction of the vulnerability of the population and
its environment in the presence of disturbing phen omena .
Finding of Audit 129 -GB Civil Protection
a. The National Water Comission (CONAGUA – Comisión Nacional del Agua)
took the necessary actions to generate the information that allows detecting
and identifying the hydro meteorological phenomena that disturb s the security
of the population and its environment, thereby participating in the public
policy of civil protection, but it is not possible to determine the impact of
CONAGUA’s actions in reducing the vulnerability of people and the protection
of their ph ysical and patrimonial integrity .
Finding of Audit 133 -GB Civil Protection
a. The Secretariat of State (SEGOB – Secretaría de Gobernación) coordinated
the operation of the National Civil Protection System since it participated in
the identification of foresee able risks; in the attention of incidents caused by
natural and anthropogenic phenomena, and in the authorization of
declarations of emergency and disaster, by inducing and promoting civil
protection programs, for which it contributed to the consolidation of the
National System of Civil Protection through the Integral Risk Management and,
consequently, collaborated in the safeguard of the physical and patrimonial
integrity of people in situations of disasters of natural or human origin.
The actions issued b y the SAI of Mexico will allow SEGOB to generate the
necessary mechanisms to ensure that the authorities responsible for
implementing the public policy of civil protection have timely knowledge of
the warning of disturbing phenomena. It will have the unive rse of internal
programs of civil protection in the Federal Public Administration, as well as the
objectives and goals to measure its performance in the actions of forecasting,
prevention, care and reconstruction in the field of civil protection and its
contribution to strengthening the resilience of society in the face of disturbing
phenomena .

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Title The Accounts Committee for Control over Execution of the Republican Budget
of the Republic of Kazakhstan – included EUROSAI Joint Report on the
International Coordinated Audit (Control) of Public Funds, Allocated to
Prevention and Consequences Elimination of Disasters and Catastrophes
Country and year Kazakhstan year 2010 – 2011 and 1st half of 2012
Audit subjects Control of utilization efficiency of the re publican budget, allocated to the Ministry
of Emergencies of the Republic of Kazakhstan (hereinafter – the Ministry), its
subordinated institutions and organizations, evaluation of the Strategic Plan of the
Ministry for 2011 –2015, as well as implementation of the republican budgetary
programs.
Audit object The Ministry of Emergencies of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Regional
Department of Emergency Situations of the Ministry (hereinafter – DES), the
Firefighting and Rescue Services of DES in Akmola Regio n, Almaty and Astana
cities, the State Institution “Kokshetau Technical Institute”, the State Institution
“Kazselezaschita”, JSC “Kazaviaspas”, JSC “Orth S өndіrush і”, the Republican
State Budget -Supported Enterprise “Seldenkorgau Kurylys”.
Audit objective Control of utilization efficiency of the republican budget, allocated to the Ministry
of Emergencies of the Republic of Kazakhstan, its subordinated insti tutions and
organizations, evaluation of the Strategic Plan of the Ministry for 2011 –2015, as
well as implementation of the republican budgetary programs.
Findings a. The budgetary legislation terms for amendments of the Strategic Plan of the
Ministry exceed ed admissible, the methodical instructions on development
indicators had not been followed, 8 republican budgetary programs, out of
16 analyzed, were not fixed with the objectives of the Strategic Plan, some
of them had duplicated indexes. All these indica ted a low level of elaboration
of the indicators and values of the Strategic Plan for 2011 – 2015 years by
the Ministry.
b. The monitoring and warning system on the emergencies threat in Kazakhstan
did not in a due measure meet modern requirements. There was a shortage of
equipment for monitoring of dangerous processes. The reliable channels of
data, research and information centers capable operatively to accept
administrative decisions on liquidation of threats and consequences of
emergencies were absent.
Re commendations The Ministry of Emergencies of the Republic of Kazakhstan was recommended to
take comprehensive measures on:
a. improvement quality of the budgetary planning through establishment of
reasonable amount of funds for a complete, high -quality and ti mely
implementation of the planned activities of the republican budgetary
programs
b. enhancing role and efficiency of the internal control in terms of ensuring
preventive control in planning and financing of the budgetary programs and
policy documents, imple mentation of the risk management system that meets
modern requirements, as well as strengthening control over quality of the state
asset management in the subordinated organizations.

