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Living with Risk: A global review of disaster reduction initiatives

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4.5 Public awareness

Increased public awareness about hazards is a vital element in any comprehensive strategy for disaster riskreduction. Public awareness campaigns can be conducted in schools, through the media and official, public,professional and commercial channels.

There is a responsibility for governments to promote public awareness of natural hazards and risk on acontinuous basis. In order to create a culture of prevention, there needs to be a great degree of publicparticipation and popular understanding.

The importance of public awareness in effective disaster risk reduction cannot be overstated and assumesdifferent forms. These include:

• public awareness as a primary element of risk reduction;• national public awareness initiatives;• special events and major activities;• the role of the media; and• local community experience promotes public awareness.

Public awareness as a primary element of risk reduction

Public awareness and the creation of widespreadunderstanding about disaster reduction have alwaysbeen crucial elements in risk management strategies.The Yokohama Strategy and Plan of Action for aSafer World of 1994 noted that particular attentionmust be given to improving awareness in vulnerablecommunities. Increasing public awareness is one ofthe four key ISDR objectives.

Public awareness conveys knowledge abouthazards and existing solutions that can reducevulnerability to hazards. To ensure politicalcommitment for risk reduction measures, it isessential for all stakeholders to be aware of thehazards they are likely to face.

Government authorities have a basic responsibilityto inform the public about hazards and thechanging conditions of risk. However, in order tosustain public awareness, other sectors of societymust be involved in disseminating information.

The inclusion of risk information in education andprofessional training is crucial. A successfulprogramme must include professional and civicgroups and national and local authorities. The

media also has a role to play. It is widelyrecognized that current tools and guidelines areinadequate, in part because of the limitedexchange of information about globalaccomplishments.

Individual occasions or one-off public displaysthat are not relevant to daily livelihoods and socialresponsibilities of the public are unlikely to havean enduring effect. More strategic and ongoingapproaches need to be conceived and supported.

Box 4.28Basic principles of public awarenessprogrammes• They should be designed and implemented with a

clear understanding of local perspectives andrequirements with all materials reflecting localconditions.

• They should target all sections of society, includingdecision-makers, educators, professionals, membersof the public and individuals living in threatenedcommunities.

• Different types of messages, locations and deliverysystems are necessary to reach the various targetaudiences.

• Sustained efforts are crucial to success, althoughsingle activities such as commemorative disasterreduction events and special issue campaigns can beuseful if they are part of a larger, consistentprogramme.

4Building understanding: development of knowledge and information sharing4.5 Public awareness

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At the same time, individual disaster events inneighbouring localities can provide a powerfulimpetus for sustained public interest. The timelyand widespread circulation of lessons learned fromdisasters and the activities necessary to reducerisks in the future are more rapidly assimilatedfollowing a disaster event.

Having witnessed the damage to publicinfrastructure in California during the LomaPrieta earthquake in 1989, the authorities inSeattle, Washington in the United States used theoccasion to build public awareness.

They raised the necessary support for fixing roads,bridges and other public works at a cost of morethan US$ 150 million. When a magnitude 6.0earthquake shook Seattle in 2001, there was onlyone fatality and the primary city infrastructurelargely survived with only moderate damage.

Public discussions in the wake of disasters can alsobe catalysts for change. Following the majorearthquakes in India in recent years, the publicdemanded the revision of outdated riskmanagement programmes. The 2000 floods in

Box 4.29Disasters increase public awareness

Experience demonstrates that there are greatopportunities to mount public awareness programmesimmediately following a major disaster.

The impact of the El Niño event in 1997-1998,Hurricanes Georges and Mitch (1998), followed by thelosses from the earthquakes in El Salvador (2001), hadsuch an enormous impact on public understanding thatthey far exceeded what any planned publicityprogramme could have ever accomplished in CentralAmerica.

Previously, public information typically focused onemergency preparedness and crisis response issues.Since these devastating events, the complex issues ofrisk have become associated with problems of poverty,social exclusion, lack of access to resources, anduntenable use of land and unwise use of uncontrolledbuilding practices.

