Disaster management training for citizen-Nitish
Patna, Oct 29 (PTI) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today stressed the need for imparting disaster management training to every citizen, especially the youths, so that they act on their own at the time of a natural calamity.
"There should be special schools where disaster management training programme is undertaken for every citizen, especially youths... It is necessary so that they are able to effectively guard on their own instead of becoming sudden victims of a natural calamity," Kumar told a function organised on the International Natural Disaster Lessening Day here.
He said there were certain areas which remained affected by floods every year, but the magnitude of the floods increases after an interval of two to three years.
Provide $100,000 to Aid Disaster Victims
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 29, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) announced today that it plans to donate a total of $100,000 to help relief efforts for those affected by recent natural disasters.
The funds will support first responders via contributions of $30,000 to the American Red Cross, $35,000 to the American Red Cross-International and $35,000 to AmeriCares. The donations will support efforts in aid of the victims of flooding in metro Atlanta, northern Georgia and Tennessee; tsunamis in American Samoa and Samoa; earthquakes in Indonesia; and typhoons in Southeast Asia.
Separately, the Employees Charity Organization of Northrop Grumman is contributing $10,000 to the Red Cross.
"We hope that these contributions will help alleviate suffering in the areas affected by these natural disasters, both here at home and abroad" said Sandra Evers-Manly, Northrop Grumman vice president of corporate responsibility.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a leading global security company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, shipbuilding and technical
services to government and commercial customers worldwide.
edited by Saudi Ali 30.10.2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Disaster in Nambucca's
Severe flood damage on the Upper Bucrabendinni Road.THE State Government's decision to declare this week's flood a Natural Disaster has been an answer to a prayer for Nambucca Shire Council mayor Cr Rhonda Hoban.
Cr Hoban said this year's string of weather dramas for her shire was unprecedented as far as she knew.
“I've been mayor for 12 months and I've had four natural disasters!” she said.
Bellingen Shire's flood event was also declared a Natural Disaster by Emergency Services Minister Steve Whan yesterday.
Nambucca Shire Council general manager Michael Coulter said the flood in the upper reaches of the river on Tuesday was bigger than the April and May floods.
The Nambucca Shire was inundated by torrential rain early this week, with falls of 300-500mm in less than 48 hours recorded in some areas, causing major damage in outlying areas of Missabotti, Taylors Arm, Burrapine and North Arm.
On Wednesday, Cr Hoban said without a disaster declaration the shire's ratepayers would be faced with an impossible financial burden.
“It is a welcome relief - I was wondering how we were going to manage,” she said yesterday.
“We will still have to go through all the design and costing processes, but we know the funding will be there and available.”
Cr Hoban said this week's flood had compounded the shire's financial issues from previous floods, with $15 million still outstanding from council's original $17 million claim for flood damage.
Johns Bridge at Missabotti has been lost and in some other areas bridges are still standing but approaches have been washed away so traffic cannot reach the bridges.
As an example of the financial burden imposed by flood repairs, she said the two-lane Johns Bridge would cost at least $1.2 million to replace and a rise of 1 per cent in council rates would raise only $70,000 in 12 months.
Minister Steve Whan said the natural disaster declaration provided for a range of assistance for residents, councils and business owners who have suffered property damage as well as helping to ensure councils were reimbursed for the cost of repairing public infrastructure.
One of the Nambucca Valley's largest vegetable farming operations lost 30,000 tomato plants for the third time this year when the Bowraville farm was submerged under two metres of water on Tuesday.
The Minister also thanked State Emergency Services volunteers who fielded about 80 calls and attended to flash flooding, fallen trees, leaking roofs and blocked gutters.
A spokesman for the Minister said he had visited the area during all three previous floods and had already seen photographs of damage from the latest disaster.
The damage bill for Tuesday's flood in Bellingen Shire currently stands around $300,000.
According to general manager, Mike Colreavy, this comes on top of the $18m of accumulated infrastructure damage sustained after the February, March and May floods.
“The initial assessments could of course go much higher but it certainly hasn't been a catastrophe like last time,” Mr Colreavy said.
Director of engineering, Mike Edsall, said the clean-up had already cost at least $50,000.
He said repairs to causeway damage next to Justin's Bridge at Darkwood were completed yesterday, much to the relief of worried residents.
“There is quite a lot of damage on Timboon Road at the spot where repairs from the previous flood had just been completed,” he said.
edited by Saudi Ali 30.10.2009
Cr Hoban said this year's string of weather dramas for her shire was unprecedented as far as she knew.
“I've been mayor for 12 months and I've had four natural disasters!” she said.
Bellingen Shire's flood event was also declared a Natural Disaster by Emergency Services Minister Steve Whan yesterday.
Nambucca Shire Council general manager Michael Coulter said the flood in the upper reaches of the river on Tuesday was bigger than the April and May floods.
The Nambucca Shire was inundated by torrential rain early this week, with falls of 300-500mm in less than 48 hours recorded in some areas, causing major damage in outlying areas of Missabotti, Taylors Arm, Burrapine and North Arm.
On Wednesday, Cr Hoban said without a disaster declaration the shire's ratepayers would be faced with an impossible financial burden.
“It is a welcome relief - I was wondering how we were going to manage,” she said yesterday.
“We will still have to go through all the design and costing processes, but we know the funding will be there and available.”
Cr Hoban said this week's flood had compounded the shire's financial issues from previous floods, with $15 million still outstanding from council's original $17 million claim for flood damage.
Johns Bridge at Missabotti has been lost and in some other areas bridges are still standing but approaches have been washed away so traffic cannot reach the bridges.