Title The Audit on Utilization of Funds, Allocated to Prevention and C onsequences
Elimination of Disasters in Republic of Azerbaijan – included EUROSAI Joint
Report on the International Coordinated Audit (Control) of Public Funds,
Allocated to Prevention and Consequences Elimination of Disasters and
Catastrophes

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Country and year Azerbaijan year 2010 – 2011
Audit subject s a. Activities of the executive bodies related to natural disasters
b. Resources allocated to prevention and consequences elimination of natural
disasters
c. Documents related to the audit subject.
Audit object Institutions, which are responsible for the management system on disaster
preparedness and their consequences elimination, namely: the Ministry of
Emergency Situations of the Republic of Azerbaijan and its subdivisions, the
Melioration and Water Management OJ SC, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural
Resources of Azerbaijan Republic.
Audit objective Analysis of the state of readiness of the Azerbaijan Republic to natural disasters
and utilization of the resources allocated to their consequences elimination.
Rec ommendation s a. While planning budgetary resources for disaster preparedness and
prevention their consequences,it is required to increase opportunities for
participation of the relevant organizations
b. While planning resources for prevention and consequences e limination of
natural disasters, it is required to consider results of the analysis and practice,
obtained in discussions and by analyses of the occurred natural disasters.
c. In order to prevent and respond to natural disasters in the territories with a
high probability of floods, earthquakes, landslides, mudslides, etc., it is
required more actively engage the professional organizations and scientists
on study technical parameters of dams, dykes, bank protection and other
related works.
d. In order to improve d isaster preparedness, practical exercises should cover
more territories and different populations.
e. The number of organized special courses related to disaster preparedness
and prevention their consequences, should be increased at secondary,
specialized sec ondary schools and higher educational institutions.
f. It is considered necessary to disclose to the general public works carried out
at the expense of funds allocated to disaster elimination.
g. It is reasonable to increase resources allocated to appropriate tr aining by
monitoring and classification of the disaster risk territories .

Title International Coordinated Audit of Utilization Budgetary Resources, Allocated
to Prevention and Elimination of Disasters in 2010 – 2011 – included EUROSAI
Joint Report on the International Coordinated Audit (Control) of Public Funds,
Allocated to Prevention and Consequences Elimination of Disasters and
Catastrophes
Country and year Russian Federation year 2010 – 2011
Audit subject a. Legal regulation in the field of prevention and consequences elimination of
disasters, including interdepartmental and intradepartmental legal documents,
which regulate issues of interaction between the government bodies, including
attraction and utilization of the financial and material resources for the
purposes of prevention, preparedness, response and consequences elimination
of disasters
b. Financial and material resources, allocated to prevention and consequences
elimination of disasters, including those allocated to the target programs in the

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area of prevention and consequences elimination of natural and mancaused
disasters
c. Activities of the government bodies in the field of financial and logistical
support for disaster prevention, preparedness, emergency response to
disasters and their consequen ces elimination.
Audit objects The national audit covered 3 objects, including:
a. Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense, Emergencies and
Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters36
b. Regional Office of the Ministry of the Russian Federat ion for Civil Defense,
Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters in
Krasnodar region
c. Regional Office of the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense,
Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters in Vla dimir
region .
Audit objective s a. To determine sufficiency of the regulatory framework in the field of prevention
and consequences elimination of disasters, including interdepartmental and
intradepartmental legal documents, which regulate issues of interacti on
between the government bodies, including attraction and utilization of the
financial and material resources for the purposes of prevention, preparedness,
response and consequences elimination of disasters
b. To determine utilization efficiency of the budge tary resources, allocated to
establishment and operation of the warning system, maintenance readiness of
the government bodies, forces and resources, emergency response to disasters
and their consequences elimination
c. To determine effectiveness of the state system for prevention and response to
natural and mancaused disasters.
Findings a. The Russian Federation legislative and regulatory framework in the field of
protection population and territories from emergencies were availabe to
determine the main direct ions of the state policy in this area and was quite
complete.
b. The total amount of RUB 325.5 billion (about USD 9.8 billion) in 2010 and
RUB 403.7 billion (about USD 12.3 billion) in 2011 were allocated to
establishment and operation of the warning system, maintenance readiness of
the government bodies, forces and resources, emergency response to disasters
and their consequences elimination, that allowed to ensure further
improvement of protection system of the population and territories from
natural and man -caused disasters.
c. Created Unified State System for Prevention and Elimination of Emergencies
allowed to begin transformation to the disaster risk management on the basis
of new information technologies and more than 2.5 times increase efficiency
and effec tiveness of the emergency response
d. Regional warning systems provide notification of 86.9 % of the population.
Recommendations Based on the results of the national audit, the Representation of the Accounts
Chamber of the Russian Federation was addressed to the Minister of the Russian
Federation for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of
Natural Disasters, in which it was proposed to make adjustments of the ministerial
regulatory documents, and to take measures on increasing effectiven ess of
utilization of the federal funds and effectiveness of financial management.