There is now the recognition that values associated withrisk reduction must be conveyed through wider publicexposure and achieved by making permanent changesin educational curricula. The successful efforts to teachenvironmental consciousness through the formal basiceducation system in Costa Rica show what can beaccomplished with a coherent and sustained strategy.

Box 4.30Strategies for awareness-raising

Awareness-raising as a policy toolIn awareness campaigns, policy makers and other interested groups aim for behavioural changes based on new socialnorms and attitudes. However, a narrow focus on awareness-raising as a way to achieve specific goals set by politicians orresearchers would be presumptuous.

Awareness as an interactive movementAwareness-raising is an interactive movement in which different parties are engaged, each with their own roles,responsibilities and ways to make their voices heard and create social pressure. Awareness-raising is therefore inherentlylinked to knowledge, attitudes and behaviour.

Campaigns as means to influence and change behaviourAll awareness campaigns aim to influence behaviour and, hence, they are useful to understand how communicationinfluences behaviour.

Traditionally, campaigns focus on providing information and knowledge to influence individual attitudes. Knowing the resultsof behaviour and realizing the importance of doing so might convince ones own people to change their behavioural pattern.

There are other initiatives that can influence social norms. Here the goal is less to make an individual aware of a certainproblem but rather to influence the subjective norm of a larger community.

Campaigns should focus on increased understanding of the problems and their solutions. The proposed changes need to befeasible and easy to carry out. Designing the whole campaign in a participatory manner can also help stay closer to theideas, constraints and opportunities of the target audience.

Source: Adapted from Ideas for Water Awareness Campaigns by Wouter Schaap and Franck van Steenbergen, produced inconjunction with the Global Water Partnership. <http://www.collinsassoc.ca/water/contents.htm>


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Southern African resulted in political recognitionof the need for regional discussion of the risksassociated with recurrent natural hazards.

The challenge remains to sustain public interest intimes of calm. It is the time between disasterswhen work in public awareness needs to beaccomplished if future losses are to be avoided.

The aim of public awareness programmes shouldnot be limited to conveying an understandingabout hazards and risks to the public. It shouldmotivate people to become involved in activitiesthat can reduce the risks to which they areexposed.

Information needs to be consistent, with principalcomponents repeated over a period of time. Thesubject must be incorporated throughout society,where people live and work, and by including it asa part of their daily personal or professionalexperience.

This is best achieved through encouragement andsupport for public information activitiesimplemented at local levels. By drawing on earlierexamples of local experience and traditionalknowledge, communities can identify additionalmeasures to promote a wider public appreciationof hazards or local capabilities to manage risks.

National public awareness initiatives

Most countries with an effective national riskmanagement authority are committed to increasingpublic awareness about hazards and disasterreduction practices. They usually proceed beyondoccasional commemorative events or the use ofposters, public announcements or handbooks, andoften have national committees made up ofstakeholders from all sectors of the society.

The government of Australia sustained an excellentpublic awareness programme in the 1990s. Manyexamples of their informative manuals, posters,pamphlets, community hazard maps, anddescriptions of related activities are included in acomprehensive review, the Final Report ofAustralia’s Coordination Committee for IDNDR.

The government of South Africa consulted withcommunity groups to learn more about local

hazards and community risk issues prior todrafting a new national disaster management bill.

The National Disaster Management Office ofBotswana conducted a survey and policy reviewlate in 2001 to help in the development of anational public awareness strategy.

In the United States, both FEMA and theAmerican Red Cross have provided extensivepublic information including links to many otherorganizations engaged in disaster reductionactivities.

In Mozambique, the National DisasterManagement Authority (INGC) uses disastersimulations as well as a variety of public forums toconduct awareness-raising programmes. A differentlocation is chosen each year, usually a potentiallyvulnerable area near a provincial capital, andnational leaders are invited to participate.