As an example of the financial burden imposed by flood repairs, she said the two-lane Johns Bridge would cost at least $1.2 million to replace and a rise of 1 per cent in council rates would raise only $70,000 in 12 months.
Minister Steve Whan said the natural disaster declaration provided for a range of assistance for residents, councils and business owners who have suffered property damage as well as helping to ensure councils were reimbursed for the cost of repairing public infrastructure.
One of the Nambucca Valley's largest vegetable farming operations lost 30,000 tomato plants for the third time this year when the Bowraville farm was submerged under two metres of water on Tuesday.
The Minister also thanked State Emergency Services volunteers who fielded about 80 calls and attended to flash flooding, fallen trees, leaking roofs and blocked gutters.
A spokesman for the Minister said he had visited the area during all three previous floods and had already seen photographs of damage from the latest disaster.
The damage bill for Tuesday's flood in Bellingen Shire currently stands around $300,000.
According to general manager, Mike Colreavy, this comes on top of the $18m of accumulated infrastructure damage sustained after the February, March and May floods.
“The initial assessments could of course go much higher but it certainly hasn't been a catastrophe like last time,” Mr Colreavy said.
Director of engineering, Mike Edsall, said the clean-up had already cost at least $50,000.
He said repairs to causeway damage next to Justin's Bridge at Darkwood were completed yesterday, much to the relief of worried residents.
“There is quite a lot of damage on Timboon Road at the spot where repairs from the previous flood had just been completed,” he said.
edited by Saudi Ali 30.10.2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
one stop action centre to assist victims of...
Bill facilitates reconstitution of disaster-damaged papers
updated by Saudi Ali 27.10.2009
A SENATE bill has been filed that seeks to establish a one-stop action office to assist victims of typhoons and floods in the reconstitution of official documents damaged by natural disasters. Under Senate Bill 3500 filed by Senator Manuel B. Villar, Jr., the center will be under the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) that would facilitate the identification of affected communities.
Within 90 days from the approval of the measure, the DILG and the National Disaster Coordinating Council will promulgate the rules and regulations to implement the proposal.
Tropical storm Ondoy (international name: Ketsana) and typhoon Pepeng (international name: Parma) left many documents in Metro Manila and several provinces destroyed or damaged, especially those in banks and government offices, due to the flood. — Saudi Ali
Saturday, October 24, 2009
60 lashes of cane sentenced to journalist in Saudi...
October 24, 2009 -- Updated by : Saudi Ali
A man's sexual boasts on a TV show caused an uproar in Saudi Arabia, where Shariah, or Islamic law, is practiced.
A man's sexual boasts on a TV show caused an uproar in Saudi Arabia, where Shariah, or Islamic law, is practiced.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Journalist Rosanna Al-Yami works for network that aired show on taboos
* Man's sexual boasts on show led to five-year prison sentence
* Journalist wasn't involved in setting up TV episode, lawyer says
* Saudi authorities shut down network's offices in Jeddah and Riyadh after interview aired
RELATED TOPICS
* Saudi Arabia
* Criminal Sentencing and Punishment
* Jeddah
RELATED TOPICS
* Saudi Arabia
* Islam
* Criminal Sentencing and Punishment
(CNN) -- A Saudi court sentenced a female journalist Saturday to 60 lashes for her work on a controversial Arabic-language TV show that aired an episode in which a man bragged about his sex life, two sources told CNN.
The court in Jeddah also imposed a two-year travel ban on Rosanna Al-Yami, according to a Saudi Information Ministry official, who could not be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media. The ban prevents her from traveling outside Saudi Arabia.
This official identified Al-Yami as a fixer, who helps journalists obtain stories, and a coordinator for Lebanese Broadcasting Corp., the network that aired "A Thick Red Line," a popular show on social taboos.
On one episode, a Saudi man, Mazen Abdul Jawad, bragged about sex and got into trouble with Saudi authorities for his boasts. Abdul Jawad was put on trial and sentenced to five years in prison and 1,000 lashes.
Suleiman Al-Jumeii, the attorney who represents Abdul Jawad, also confirmed the sentence against Al-Yami, saying he believes she is the first Saudi journalist ever to be sentenced to lashes.
While the charges include involvement in preparing the program, she was not involved in setting up the episode in which Abdul Jawad appeared, the lawyer said.
Al-Jumeii doesn't represent Al-Yami, but he said he is keeping tabs on all aspects of cases dealing with "A Thick Red Line." The lawyer is attempting to pursue an appeal for his client and get his case heard in a special court that deals only with media matters.
CNN has attempted to get comments from Al-Yami and her attorney.
Abdul Jawad, a 32-year-old airline employee and divorced father of four, spoke openly about his sexual escapades, his love of sex and losing his virginity at age 14 on "A Thick Red Line."
That episode caused an uproar in deeply conservative Saudi Arabia, where Shariah, or Islamic law, is practiced. Premarital sex is illegal, and unrelated men and women are not permitted to mingle.
Saudi authorities shut down the Lebanese network's offices in Jeddah and Riyadh after the interview aired a few months ago. Abdul Jawad was arrested shortly after the program aired and charged with violating Saudi Arabia's crime of publicizing vice
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
"be prepared" is the keyword to disaster mitigation plan....
Asia is the land of disaster and the united nation is saying "be prepared" is the key to mitigation plan.
edited by: Saudi Ali 22.10.2009
The Asia Pacific region has been hit by multiple disasters in the past few weeks, with the earthquake in Indonesia's Sumatra province, the tsunami in Samoa and wild storms and typhoons in Asia.
