Contributions made by the United Nations to disaster management.
In the 21st Century, there has been the continuous increase in the disastrous occurrences. Any of these has been natural disasters while others are man-made disasters. A disaster is a disruption of the normal functioning of a given locality causing widespread and enormous human, material, economic or environmental losses exceeding the affected community's ability to cope with the losses. This means that the affected community may not be able to fund or handle the scope of losses and effects after the disaster using its resources which are limited. Disasters in this case mainly result from a combination of hazards, vulnerability and the insufficient ability to reduce the diverse potential consequences of the risk occurrences (Alexander 2013). The participation of the international community in the cases of disaster has therefore been an important move towards the recovery of a community after the disaster. Due to shock and losses incurred by the affected community, it is always impossible for the community or the affected government to the affected people by itself. The International community needs to take the appropriate initiatives to restore the lost glory and well-being of the affected community. This paper will focus on assessing the contributions made by the United Nations to disaster management in Chile. The paper will focus on how the United Nations through bodies responded to the earthquake and the tsunami that hit Chile living 11 people dead and more than 1 million people homeless (Satake & Atwater 2007).
Description of the Disaster
An earthquake of magnitudes 8.8 which is one of the highest in the world occurred in Chile on 16th September 2015. Immediately after the earthquake, a tsunami alert was emitted, and more than 700,000 people were evacuated from the region and Coquimbo region declared a catastrophe area. The destruction was enormous as more than 700 homes was destroyed, more than 1300 homes rendered uninhabitable and more than 3200 homes suffered minor damages. Very many homes in the region were without electricity as the power supply was highly affected by the chain of disastrous occurrences. According to the Chilean Red Cross, 16 schools were highly damaged, and this meant that the students in the schools would not resume school until the technical assessment of the damages is completed. This affected the education and the economic activities highly and thus destabilizing the normal functioning of the entire community (Satake & Atwater 2007).
The earthquake and the tsunami which was proceeded by landslide and after-shock of different magnitudes also affected transport and trade sectors. Most roads in the affected regions were blocked by landslides in communities of Combarbala, Salamanca, Illapel and Canela. This prevented many people from accessing their homes and other services as they waited for disaster to be managed and the recovery through debris clearance to be done. More so, borders such as the one crossing Juntas del Toro were closed preventing the movement to the neighboring countries. The most affected parts of economies were the ports and the fishing industry. The port of Coquimbo was closed citing the infrastructure damages. The earthquake and the tsunami occurred in the locality of the port and hence sustained intense damages. 88 vessels were also damaged due the occurrence living shipwrecked remains in the region which would affect the transportation in the region. On fisheries, 17 fishing bays remained closed due to the infrastructure damages in the region. On agriculture, irrigation processes were interrupted by the landslides which closed the irrigation channels in the Choapa Province.
Crisis response required in Chile
Disasters affect the lives of the human being as well other living creatures in the area in which they happen (Cisternas 2005). In the case of Chile, property losses and the loss of lives were some of the major effects affecting the well-being of the people in the country. Disaster management and response, therefore, call for contingency measures in response to the disasters to save human life as well as preventing more loss in the region. Given the burden suffered by the government and the unavailability of insurance covers for the disaster and crisis, it requires the international community to take part from the initial response to the disaster, through recovery, mitigation, risk reduction, prevention up to organizing for the preparedness to the possible repeat of such disasters. Some of the responses needed in the Chilean disaster areas described below (Cisternas 2005).
Firstly, the affected health sector needed immediate reopening to cater for the affected individuals and to respond to the possible outbreak of the disease in the region. For example, many individuals required psychosocial support in response to the suffering from the earthquake and the tsunami destructions. First aid care was also important to handle the crisis effectively given the affected individual health care support which would enable them to deal with aftermaths of the disasters effectively. Secondly, psychosocial support was very urgent in giving necessary emotional support to the affected individuals (Shaluf 2003). This called for the coordination between the mental health agencies and the international community humanitarian services. Family ties and the well-being of the children were very important to restore the well-being of the families and the community as a whole. Care and support for the children were very important in enhancing recovery from the shock and emotional stress from the disaster.