Televised panel discussions, public exhibitions,university seminars and presentations in schoolsare also conducted. At a more practical level andwith a longer-term perspective, projects such astree planting or the distribution of drought-resistant crops also take place. The activities areplanned just before the rainy season when seasonalmeteorological forecasts and updated emergencycontingency plans are announced.

China has made widespread use of publications,media and other forms of publicity to raise thepublic consciousness about the importance ofdisaster reduction. In the past decade, more than300 books have been published about the subject,and more than 20 different newspapers andperiodicals have been created.

In addition, numerous international publicationsdealing with disaster risk issues have beentranslated into Chinese or adapted to Chineseconditions. In the future, the China NationalCommittee for Natural Disaster Reduction(CNCNDR) plans to improve their publicawareness programmes through greater use ofbroadcasting, video, and electronic means.

There are additional plans for CNCNDR tocoordinate with schools to introduce new contenton risk reduction in curricula, enabling youth tounderstand their own roles in reducing disasters.


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Outreach campaigns have put the issue of disastermanagement on the public agenda. The ChinaAssociation for Science and Technology hasorganized consulting services in disaster reductionfor specific programmes. However, many activitieshave targeted urban populations. While a principalobjective in most of these activities has been toinfluence policy makers and stakeholders at thenational level, a challenge remains to instil aculture of prevention among poorer ruralcommunities, those most likely to suffer during adisaster.

Special events and major activities

Since the early 1990s, the IDNDR and ISDRSecretariats have organized an annual worlddisaster reduction campaign, whose overarchinggoal has been to raise awareness through aninteractive process, to create social pressure andchange people’s perceptions about reducing therisks and vulnerabilities of natural hazards.

By bringing together diverse experiences andinitiatives taking place worldwide, more peoplelearn about disaster reduction, which can ultimatelylead to changed perceptions and behaviours. Thesecan include the organization of educationalcommunity gatherings to design risk maps, schoolclasses to explain what should be done in the eventof a disaster, training opportunities for disasterreduction practitioners and the development ofnational disaster management policies.

The campaign builds momentum throughout theyear, culminating in the International Day forNatural Disaster Reduction (the second Wednesdayof October), celebrated internationally by globalorganizations, regional institutions and localcommunities, alike. Celebrations of the day bringtogether representatives of all facets of society, suchas national governments, local emergencyvolunteers, school children and journalists toshowcase examples of successful accomplishmentsin disaster reduction. The primary message is thatdisaster reduction can benefit communitiesworldwide as an essential part of sustainabledevelopment planning by avoiding the devastatingset backs that natural disasters can cause.

This public awareness strategy seeks to callgovernments and local communities to action. It

urges governments to develop and enforcebuilding codes and to exploit scientific andtechnical knowledge for minimizing exposure torisk. UN agencies and their programme partnersare committed to carrying out this strategy bybringing people and expertise together in thesearch for solutions.

In 2001, the theme was “Countering disasters,targeting vulnerability”. In 2002, the theme was“Disaster reduction for sustainable mountaindevelopment”, coinciding with the InternationalYear of Mountains. In line with the InternationalYear of Freshwater, the 2003 theme focused onwater-related disasters: “Turning the tide ondisasters towards sustainable development”.

Case: Bolivia

Since 1998, disaster reduction has been promotedin Bolivia through two programmes. Oneprogramme has focussed on supporting thenational system for civil defence; the other hasemphasized measures that can prevent avoidablerisks and increase public awareness aboutdisasters.

In 2001, a new campaign called “Riskmanagement: A new vision on disasters” waslaunched to further the objectives of ISDR. Aworkshop was organized in July 2001 by theUniversidad Nacional Siglo XX de Llallagua topromote the campaign.

Another workshop was held the following monthin the city of Santa Cruz on community-baseddisaster management, conducted within theframework of a pilot project of the Association ofthe Municipality of Santa Cruz.