Over a thousand people were confirmed dead in the Padang quake in Indonesia, while hundreds of thousands of people in the Philippines are still homeless, after three typhoons hit, within four weeks. Disaster management experts have long urged governments to focus on disaster preparedness - to reduce the level of crisis.
edited by: Saudi Ali 22.10.2009
The Asia Pacific region has been hit by multiple disasters in the past few weeks, with the earthquake in Indonesia's Sumatra province, the tsunami in Samoa and wild storms and typhoons in Asia.
Over a thousand people were confirmed dead in the Padang quake in Indonesia, while hundreds of thousands of people in the Philippines are still homeless, after three typhoons hit, within four weeks. Disaster management experts have long urged governments to focus on disaster preparedness - to reduce the level of crisis.
Needs of disaster mitigation plan in Africa.....
Malawi remains vulnerable to natural disasters, says relief official
Edited by: Saudi Ali 21.10.2009
Malawi is one of the countries in Africa that continues to face different kinds of natural disasters like floods and dry spells, the Malawi Commissioner for Disaster Preparedness Lilian Ng’oma said here Wednesday.
Speaking during a Disaster Preparedness and Risk Reduction meeting for south-west Indian Ocean region on Wednesday in the capital Lilongwe, she said when such disasters occur in developing countries like Malawi, they bring back development gains which were made over the years.
She adds that disasters bring untold suffering and misery to people if countries are not prepared. As such we need to categorize the action plan to cope with the future disaster.
One of the categories is preparedness, response, solution and reinstatement or recovery as this will boost back the development and economics sector.
She said regional initiatives implemented in such meetings help governments to share ideas and focus on knowledge management and regional network in disaster preparedness and risk reduction.
“These initiatives are helpful because countries may have different experiences and capacities for disaster risk reduction, mitigation and indeed emergency response hence we can share ideas,” she observed.
Currently, she said, Malawi has embarked on a process that will make it better prepared to handle disasters which include development of interim national guidelines to disaster management policy and development of disaster risk reduction framework.
Countries participating in the meeting include Comoros, Madagascar, Mozambique and the host Malawi.–APA
Edited by: Saudi Ali 21.10.2009
Malawi is one of the countries in Africa that continues to face different kinds of natural disasters like floods and dry spells, the Malawi Commissioner for Disaster Preparedness Lilian Ng’oma said here Wednesday.
Speaking during a Disaster Preparedness and Risk Reduction meeting for south-west Indian Ocean region on Wednesday in the capital Lilongwe, she said when such disasters occur in developing countries like Malawi, they bring back development gains which were made over the years.
She adds that disasters bring untold suffering and misery to people if countries are not prepared. As such we need to categorize the action plan to cope with the future disaster.
One of the categories is preparedness, response, solution and reinstatement or recovery as this will boost back the development and economics sector.
She said regional initiatives implemented in such meetings help governments to share ideas and focus on knowledge management and regional network in disaster preparedness and risk reduction.
“These initiatives are helpful because countries may have different experiences and capacities for disaster risk reduction, mitigation and indeed emergency response hence we can share ideas,” she observed.
Currently, she said, Malawi has embarked on a process that will make it better prepared to handle disasters which include development of interim national guidelines to disaster management policy and development of disaster risk reduction framework.
Countries participating in the meeting include Comoros, Madagascar, Mozambique and the host Malawi.–APA
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Implementation Plan & Comprehensive Approach For Future Disaster...
Integrated approach to managing emergencies and disasters
edited and updated by Saudi Ali 20.10.2009
This is the breaking news on how to manage or implementation plan on how to maximize emergency response and measures on future disaster. This is divided into 4 categories of strategies mainly: prevention, preparedness, response, recovery and solution. Years of effort and times have been taken for this implementation plan.This comprehensive approach is mainly designed for all hazards arising,ensuring preventious measures,preparation on respond and recovering on the emergencies.
The summer season represents a time for holidays and celebration for Australians. Unfortunately it is also a time when we are most likely to suffer from natural disasters.
The purpose of this statement is to update the House on arrangements implemented by the Commonwealth in preparation for this bushfire season.
While states and territories have primary responsibility for dealing with natural disasters, under the Australian Emergency Management Arrangements, the Commonwealth can provide coordination functions, physical and financial assistance upon the request of states and territories. These requests often occur when effective response to a disaster is beyond the capacity of an individual jurisdiction. When it comes to bushfire preparation and response, the Commonwealth is committed to supporting the states and territories in their efforts
The Commonwealth has worked tirelessly with the states and territories to help them bolster their preparedness this bushfire season. We have done so with the memory of the devastating 2009 Victorian bushfires, which saw the greatest loss of life from bushfires since Federation, in the forefront of our minds. The Commonwealth is committed to assisting the Victorian Bushfire Royal Commission. We welcomed the Commission’s interim report and are implementing all the interim recommendations of the Commission directed at the Commonwealth.
Continued above average temperatures are contributing to an early fire season this year, and there is above normal fire potential across much of southern Australia. As the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) has recognised, climate change will increase the intensity and geographic extent of many extreme weather events. Obviously, some impacts from climate change are unavoidable.
The Government is determined to help ensure that Australia is resilient in the face of future natural disasters. We have adopted an integrated approach to managing emergencies and disasters across all levels of governments, the private sector and the community. This comprehensive approach is designed to prepare Australia for all hazards that may arise, and ensures that we implement measures to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies.
I will now outline the Commonwealth’s actions in each of these four categories.
PREVENTION
It is estimated that up to fifty per cent of all bushfires in Australia are deliberately lit. In March this year I chaired a national forum to develop collaborative approaches to reduce bushfire arson in Australia.
Following that forum, the Commonwealth drafted model laws with stronger, more consistent penalties for such offences – with prison sentences up to 25 years. The Government is strongly encouraging states and territories to adopt these model laws. We have also begun work in cooperation with relevant agencies to enhance training and procedures for bushfire arson prevention, investigation and public education.
