RESPONSE EFFORTS & SPECIAL PROJECTS 2007

DRN-INDIA, CYCLONE SIDR, BANGLADESH

Cyclone Sidr, a category 4 storm, struck the coast of Bangladesh on the evening of November 15th, first striking the offshore islands and then sweeping across the southern coast east to west. Reaching wind speeds of up to 240 kilometers per hour, SIDR caused extensive damage to the southern districts as it moved north across central Bangladesh.

As of December 2nd, the number of deaths reported reached 3256 with more than 1,000 unaccounted for or still missing.  Sidr and the associated storms directly affected some 8.4 million people in 28 southern districts of the country.   The Government of Bangladesh (GOB), GOB estimates damage to 650,000 homes and the total destruction of another 273,000; crops losses totaling 761,361 acres; and severe damage to public buildings, including the destruction or partial destruction of 4,306 educational institutions. The most affected areas include Bagerhat, Barguna, Barisal, Bhola, Gopalgonj, Jhalkhati, Khulna, Mandaripur, Patuakhali, Pirojpur, Satkhira and Shariatpur Districts.

Cyclone Sidr, a category 4 storm, struck the coast of Bangladesh on the evening of November 15^th, first striking the offshore islands and then sweeping across the southern coast east to west. Reaching wind speeds of up to 240 kilometers per hour, SIDR caused extensive damage to the southern districts as it move

In the immediate aftermath of Cyclone Sidr, DRN-India coordinated with RedR and Oxfam to organize public health engineers and supplies of building material and water treatment systems.  Further actions are contingent upon protocols for the delivery of transnational assistance and the results of more detailed damage assessments. DRN-India will coordinate its efforts from the office of Hindustan Construction Company LTD in Mumbai.

DRN and its country affiliate, DRN-India, will work with local NGO partners in the months ahead to explore reconstruction needs in the affected areas.

DRN-MEXICO, TABASCO – CHIAPAS FLOODS

After a week of heavy rainfalls that began on October 28th, flood waters ravaged the Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas, affecting some one million people in Tabasco and submerging 80% of the state. Tabasco’s capital city, Villahermosa (population 600,000), was among the hardest hit. In Chiapas, mudslides destroyed the entire community of San Juan Grijvalva.

On November 8th, representatives from DRN-Mexico and DRN’s International Secretariat visited the flood ravaged city of Villahermosa in Zavala the company of government officials and Mexico’s First Lady, Margarita Zavala.

Numerous conversations with rescue workers and military officials in charge of relief activities on the ground confirmed early damage assessments.
View video.

In response, Emergency Engineering-Construction Team (EE-CT) volunteers from ICA, Siemens and Marhnos were placed on stand-by for two weeks with federal government authorities (National Office of Civil Protection and CENAPRED), UN-Mexico, USAID-Latin America and Unidos por Ellos, as was the Airport Emergency Team, established by DRN in 2003.  Members of DRN-Mexico’s business network immediately mobilized direct assistance to beneficiaries on the ground and committed their continued support to recovery reconstruction efforts. Finally, Marhnos (lead corporate sponsor of DRN-Mexico) agreed to serve as the leader of Unidos por Ellos’ Business Committee to encourage the private sector’s participation in the response effort.

DRN and DRN-Mexico will continue to work with government authorities, in-country relief organizations and other key stakeholders in the months ahead to identify reconstruction needs and partnership opportunities in Tabasco and Chiapas.

For example, DRN’s International Secretariat is currently exploring with DRN-Mexico potential sites for a model project that uses disaster resilient, multi-purpose designs that are flexible enough to meet the need for rural housing, schools, and/or small clinics.  The design and companion construction manual (available in Spanish) incorporate international building codes; use materials readily available locally; and provide instruction in laymen’s terms. Architect Stephen Forneris (www.tpgarchitecture.com) and the Rubin Foundation developed and tested the prototype in Ecuador.

Tabasco flood plain, November 6, 2007

As a matter of practice, DRN-Mexico will ensure that its commitments to reconstruction integrate risk reduction practices, improve resiliency and build local response capacity.  For example, CMIC, a sponsor of the EE-CT Program, has agreed to develop a national database of equipment and technology available through its membership for future response operations. CMIC will test the database in simulation exercise scheduled March 2008.