Areas of Priority by the Government and the United Nations
Priority and prioritizing the needs and areas of importance in disaster and crisis management is very critical given the limitation of the resources in disaster and crisis management. Prioritizing also gives opportunities for reducing macroeconomic and social consequences of disaster (Tatham & Pettit 2010). Prioritizing in the case of Chile ensured that all short-term direct impacts of the earthquake and tsunami were responded to with rapid recovery plan. In our case, there were some of the areas to be given priorities by the government and the United Nations. Firstly, providing primary first aid was necessary to save the life of the persons injured and wounded by the earthquake and the tsunami (Scholtens 2008). Secondly, it was a need to enhance community mobilization and information activities to enhance rescue of the affected individuals in this community (Alexander 2013). Third, psychosocial support (PSS) was very critical to delivering psychological first aid training the affected people on how to handle the situation amicably. Fourthly, to the affected and vulnerable area, the United Nation needed to issue first aid kits which would be used to respond to the subsequent disasters and emergency occurrences (Shaluf 2003). Lastly, it was important to ensure enough food supply to the affected people and community to ensure continuity of life.
Actions of the United Nations in Disaster Management
United Nations operates a wing which is responsible for disaster management and responses to reduce the losses from the disaster (Scholtens 2008). The UN actions before, during and after the Chile disaster were very important for restoring the dignity of the affected individuals in the area. Some of the notable activities played by the UN to reduce the effect of the disaster included.
Ensuring preparedness for the Disaster/ Crisis
The United Nations Office for Disaster and Risk Reduction (UNISDR) and the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) played a very important role in reducing the number of the death cases emanating from an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.8. The loss suffered was comparative less compared with the magnitude of the earthquake in this case. Through the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, which was formulated by the UN in the Japanese city with the active participation of Chile, the country was able to invest effectively in disaster management. Through its planned evacuation of one million people, Chile was able to ensure no repetition of loss of life as it happened earlier where 523 people died. Some of the initiatives passed by the UN summit and implemented by Chile were invested in resilient infrastructure, urban planning, and early warning systems to enhance better response during disasters (Voigt et al. 2007). Through the support of OCHA, Chilean authorities declared disaster areas in Coquimbo and Choapa provinces and helped people to leave the area and hence reducing the effect of the tsunamis. UN also warned the country about the building codes requiring the authorities to erect buildings which would help in reducing the effects of the earthquake. After the disaster, the UN continued to monitor the Pacific region analysis the possible occurrence of disasters and hence warning the individual nations of the possible effects. The UN continues to play a significant role in the management of disasters thus reducing the impact of losses incurred (Araneda et al. 2010).
United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) Technological Use in Disaster Management
UNOOSA, a department under UN has established operational priorities through the adoption of technology to enhance disaster management. Some of the priorities set by this body include strengthening the intergovernmental processes in disaster management, supporting sustainable development through integrated space technology, technology spin-offs and indigenous capability and the support for regional mechanisms. UN-SPIDER secures a global platform for space-based communication and information for effective disaster management and response to emergencies (Quarantelli 2005). The body has also enhanced global navigation within the satellite systems and hence improving the level of communication and information before, during and after disasters. The UN also established the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) which is mandated to use the outer space to mitigate the disasters and report on the possible occurrences. The body encourages continued research and study on the outer space matters which may cause or affect the disasters in the world today and then disseminate the information to the necessary institutions. They may also study the legal problems arising from their studies and the continuous exploration of the outer space (Ritchie 2009). This enhances the position of the UN to mitigate and control the damages arising from the disasters.
Space Technologies for Disaster Risk Management
Advancement in technologies and adoption of the technological know-how in risk management have been the new move for the UN. Some of the technologies used by the UN have enhanced the performance of UN in the response, recovery, mitigation, risk reduction and preparedness to disaster management. Firstly, images from the earth observing satellites helps in assessing the impacts and the damages from the usual occurring disasters such as oil spills, volcano eruptions, and the earthquakes. Secondly, satellite communications have helped the UN bodies to warn people who may be at risk and especially in remote areas (Neria et al. 2008). In the past, satellite communications have helped to connect disaster zones to the outside world and hence better information passage. Better communication has reduced the barrier to communication that hinders emergency response to disasters. Based on Chile's case, for instance, the communication between the government and the international communication had been delayed until the satellite communication to engage the international community (Fritz 2011). Third, global navigation satellite systems have enabled the UN to obtain the positional information related to the events and disasters that have to be mapped. This enhances the tracing of disasters and citing the areas prone to disasters to enhance the study in the areas.