Title The Audit of Warning and Prevention Systems of Disasters and Their
Consequences Eimination – included EUROSAI Joint Report on the International

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Coordinated Audit (Co ntrol) of Public Funds, Allocated to Prevention and
Consequences Elimination of Disasters and Catastrophes
Country and year Hungary year 2009 – 2010
Audit subject The budgetary resources, allocated to prevention and consequences elimination of
disasters and catastrophes
Audit objective The main objective of the audit was to investigate and assess achieved level of
cooperation between central and local authorities, contribution of the
nongovernmental organizations to protection against natural disasters, the
subsequent rehabilitation works, as well as utilization of the budgetary resources,
allocated to disasters prevention and preparation
Findings a. Significant inconsistencies in the legal and regulatory framework related to
natural disasters existed. Th e laws contain conflicting provisions, inconsistent
terminology and requirements, causing duplication of authorities and
jurisdictions.
b. The system of flood protection in Hungary is well equipped, even in
accordance with the European standards. The water ma nagement services are
characterized with a high professionalism.
c. The legislation of Hungary on disaster management has not still been adapted
to the rules of the international disaster -related aid from NATO and the EU.
Adaptation of these provisions is a c ondition for giving and receiving of the
international disaster -related aid and also provides a rapid response of
NATO and the EU.
d. Decrease of activities effectiveness is caused with decrease of allocations for
the disaster management.
e. The number of staff of the National General Directorate on Management in
the Field of Catastrophes did not meet requirements that caused difficulties in
performance its key responsibilities.
f. The normative and institutional disaster management system did not provide
full prepa ration for the effective disaster management and successful actions
of the local authorities in disaster prevention.
g. The legal framework did not ensure compliance between duties and
jurisdiction of the local authorities to logistical, operational, technica l and
financial resources, required for their implementation.
h. Tasks of the local authorities related to disaster management exceeded their
capacities in terms of staff.
i. Professional training of the local authorities was insufficient. Legally defined
author ities and duties of the mayors are not ensured with the required
conditions for their implementation.
j. The meteorological warning system has ensured timely provision of information
about expected weather conditions, which cause damages. However, majority
of the local authorities are not able to use this information efficiently, as far
as they do not possess special skills that confirm need for professional
instruction.
Recommendations SAI of Hungary recommended to the Government:
a. to ensure adoption of the r egulations with a unified terminology
b. to eliminate gaps and duplications in the existing legislation with regard to
activities and funding
c. to revise responsibilities and authorities in disaster management, delegated to
the local authorities, as well as the issue of providing them with the resources,
required to perform these responsibilities and authorities

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d. to adapt the regulatory framework with the rules and regulations applicable
in the EU and NATO, which will allow to ensure communications with the
monit oring and information centers, quick response of NATO and the EU, as
well as to create conditions for providing and receiving international disaster –
related aid
e. to consider possibility of regulatory definition of principles for attraction
charitable organi zations to the process of preparation to disasters and their
consequences elimination.

Title Adaptation Measures for Climate Change Scenarios in the Brazilian Semiarid
Region Regarding Water Security
Country and year Brazil year 2008
Type of audit Per formance audit
Audit objective To assess to what extent governmental actions regarding water security in the
Brazilian semiarid region take into account climate change scenarios
Audit scope Assessment by governmental institutions on vulnerabilities, impa cts, and risks for
the water security of the Brazilian semiarid region; government public policies or
similar actions to guarantee water security in the semiarid region, in response to
possible effects of climate change; preparedness of public institutions responsible
for water resource management in the states of the semiarid region to incorporate
the guidelines pointed out by the federal government to adapt to climate change
effects
Findings a. There was no climate chan ge risk assessment for the semiarid r egion produced
by the government.
b. Development policies related to water management and distribution did not
yet taking into account poten tial effects of climate change .
c. Studies conducted by the government that propose guidelines for the
implementation of p olices for the water sector did not consider climate change
impacts .
Recommendations a. The institution s responsible for the implementation of the National Plan on
Climate Change promote institutional and political coordination between the
different sectors of the federal government in order to produce a national
climate change risk assessment and to encourage technical research
development of climate change impacts on the Brazilian semiarid wat er
resources .
b. The institution responsible for the implementation of environmental policies
adopt measures to install the Alert System of Drought and Desertification to
foster the development of climate change scenario modelling for the Brazilian
semiarid region and to encourage the responsible institutions to plan and
implement water resources policies that consider potential climate change
impacts .