SCHOOL RECONSTRUCTION PROJECT, PERU

On August 15th, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck the Pacific Coast of Peru, severely damaging the infrastructure of Pisco, Chincha and a number of surrounding communities.  In total some 70% of the homes, small businesses and schools were destroyed or seriously impacted. In response, DRN, Mercy Corps USA and Soluciones Prácticas (www.solucionespracticas.org.pe), a prominent Peruvian based disaster mitigation program, joined forces to rehabilitate/rebuild five local schools using seismic-resistant designs, local materials, and community labor.  The project will benefit the families of Canete and Sunampe. A generous grant from Cofra Holding AG will underwrite project costs. Temporary classrooms with proper water and sanitation facilities were installed to meet the needs of 500 children until repairs and reconstruction are completed in the spring of 2008.

DRN-MEXICO ESTABLISHES EMERGENCY ENGINEERING-CONSTRUCTION TEAM PROGRAM

In February 2007, the DRN and its country affiliate, DRN-Mexico hosted a conference in Mexico City attended by business leaders, academics, government officials and NGOs to examine the private sector’s role in disaster response and risk reduction.  Mr. Rick Samans, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum’s Center for Public-Private Partnerships and a member of DRN’s Board of Directors, underscored the added value of corporate engagement in disaster mitigation.

(left to right) Kathleen Connolly, Associate Director and Bob Bellhouse, Executive Director (DRN), Rick Samans, (World Economic Forum)

Following a series of discussions with key actors, DRN and DRN-Mexico agreed to develop Mexico’s first volunteer Emergency Engineering-Construction Team (EE-CT) Program. In March, three of the country’s most prominent engineering companies (ICA, Siemens-Mexico and Marhnos) committed to sponsorship of the Program.  Cámara Mexicana de la Industria de la Construcción offered to assist with future recruitment campaigns and public relations for the program.  ICA will serve as the corporate lead sponsor of the new initiative.

Replicating the model used to develop DRN’s Airport Emergency Team, each company agreed to make engineers available pro bono to conduct rapid response infrastructure damage assessments at the request of Mexico’s Office of Civil Protection in the aftermath of a national disaster.  On May 16, 2007, DRN conducted orientation for 40 volunteer recruits at ICA’s headquarters.  Siemens-Mexico graciously catered the event. Welcoming remarks were presented by Bob Bellhouse (Executive Director, DRN); Dr. José Luis Guerrero (CEO, ICA); Nicolás Mariscal (President, Marhnos); and Hans-Joachim Kolsdorf (President and Director General, Siemens-Mexico).   Compliments of Marhnos, participants received a Spanish translation of DRN’s Corporate Member Handbook outlining the respective roles and responsibilities represented in the partnership.

March 2007 Orientation Hans-Joachim Kohlsdorf, President, Siemens-Mexico (left), Dr. José Luis Guerrero, Chief Executive Officer, ICA (right)

EE-CT Volunteer Training, September 4 and 5, 2007

On September 4th and 5th, the 50 EE-CT volunteers from around the country gathered at the University of Mexico to complete two days of intensive training conducted by experts from the Centro Nacional de Provencion de Desastres (CENAPRED), Sistema Nacional de Protección Civil. For the remainder of 2007, DRN will work closely with DRN-Mexico to ensure that the country’s principle disaster response authorities (United Nations-Mexico Country Office, the National Office of Civil Protection, UniRed, Unidos Por Ellos, and others) are fully informed of the resources available through the Emergency Engineering-Construction Team (EE-CT) Program.  Upon completion of advanced training in early 2008, the Team will be available for deployment.

INTERCEP POINTS TO DISASTER RESOURCE NETWORK AS PROTOTYPE

The International Center for Enterprise Preparedness (InterCEP), part of New York University’s Center for Catastrophe Preparedness and Response, is the world’s first major academic center dedicated to private sector crisis management and business continuity. Following a survey of prominent humanitarian response organizations and dozens of interviews with business leaders, United Nations representatives and government officials, InterCEP issued a report (Mobilizing Corporate Resources to Disasters: Toward a Program for Action, January 2007).  In a comparative analysis of findings, the report cites the Disaster Resource Network as one of six successful prototypes for leveraging private sector involvement in disaster response. 
 

DISASTER RESOURCE NETWORK MEETS WITH UNITED NATIONS UNDER-SECRETARY SIR JOHN HOLMES

On June 19, 2007, DRN Executive Director, Bob Bellhouse and Associate Director, Kathleen Connolly met with the United Nations’ new Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Assistance to discuss how to maximize the private sector’s contribution to international disaster response and risk reduction as defined by existing public-private partnership programs (PPPs) within the United Nations.

The discussion raised questions about how to effectively enlist, align and govern private sector participation given the constellation of partnership programs now operating within the United Nations that taken together have implications for disaster risk reduction, response and sustainable development.