Together with the states and territories, the Commonwealth is also developing a National Action Plan to Reduce Bushfire Arson which will be considered at the November meeting of the Ministerial Council for Police and Emergency Management (MCPEM).
PREPAREDNESS
The Commonwealth has implemented a number of arrangements to support states and territories in their preparation for this bushfire season.
Under the Rudd Government’s new Natural Disaster Resilience Program, the Commonwealth has committed $110 million, over four years, to assist states and territories prepare for natural disasters. The Program includes a $2 million National Projects Fund, increasing to $4 million from next year, to support key projects of national significance.
Recognising the importance of working together, the Commonwealth has also focused on building clear communication channels between all levels of government.
On 25 September, as recommended in the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission’s Interim Report, the Government conducted a pre-season emergency management operational briefing for states and territories. The briefing covered this season’s outlook for fires and cyclones and Commonwealth support arrangements including resources available to states and territories during disasters. I am pleased to report that these briefings will now occur annually.
The Commonwealth is also upgrading the Wireless Priority Service System to provide priority access during times of network congestion caused by a disaster event for up to 30,000 users on a 3G network.
The Commonwealth has also enacted legislation, and made associated regulations, to confer civil immunity on United States fire fighters who render assistance during the Australian bushfire season. This will facilitate the conclusion of a fire fighter exchange agreement with the United States, currently being negotiated by Victoria on behalf of all states and territories. This is a good example of how governments can work together to achieve real results.
The Commonwealth has also invested significant time, working with the states and territories, to implement emergency warnings measures for this season.
Based on fire industry requirements, the Bureau of Meteorology will incorporate a new scale of fire danger ratings into its fire weather and warning services, with a catastrophic (code red) category of fire. This measure implements recommendations of the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission’s Interim Report and was endorsed at the extraordinary meeting of MCPEM on 25 September.
The Commonwealth has committed a total of over $26 million to assist states and territories develop a telephone-based emergency warning capability.
To underpin the system, the Commonwealth committed over $9 million for the establishment and ongoing operation of the Location Based Number Store, a secure, central database of telephone numbers. This database is now operational and available for testing.
The Commonwealth also committed $15 million for the establishment and operation of a National Emergency Warning System. The system is being developed by Victoria, and I welcome the announcement by the Victorian Minister for Police and Emergency Services that the system will be available after comprehensive testing by the end of November.
The warning system will enable jurisdictions to send emergency warning messages to fixed-line telephones on the basis of service address, and to mobile telephones on the basis of billing address. Due to current technical limitations, the system will not be able to deliver warnings to mobile phones, based on the actual physical location of the user, this bushfire season.
To address this, the Commonwealth is working with the states and territories to research the feasibility of location-based mobile phone technology. I am pleased to note that Victoria, on behalf of the states and territories and with Commonwealth support and funding of $1.35 million, has sought information from the market about possible technologies. Information is requested by the end of this month and will be considered by the Council of Australian Governments in 2010.
The Government has also established an ongoing forum of peak broadcast media organisations to facilitate improvements in the effectiveness and consistency of national arrangements between the government and media for the broadcast of emergency warnings. The National Best Practice Guidelines for the Request and Broadcast of Emergency Warnings, which have been developed and endorsed by all participating bodies, are now forming the basis for work being undertaken by states and territories to refine media agreements and arrangements at the local level in preparation for this bushfire season.
The Commonwealth is also working with jurisdictions, the CSIRO and the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre to assess intelligent remote fire detection systems. I want to acknowledge the valuable work and research undertaken by the Member for McEwen, the Hon Fran Bailey MP, into these technologies. A trial of relevant fire detection systems will be conducted this season, recognising that such technology, if proven and cost-effective, could improve our management of fires and better target community warnings.
RESPONSE
The implementation of the Commonwealth Operational Response Coordination Arrangements provides a single ‘all hazards’ crisis management and coordination point, for all of Australia, within my Department. This will enable the Commonwealth, upon request, to coordinate the provision of support from other jurisdictions to a disaster-affected jurisdiction.
The Commonwealth can also provide a range of technical capabilities to help states and territories respond to disasters. These include a full range of Defence capabilities which, although not specifically developed or held for emergency response, can be made available pursuant to the Defence Assistance to Civilian Communities program. In addition, Geoscience Australia also manages a satellite based monitoring system of fire hotspot data for use by states and territories.
In the crucial area of aerial fire-fighting, the Commonwealth has committed an additional $12.8 million over four years for the National Aerial Fire Fighting Arrangements. This commitment increases the annual Commonwealth contribution to $14 million each year to provide greater access to aircraft and greater participation by smaller jurisdictions in the arrangements.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority also has two aircraft with infra-red surveillance capabilities to bolster state and territory resources. These are invaluable for fire fighters in deploying resources in response to overnight changes in fire conditions.
The Commonwealth is also working closely with the states and territories to ensure the Triple Zero emergency service operates effectively in crises. As agreed at the extraordinary meeting last month of MCPEM, the states and territories are reviewing their procedures for dealing with a surge in demand in their Triple Zero emergency call centres.
Triple Zero connects emergency callers to fire, police or ambulance services. It is not a general information line. To reduce pressure on the Triple Zero service, states and territories are working to reduce the number of non-emergency calls to Triple Zero during crises. My department is working with Telstra to develop a national protocol for activating ‘extreme event’ recorded voice announcements, which would redirect non-emergency Triple Zero callers to other information sources during extreme crises. The Commonwealth is also working with industry to progressively limit calls from mobile phones that make repeated hoax calls to Triple Zero.