Introduction to the Hyogo Framework for Action
As said earlier, response, recovery, mitigation, and preparedness are highly necessary tools of disaster management today. Follow-up after the recovery period of the disaster received much recognition by 130 countries in the UN Summit, which approved the implementation of Hyogo Framework for Action. In response to the continuous disasters in Chile the UN came up with strong political back-up, efficient systems to manage disaster risks to enhance the preparedness to the disasters (Coppola 2006). The strategy was aimed at creating and improving resources to understand and analyze global risks. The Hyogo Framework is intended to reduce the vulnerability of the disaster prone areas to natural and man-made disasters. Under the Hyogo framework, the UN has some initiatives whose implementation in the countries vulnerable to disasters would lead to reduced losses from disasters (Elliot 2014). Firstly, it focuses on the determination to identify needs and define the priority actions during and through disaster risk situation diagnosis like the case of Chile. These actions would be entirely supported by the UN and the international community to ease the burden to be borne by the affected nations. Secondly, Hyogo Framework provides for analysis and discussions aiming at drawing up a new regulatory framework which would enhance integrated risk management. The structure also provided for advances in updating information regarding risk analyzes in the country where the barriers to proper communication and decision making would be removed (Blaikie et al. 2014). The framework also provided for mechanisms for providing valuable data for the losses suffered during such a disaster in Chile thus creating a good platform for prioritizing and compensation for the affected families. Lastly, the Hyogo Framework defines a system or a scheme to adapt social programs from the various departments for attending people affected by the earthquake. The United Nations during the presentation of the Hyogo Framework said that there has been a low investment in disaster while the numbers of disasters are on the increase and thus leading to high imbalance.
Projects implemented in Chile for Risk Reduction and Disaster Preparedness
As part of the Seventh Action plan, three main projects have been implemented by the UN in Chile. The projects are linked with the Disaster Preparedness Program of the European Commission’s Directorate-General of Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection. Firstly, the Red Cross implemented the project of strengthening the regional system responsible for the civil protection and the risk reduction procedures in the cases of earthquakes and tsunamis in Chile (Jaramillo et al. 2012). This project is intended to reduce the vulnerability of the communities to risks through increasing their capacity to deal with such occurrences. This increases the preparedness of the community towards disasters thus reducing the possible impacts (Birkmann 2007. This project is aimed to benefit the residents of Northern Chile, a region which is highly vulnerable to earthquake and tsunami disasters. Secondly, UNDP is implementing a project aimed at strengthening regional capacities for the post-disaster recovery. This project is aimed at enhancing equal development and encourages land-use planning in risk management and enhancing citizen participation (Smith 2013). This involves the recovery from the disaster through removing the status quo in Chile. Third, the UN implements the UNESCO Regional Bureau of Education for Latin America and the Caribbean which is aimed at improving the Regional Tsunami Early Warning System. The early warnings as in the case of Chile have been proven to be an effective preparedness and response tool for disasters and crisis (Gilpin & Murphy 2008). The undertaking of this project in coordination with the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission enhanced the participation of world nations and bodies to disaster management. Taking Chile disasters and crisis as a world problem and not a regional-based problem, the UN and the international community are focused on establishing effective measures for ensuring disaster response, recovery, mitigation, risk reduction, prevention and preparedness to disasters and national crisis (Indirli et al. 2006).
With globalization today, the international community has become more concerned with humanitarian assistance took more concern on human life. Nations are integrating into solving human problems and towards creating a sustainable social, economic, political and technological development. Increased natural and man-made disasters and crisis in the world have necessitated increased integration and unity in managing the disasters (Marín et al. 2010). The intensity of damages and losses from the disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, diseases such as Ebola, floods among others requires critical measures by the international community. United Nation has been at the forefront in responding to and managing disasters and crisis in the world. UN is highly engaged in human welfare through proactive and reactive strategies aimed at enhancing the response and management of disasters and crisis (Ritchie 2004). It has participated in capacity development towards preparedness, mitigation, prevention and risk reduction moves. The UN has done this through training, development of the affected communities, establishing building codes in the regions prone to disasters among other approaches. The UN has also invested in fundamentals to prompt and effective response to rescue operations, immediate relief, and evacuation projects among other disaster and crisis management activities. The UN has also given the medical services through WHO and food reliefs through WFO among other bodies.
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