Title Audit of the Fulfilment of SIP for the Transformation of the Shelter Object into
an Environmentally Safe System – included in the Coordinated Audit of
Chernobyl Shelt er Fund
Country and year Ukraine year 2007 – 2008

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Audit objective To establish actual state of affairs regarding legal, organization al and financial
support of decommissioning ChNPP and transforming destroyed CNPP Unit 4 into
an environmentally safe sys tem by fulfilling SIP approved by the Government of
G-7 countries and Ukraine, as well as regarding utilizing the funds from t he State
Budget of Ukraine, CSF, NSA, EC and international technical assisstance of USA
and Canada
Findings a. The Accoun ting Chamb er of Ukraine assessed positively the state of affairs
regarding legal and organizational support while decommissioning ChNPP
and transforming destroyed CNPP Unit 4 into an environmentally safe system
as a whole .
b. Accounti ng Chamber of Ukraine assessed posi tively the state of affairs
regarding financial support while decommissioning ChNPP and transforming
destroyed Unit 4 into an environmentally safe system provided by
international assistance funds and the State Budget of Ukraine .
c. The Acco unting Chamber of Ukraine stated about a low level of the fulfilment
of SIP approved by the Governments of G -7 countries and Ukraine .
d. Several important facilities within the SIP framework were not yet completed .
e. The Accounting Chamber of Ukrai ne stated that system for manag ing
international technical assistance allocated through EBRD to decommissioning
ChNPP and transforming its Unit 4 into an environmentally safe system did not
provide efficient and transparent utilization of the funds of both international
technical assist ance and of the State Budget of Ukraine as Ukraine’s
contributio n to CSF. SAI of Ukraine insisted on taking urgent measures
regarding a change of the situation in SSE ChNPP .
f. Based on audit findings , the Accounting Chamber of U kraine assessed activities
of EBRD managing CSF as not open and transparent enough .

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CHAPTER 4
CONCLUSION

Emergencies/disasters and other crises are no respecters of national borders and never occur at
convenient times. Located in an area that is susceptible to a variety of poten tial disasters has made
preparing for disasters and having pre -planned policies to coordinate a strategic response is not only
important for government agencies, but also for local residents and businesses. Preparedness ensures
that government agencies, re sidents, and businesses have the necessary equipment and resources to stay
safe during a disaster and to survive without regular services during the following phase of recovery.
That is why it is so important to put into planning and preparation long befor e the disaster strikes.
At national and global level, emergencies/disasters/crises involve mostly the same partners, pose the
same managerial and political challenges and ultimately require the same overall coordination approach
and response mechanism. Eff ective disaster preparedness helps alleviate some of the chaos brought by
the unexpected crisis. And, thus, it is critical to have key elements of emergency/disaster preparedness
(i.e. risk assessment, planning, training and exercise, organise and equip, e arly warning system and
information system, and public education) implemented as a continuous process and inevitable aspect of
preparedness phase. It is also important to have a written plan in place and for all relevant parties to
understand their role wi thin the plan. Contingency plans should also be revisited regularly to ensure
complete understanding within the organization.
Having a robust emergency preparedness system in place is more cost effective th an heavily rely on the
respond of the later phases of the management cycle (even if government management is good when
managing the situation of emergency and rehabilitation). It is not only about cost effectiveness , but also
about saving people lives. With this argument, auditor s play very crucial role t o evaluate whether the
government already ha s a robust emergency preparedness system in place, that is effective to reduce
the disaster risk . INTOSAI has published ISSAI 5500 series. However, t he current ISSAI s have not discussed
about the audit of governm ent readiness for emergency situation, meanwhile this issue is very important
due to the big risk of losing lives either because of the disaster itself or because of the chaotic situation
in emergency situation.
The goal of emergency/disaster preparedness audit is to increase the impact of the audits and to
improve the emergency/disaster preparedness of the relevant parties. There are many factors that can
influence the extent to which an audit has an impact. Some of these are are within the control of the audit
office; for example, the se lection of the audit topic, the timeliness of the report, and th e nature of the
recommendations made. Other factors are pe rhaps beyond the control of the office, including for
example, pressure from the media and parliament arians as well as the wil lingness of audited entities to
make changes. Base on the examples of audit findings from several SAIs showed that there are some
deficiencies or weakness in disaster management activities even in predisaster, emergency or
postdisa ster phase. SAIs with their mandate proposed recommendations to solve the problems. However,
follow up from the audit entities not yet fully met with the recommendations.
Choosing audit topics relies on acquiring a solid “knowledge of business” and exerci sing professional
judgment in assessing risk and significance. The key point in all of these is that it is possible to increase
the impact of emergency/disaster preparedness audits by tackling the underlying the problems behind
them. Undertaking a root cau se analaysis during examination of the audit is the foundation for strong
recommendations. Relevant and updated audit standard or guide in audit of disaster management is

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needed. T hus, all emergency/disaster preparedness audits need to be followed up to de termine
progress in resolving deficiencies and implementing recommendations as it is always an important means
of ensuring sustainable impacts.