The Commonwealth is also making additional call centre capability available to the states and territories for emergency information lines where their local capacity has been overwhelmed in a disaster.
RECOVERY
The Commonwealth has robust arrangements in place to help individuals and communities recover from natural disasters.
These include:
* funding support through the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements;
* funding support to individuals through the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment;
* sharing of identity-related information following a disaster; and
* helping locate people separated by an emergency through the National Registration and Inquiry System.
Following the tragedy of the Victorian Bushfires, the Commonwealth Government provided and continues to provide national leadership in the recovery effort. In total the Commonwealth is providing around $450 million to help affected communities rebuild and recover. This support has included direct financial assistance payments, assistance with funeral costs, an income recovery subsidy and the provision of mental health and counselling services.
The Commonwealth has also worked with the Victorian Government in the cleanup of fire damaged properties, a comprehensive case management service, small business and primary producer assistance, community hubs and the construction of memorials, amongst a number of other projects and programs targeted at supporting local communities in the response and recovery effort.
In the coming months, COAG will also review the Commonwealth’s disaster recovery framework, to ensure that it is appropriately adapted to help communities recover from emergencies. The Commonwealth will ensure that lessons learnt from the Black Saturday recovery effort will be reflected in this review. This unprecedented disaster must be used to strengthen recovery arrangements in preparation for the increasing threat posed by factors such as climate change.
A simple and flexible suite of response measures at Commonwealth, State and Territory level should be the overarching objective, including direct emergency financial assistance, counselling and information services, and case management.
CONCLUSION
The Commonwealth, through COAG, MCPEM and at agency and operational levels, is working cooperatively to assist the states and territories to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from natural disasters.
To this end, I have written to my state and territory colleagues seeking their advice by 16 October 2009 as to any other measures within the Commonwealth’s responsibility that may require the Commonwealth’s consideration in this bushfire and cyclone seasons.
The Government remains committed to assisting states and territories to continually improve their emergency management arrangements, in order to effectively build individual and community resilience to disasters.
edited and updated by Saudi Ali 20.10.2009
This is the breaking news on how to manage or implementation plan on how to maximize emergency response and measures on future disaster. This is divided into 4 categories of strategies mainly: prevention, preparedness, response, recovery and solution. Years of effort and times have been taken for this implementation plan.This comprehensive approach is mainly designed for all hazards arising,ensuring preventious measures,preparation on respond and recovering on the emergencies.
The summer season represents a time for holidays and celebration for Australians. Unfortunately it is also a time when we are most likely to suffer from natural disasters.
The purpose of this statement is to update the House on arrangements implemented by the Commonwealth in preparation for this bushfire season.
While states and territories have primary responsibility for dealing with natural disasters, under the Australian Emergency Management Arrangements, the Commonwealth can provide coordination functions, physical and financial assistance upon the request of states and territories. These requests often occur when effective response to a disaster is beyond the capacity of an individual jurisdiction. When it comes to bushfire preparation and response, the Commonwealth is committed to supporting the states and territories in their efforts
The Commonwealth has worked tirelessly with the states and territories to help them bolster their preparedness this bushfire season. We have done so with the memory of the devastating 2009 Victorian bushfires, which saw the greatest loss of life from bushfires since Federation, in the forefront of our minds. The Commonwealth is committed to assisting the Victorian Bushfire Royal Commission. We welcomed the Commission’s interim report and are implementing all the interim recommendations of the Commission directed at the Commonwealth.
Continued above average temperatures are contributing to an early fire season this year, and there is above normal fire potential across much of southern Australia. As the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) has recognised, climate change will increase the intensity and geographic extent of many extreme weather events. Obviously, some impacts from climate change are unavoidable.
The Government is determined to help ensure that Australia is resilient in the face of future natural disasters. We have adopted an integrated approach to managing emergencies and disasters across all levels of governments, the private sector and the community. This comprehensive approach is designed to prepare Australia for all hazards that may arise, and ensures that we implement measures to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies.
I will now outline the Commonwealth’s actions in each of these four categories.
PREVENTION
It is estimated that up to fifty per cent of all bushfires in Australia are deliberately lit. In March this year I chaired a national forum to develop collaborative approaches to reduce bushfire arson in Australia.
Following that forum, the Commonwealth drafted model laws with stronger, more consistent penalties for such offences – with prison sentences up to 25 years. The Government is strongly encouraging states and territories to adopt these model laws. We have also begun work in cooperation with relevant agencies to enhance training and procedures for bushfire arson prevention, investigation and public education.
Together with the states and territories, the Commonwealth is also developing a National Action Plan to Reduce Bushfire Arson which will be considered at the November meeting of the Ministerial Council for Police and Emergency Management (MCPEM).
PREPAREDNESS
The Commonwealth has implemented a number of arrangements to support states and territories in their preparation for this bushfire season.
Under the Rudd Government’s new Natural Disaster Resilience Program, the Commonwealth has committed $110 million, over four years, to assist states and territories prepare for natural disasters. The Program includes a $2 million National Projects Fund, increasing to $4 million from next year, to support key projects of national significance.
Recognising the importance of working together, the Commonwealth has also focused on building clear communication channels between all levels of government.
On 25 September, as recommended in the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission’s Interim Report, the Government conducted a pre-season emergency management operational briefing for states and territories. The briefing covered this season’s outlook for fires and cyclones and Commonwealth support arrangements including resources available to states and territories during disasters. I am pleased to report that these briefings will now occur annually.
The Commonwealth is also upgrading the Wireless Priority Service System to provide priority access during times of network congestion caused by a disaster event for up to 30,000 users on a 3G network.