One of the most important achievements of 2001was the approval of a new law for improving riskreduction and disaster awareness. The lawencourages the identification of risk reductionmeasures that can be employed in the course ofimplementing projects that further sustainabledevelopment.

To support this process, manuals were prepared toguide people in local communities to assess risks,formulate practical policies, and then to apply riskmanagement measures that could be incorporated


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in local development programmes. These manualswere then tested and evaluated in selectedmunicipalities.

Case: Jamaica

A variety of local activities were conducted inJamaica in June 2001, the country’s officialdisaster preparedness month. A national churchservice was held to launch the month, broadcastlive on television and radio. The following day, apress conference was held to introduce the publicto the themes of disaster preparedness month.These were emphasized in public informationcampaigns the rest of the year.

Specific issues were also presented concerninglocal planning. An evacuation sign wasintroduced, sponsored by Medigrace Jamaica,which can be used to guide people out of thePortmore area in the event of an emergencyevacuation.

The intended use of the Office of DisasterPreparedness and Emergency Management’s(ODPEM) GIS was explained, and relatedcomputer technology in the National EmergencyOperations Centre was highlighted.

ODPEM emphasised their initiative to includeelements of popular culture in conveying disasterpreparedness messages effectively to the public.This included the participation of several popularmusic disc jockeys and the promotion ofcommercial sponsorship to broadcast thesemessages.

One day was devoted to disaster preparedness inschools. The ministry of education called for anisland-wide observance of the subject, and manyschools participated in disaster related activities.

A hurricane preparedness day for businesses wasalso held during the month with widespreadsupport from the business community. Severalcompanies organized exhibitions, conducted drillsand invited speakers from safety-relatedorganizations.

A major exhibition was held in which 20 disaster-related organizations presented exhibits thatdisplayed their products and services. ODPEM

also displayed emergency supplies that peopleshould use in the event of a hurricane.

Finally, a seminar on contingency planningdirected to business organizations was held at theconclusion of the month. With the objective toraise awareness about disaster planning andpreparedness, participants came from manydifferent business sectors to learn about topicssuch as establishing a planning team for riskreduction and conducting vulnerability analysis.

Case: Costa Rica

On the International Day for Disaster Reduction,Costa Rica’s National Risk Prevention andEmergency Response Commission (CNE)organized a community exercise in disasterpreparedness. It involved an evacuation drill basedon a local river flooding and resulting inmudslides affecting four communities.

A massive public awareness campaign aboutearthquakes was also launched. The Inter-institutional Emergency Commission of theUniversity of Costa Rica organized a forum on therole of the media in disseminating information ondisasters.

Case: Uruguay

In Uruguay, the ministry of education’sEmergency and Disaster Commission organized aworkshop with the support of OFDA/USAID,the National Emergency System, and the localgovernment. The Uruguayan National Red CrossSociety participated in the International Day forDisaster Reduction alongside representatives ofcivilian, political, and military organizations,school children and the media.

The objective was to strengthen local communitiesby creating awareness of social responsibility,identification of hazards, prevention and risk,especially directed at children. Workshopparticipants were asked to draw risk andvulnerability maps relevant to their surroundings.Another meeting was held three weeks later forthe participants to share their information andexperiences about the composition andpresentation of their various risk maps.


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Case: Colombia

In Colombia, the devastating volcanic eruption ofNevado de Ruiz in November 1985 killed morethan 25,000 people and swept away entire villages.Every year, national exercises, school and mediaactivities take place to commemorate the disasterand renew people’s awareness about the risks theyface. Similarly, in Peru, the Cajon de Huaylasearthquake in 1970 is commemorated every year.Special activities take place to remember the67,000 people who died and to teach people howthey can reduce risk in the future.

The United Nations Sasakawa Award forDisaster Reduction

Together with the World Health OrganizationSasakawa Health Prize and the UN EnvironmentProgramme Sasakawa Environment Prize, theUnited Nations Sasakawa Award for DisasterReduction is one of three prestigious prizesestablished in 1986 by founding Chairman of theNippon Foundation, Mr. Ryoichi Sasakawa.