The Commonwealth has also enacted legislation, and made associated regulations, to confer civil immunity on United States fire fighters who render assistance during the Australian bushfire season. This will facilitate the conclusion of a fire fighter exchange agreement with the United States, currently being negotiated by Victoria on behalf of all states and territories. This is a good example of how governments can work together to achieve real results.
The Commonwealth has also invested significant time, working with the states and territories, to implement emergency warnings measures for this season.
Based on fire industry requirements, the Bureau of Meteorology will incorporate a new scale of fire danger ratings into its fire weather and warning services, with a catastrophic (code red) category of fire. This measure implements recommendations of the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission’s Interim Report and was endorsed at the extraordinary meeting of MCPEM on 25 September.
The Commonwealth has committed a total of over $26 million to assist states and territories develop a telephone-based emergency warning capability.
To underpin the system, the Commonwealth committed over $9 million for the establishment and ongoing operation of the Location Based Number Store, a secure, central database of telephone numbers. This database is now operational and available for testing.
The Commonwealth also committed $15 million for the establishment and operation of a National Emergency Warning System. The system is being developed by Victoria, and I welcome the announcement by the Victorian Minister for Police and Emergency Services that the system will be available after comprehensive testing by the end of November.
The warning system will enable jurisdictions to send emergency warning messages to fixed-line telephones on the basis of service address, and to mobile telephones on the basis of billing address. Due to current technical limitations, the system will not be able to deliver warnings to mobile phones, based on the actual physical location of the user, this bushfire season.
To address this, the Commonwealth is working with the states and territories to research the feasibility of location-based mobile phone technology. I am pleased to note that Victoria, on behalf of the states and territories and with Commonwealth support and funding of $1.35 million, has sought information from the market about possible technologies. Information is requested by the end of this month and will be considered by the Council of Australian Governments in 2010.
The Government has also established an ongoing forum of peak broadcast media organisations to facilitate improvements in the effectiveness and consistency of national arrangements between the government and media for the broadcast of emergency warnings. The National Best Practice Guidelines for the Request and Broadcast of Emergency Warnings, which have been developed and endorsed by all participating bodies, are now forming the basis for work being undertaken by states and territories to refine media agreements and arrangements at the local level in preparation for this bushfire season.
The Commonwealth is also working with jurisdictions, the CSIRO and the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre to assess intelligent remote fire detection systems. I want to acknowledge the valuable work and research undertaken by the Member for McEwen, the Hon Fran Bailey MP, into these technologies. A trial of relevant fire detection systems will be conducted this season, recognising that such technology, if proven and cost-effective, could improve our management of fires and better target community warnings.
RESPONSE
The implementation of the Commonwealth Operational Response Coordination Arrangements provides a single ‘all hazards’ crisis management and coordination point, for all of Australia, within my Department. This will enable the Commonwealth, upon request, to coordinate the provision of support from other jurisdictions to a disaster-affected jurisdiction.
The Commonwealth can also provide a range of technical capabilities to help states and territories respond to disasters. These include a full range of Defence capabilities which, although not specifically developed or held for emergency response, can be made available pursuant to the Defence Assistance to Civilian Communities program. In addition, Geoscience Australia also manages a satellite based monitoring system of fire hotspot data for use by states and territories.
In the crucial area of aerial fire-fighting, the Commonwealth has committed an additional $12.8 million over four years for the National Aerial Fire Fighting Arrangements. This commitment increases the annual Commonwealth contribution to $14 million each year to provide greater access to aircraft and greater participation by smaller jurisdictions in the arrangements.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority also has two aircraft with infra-red surveillance capabilities to bolster state and territory resources. These are invaluable for fire fighters in deploying resources in response to overnight changes in fire conditions.
The Commonwealth is also working closely with the states and territories to ensure the Triple Zero emergency service operates effectively in crises. As agreed at the extraordinary meeting last month of MCPEM, the states and territories are reviewing their procedures for dealing with a surge in demand in their Triple Zero emergency call centres.
Triple Zero connects emergency callers to fire, police or ambulance services. It is not a general information line. To reduce pressure on the Triple Zero service, states and territories are working to reduce the number of non-emergency calls to Triple Zero during crises. My department is working with Telstra to develop a national protocol for activating ‘extreme event’ recorded voice announcements, which would redirect non-emergency Triple Zero callers to other information sources during extreme crises. The Commonwealth is also working with industry to progressively limit calls from mobile phones that make repeated hoax calls to Triple Zero.
The Commonwealth is also making additional call centre capability available to the states and territories for emergency information lines where their local capacity has been overwhelmed in a disaster.
RECOVERY
The Commonwealth has robust arrangements in place to help individuals and communities recover from natural disasters.
These include:
* funding support through the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements;
* funding support to individuals through the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment;
* sharing of identity-related information following a disaster; and
* helping locate people separated by an emergency through the National Registration and Inquiry System.
Following the tragedy of the Victorian Bushfires, the Commonwealth Government provided and continues to provide national leadership in the recovery effort. In total the Commonwealth is providing around $450 million to help affected communities rebuild and recover. This support has included direct financial assistance payments, assistance with funeral costs, an income recovery subsidy and the provision of mental health and counselling services.
The Commonwealth has also worked with the Victorian Government in the cleanup of fire damaged properties, a comprehensive case management service, small business and primary producer assistance, community hubs and the construction of memorials, amongst a number of other projects and programs targeted at supporting local communities in the response and recovery effort.
In the coming months, COAG will also review the Commonwealth’s disaster recovery framework, to ensure that it is appropriately adapted to help communities recover from emergencies. The Commonwealth will ensure that lessons learnt from the Black Saturday recovery effort will be reflected in this review. This unprecedented disaster must be used to strengthen recovery arrangements in preparation for the increasing threat posed by factors such as climate change.
A simple and flexible suite of response measures at Commonwealth, State and Territory level should be the overarching objective, including direct emergency financial assistance, counselling and information services, and case management.
CONCLUSION
The Commonwealth, through COAG, MCPEM and at agency and operational levels, is working cooperatively to assist the states and territories to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from natural disasters.
To this end, I have written to my state and territory colleagues seeking their advice by 16 October 2009 as to any other measures within the Commonwealth’s responsibility that may require the Commonwealth’s consideration in this bushfire and cyclone seasons.
The Government remains committed to assisting states and territories to continually improve their emergency management arrangements, in order to effectively build individual and community resilience to disasters.
Disaster Breaking News....
Disasters further set back RP’s anti-poverty goal
By Saudi Ali
Edited and updated 16:58:00 10/20/2009
Filed Under: Poverty, Disasters (general) Flood
MANILA, Philippines—Barely six years before the deadline for achieving its Millennium Development Goals (MDG), the Philippines continues to lag behind on its MDG targets.
Worse, the series of natural disasters that hit the country have further set back government's efforts to reduce, if not eradicate, extreme poverty by 2015.
With the Arroyo administration “on its last mile," it would be great if they could focus hard on the achievement of the country's MDG goals and meeting the needs of the poorest people of this country and leave a great legacy,” said Salil Shetty, director of the United Nations Millennium Campaign.
Shetty was in the country to “remind your leaders of the promises they made” on the country's MDGs.
According to Shetty, the MDGs must be brought to the local level where their achievement will either be won or lost.
When interviewed, Shetty stressed the need for “disaster-proofing” the MDGs, or integrating disaster risk reduction into government's development planning and policies so it could contribute to the achievement of the country's MDGs.
The visiting UN official also called for “specialized emergency services for the poor, especially women and children, the most vulnerable sector every time calamities strike.”
Shetty said he was confident the government could do all these, noting “the Philippines is better equipped in disaster management than many countries.”
“You have a long history of having to deal with disasters ... Compared to other countries like Indonesia and India, where I come from, you're not too bad. But there's always room for improvement,” he added.
UN Millennium Campaign deputy director Minar Pimple called disaster-proofing the “need of the hour.”
“Efforts to avoid or at least mitigate further losses are a must by all concerned if achievement of the MDGs by 2015 is to be a realistic proposition,” Pimple said.
In a report furnished the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the United Nations representative office in Manila said that “while the Philippines is progressing well in its bid to achieve most of the MDG targets, faster pace of gains is urgently needed to reach some of the 2015 goals, especially because poverty has increased in the country.”
“Specifically, current trending shows that targets for Goal 2 (achieving universal primary education) and Goal 5 (improving maternal health) are least likely to be achieved. And while the country is still within the target of less than one percent of the population for HIV/AIDS, the rising number of HIV cases has become a cause for alarm as well.”
The spread of killer diseases is Goal 6. The other MDGs are: eradicating extreme poverty and hunger; promoting gender equality and empowering women; reducing child mortality; ensuring environmental sustainability; and developing a global partnership for development.
According to the UN office, “there is a need to raise adequate resources to fund the achievement of the MDGs, reverse the trends in social budgeting, sustain high economic pro-poor growth to reduce income inequality, and address conflict issues which hinder development.”
“The country's high population growth rate is diluting the gains of economic growth,” it pointed out. “The larger the population a country has the greater will be the pressure on basic social services and on natural resources.”
Here, “more than one million babies are born every year. They will be needing resources in the future, such as health care, schooling, food, clothing and later on, employment. Even today, these needs are not being met.”
According to the UN office, “investing in population and reproductive health is cost effective. Couples who plan and limit their family size can spare more funds for their children's education, food and health.”
“A study showed that as much as 70 percent of the cost of programs for basic social services can be sourced out from savings incurred due to low population growth. Investing in contraceptives would also save the government some P800 million a year in medical costs for unintended pregnancies.”
The country also needs to “adopt a “not business as usual” policy and this means strengthening good governance, demonstrating political will, mobilizing financial support, reorienting priorities and policies, capacity building and reaching out to civil society and the private sector and engaging national support,” said the UN office.
The Philippines “has the fertile ground to achieve the MDGs and it must continue to explore this potential to its fullest and plant the seeds that will yield the best returns.”
According to Shetty, “at any given goal, about 40-50 (out of 189 countries which signed the Millennium Declaration) are on tract of meeting the MDGs ... The Philippines is almost there.”
Based on the 2009 Global MDG Report, “progress is moving too slow to achieve the MDGs by 2015.”
“While data is not available to assess the full impact of the economic crisis, progress on Goal 1 (eradicating extreme poverty) has slowed down due to the crisis. The most damage has been done to the number of people living in extreme poverty. The World Bank estimated this number to be around 55 million to 90 million higher than expected because of the crisis.”
Said the same report: “72 million children are out of school. Half of them have never been inside a classroom ... Strong partnerships and strong national policies have resulted in protecting the ozone layer while the world is on track to meet the safe water target ... But the least progress of all has been made on maternal health.”
According to the UN Millennium Campaign, “the MDGs are feasible, but action is needed. They can be achieved and they must be achieved because they are our future.”
By Saudi Ali
Edited and updated 16:58:00 10/20/2009
Filed Under: Poverty, Disasters (general) Flood
MANILA, Philippines—Barely six years before the deadline for achieving its Millennium Development Goals (MDG), the Philippines continues to lag behind on its MDG targets.
Worse, the series of natural disasters that hit the country have further set back government's efforts to reduce, if not eradicate, extreme poverty by 2015.
With the Arroyo administration “on its last mile," it would be great if they could focus hard on the achievement of the country's MDG goals and meeting the needs of the poorest people of this country and leave a great legacy,” said Salil Shetty, director of the United Nations Millennium Campaign.
Shetty was in the country to “remind your leaders of the promises they made” on the country's MDGs.
According to Shetty, the MDGs must be brought to the local level where their achievement will either be won or lost.
When interviewed, Shetty stressed the need for “disaster-proofing” the MDGs, or integrating disaster risk reduction into government's development planning and policies so it could contribute to the achievement of the country's MDGs.
The visiting UN official also called for “specialized emergency services for the poor, especially women and children, the most vulnerable sector every time calamities strike.”
Shetty said he was confident the government could do all these, noting “the Philippines is better equipped in disaster management than many countries.”
“You have a long history of having to deal with disasters ... Compared to other countries like Indonesia and India, where I come from, you're not too bad. But there's always room for improvement,” he added.
UN Millennium Campaign deputy director Minar Pimple called disaster-proofing the “need of the hour.”
“Efforts to avoid or at least mitigate further losses are a must by all concerned if achievement of the MDGs by 2015 is to be a realistic proposition,” Pimple said.
In a report furnished the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the United Nations representative office in Manila said that “while the Philippines is progressing well in its bid to achieve most of the MDG targets, faster pace of gains is urgently needed to reach some of the 2015 goals, especially because poverty has increased in the country.”
“Specifically, current trending shows that targets for Goal 2 (achieving universal primary education) and Goal 5 (improving maternal health) are least likely to be achieved. And while the country is still within the target of less than one percent of the population for HIV/AIDS, the rising number of HIV cases has become a cause for alarm as well.”
The spread of killer diseases is Goal 6. The other MDGs are: eradicating extreme poverty and hunger; promoting gender equality and empowering women; reducing child mortality; ensuring environmental sustainability; and developing a global partnership for development.
According to the UN office, “there is a need to raise adequate resources to fund the achievement of the MDGs, reverse the trends in social budgeting, sustain high economic pro-poor growth to reduce income inequality, and address conflict issues which hinder development.”
“The country's high population growth rate is diluting the gains of economic growth,” it pointed out. “The larger the population a country has the greater will be the pressure on basic social services and on natural resources.”
Here, “more than one million babies are born every year. They will be needing resources in the future, such as health care, schooling, food, clothing and later on, employment. Even today, these needs are not being met.”
According to the UN office, “investing in population and reproductive health is cost effective. Couples who plan and limit their family size can spare more funds for their children's education, food and health.”
“A study showed that as much as 70 percent of the cost of programs for basic social services can be sourced out from savings incurred due to low population growth. Investing in contraceptives would also save the government some P800 million a year in medical costs for unintended pregnancies.”
The country also needs to “adopt a “not business as usual” policy and this means strengthening good governance, demonstrating political will, mobilizing financial support, reorienting priorities and policies, capacity building and reaching out to civil society and the private sector and engaging national support,” said the UN office.
The Philippines “has the fertile ground to achieve the MDGs and it must continue to explore this potential to its fullest and plant the seeds that will yield the best returns.”
According to Shetty, “at any given goal, about 40-50 (out of 189 countries which signed the Millennium Declaration) are on tract of meeting the MDGs ... The Philippines is almost there.”
Based on the 2009 Global MDG Report, “progress is moving too slow to achieve the MDGs by 2015.”
“While data is not available to assess the full impact of the economic crisis, progress on Goal 1 (eradicating extreme poverty) has slowed down due to the crisis. The most damage has been done to the number of people living in extreme poverty. The World Bank estimated this number to be around 55 million to 90 million higher than expected because of the crisis.”
Said the same report: “72 million children are out of school. Half of them have never been inside a classroom ... Strong partnerships and strong national policies have resulted in protecting the ozone layer while the world is on track to meet the safe water target ... But the least progress of all has been made on maternal health.”
According to the UN Millennium Campaign, “the MDGs are feasible, but action is needed. They can be achieved and they must be achieved because they are our future.”
Tsunamis The Worst Ever Disaster ......
The meaning of natural disaster from the encyclopedia aspects is something like natural hazard like tornado, volcano eruptio,earthquake, landslide, avalanches and the latest one is tsunami. This disaster will affects the enviroment, leads to financial, enviromental and/human loses. The resulting loss will mainly depending on the capacity of the population to support or resist the disaster and their resilience.
Disaster usually occurs when hazards meet vulnerability. This meant that hazards will never result in natural disaster to those areas without vulnerability. The terms natural has consequently been disputed due to the events are simply not a hazards or disaster without human involvements.
The worst ever disaster that we called tsunami created by the undersea earthquakes especially from the ocean bed. This vibration from under the ocean bed will force upwards turning vthe ocean to be very high tide and waves thus pushing it towards the sea shore and bulldozed whatever standing in front ending a very big impact like big flood with heavy current swallowing and drowning evrything ahead ending a total clearing.
Disaster usually occurs when hazards meet vulnerability. This meant that hazards will never result in natural disaster to those areas without vulnerability. The terms natural has consequently been disputed due to the events are simply not a hazards or disaster without human involvements.
The worst ever disaster that we called tsunami created by the undersea earthquakes especially from the ocean bed. This vibration from under the ocean bed will force upwards turning vthe ocean to be very high tide and waves thus pushing it towards the sea shore and bulldozed whatever standing in front ending a very big impact like big flood with heavy current swallowing and drowning evrything ahead ending a total clearing.
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