The total approximate value of the Awardcurrently is US$ 50,000, shared between theLaureate and the recipients of Certificates ofDistinction and Merit. In addition to the financialprize, the Laureate is presented with the valuableUN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reductioncrystal trophy.

Nominations for the Award are submitted to theISDR Secretariat and agreed upon by the UNSasakawa Jury, composed of representatives fromfive continents. The Award ceremony takes placeon the occasion of the International Day forNatural Disaster Reduction, the secondWednesday of October.

Nominations for the UN Sasakawa Award forDisaster Reduction can be made by:

• former UN Sasakawa Award Laureates;• representatives of institutions specializing in

disaster reduction;• UN specialized agencies;• Resident Coordinators of the UN system; and• Permanent Missions to the United Nations

Offices in New York and Geneva.

Candidates for the UN Sasakawa Award forDisaster Reduction shall have distinguishedthemselves through outstanding andinternationally recognized action in the followingfields:

• The implementation, at international or regionallevel, of activities designed to strengthenpeople’s awareness of natural disasters;

• The launching of scientific activitiescontributing to technological innovationfacilitating disaster prediction;

Box 4.31UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction Laureates

2003 Mrs. Tadzong, née Esther Anwi Mofor,Cameroon

2002 Sergueï Balassanian, Armenian Association ofSeismology and Physics of the Earth’s Interior(AASPEI), Armenia

2001 Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC),Germany

2000 Fondo Para la Reconstruccion y el DesarrolloSocial del Eje Cafetero (FOREC), Colombia

1999 Prof. Mustafa Erdik, Turkey1998 Mr. Ji Cai Rang, China,

Prof. Wang Ang-Sheng, China1997 Observatorio Sismologico del Sur-Occidente

(OSSO), ColombiaDr. A.S. Arya, India

1996 Dr. Ian Davis, United Kingdom1995 No Laureate1994 National Emergency Commission, Costa Rica1993 Dr. Vit Karnik, Czech Republic1992 Geophysical Institute of the National

Polytechnic School, Ecuador1991 Mr. Franco Barberi, Italy1990 Mr. Julio Kuroiwa, Peru1989 Relief and Rehabilitation Commission, Ethiopia1988 ESCAP/Typhoon Committee, Philippines1987 Ratu Kamisese Mara, Fiji


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• The launching of scientific or socialactivities contributing to thestrengthening of disaster prevention andpreparedness;

• The promotion of preventive activitieswhich reduce the economic impact ofdisasters and contribute to sustainabledevelopment;

• Any other activities recognized asessential in promoting disasterprevention and mitigation (land-useplanning, seismic risk reduction,awareness-raising, education etc.); and

• The candidate shall not be subjected toany kind of discrimination on thegrounds of nationality, religion, race, sexor age.

The role of the media

The media is a greatly undervalued meansfor increasing public awareness andproviding information related to disasterreduction. Media people have theopportunity to take the lead inencouraging public information in themedia. Environmental, political, educationand development journalists can networkwithin and between their respectiveorganizations, working together on a basisof information sharing and disseminationof the information to the community.

Much more needs to be done to improvethe role of the media in disastermanagement strategies. Current mediacoverage is overwhelmingly devoted todisaster events and the dramatic aftermathof damage and the provision of emergencyassistance to survivors. With a fewnoteworthy examples, coverage aboutrecurrent hazards or reporting aboutexisting disaster risk managementpractices is much less in evidence.

A professional’s viewpoint: What the media says and why

The media tends to reflect the mood of thecommunity it serves. If there is alreadydebate about the exposure to natural

hazards or concern about disasterawareness, then journalists are likely toamplify and focus this concern.

If there is no local interest in the subject,then a local newspaper, television or radioprogramme is unlikely to launch andsustain the discussion. There is, however, amoment to trigger such attention and toinspire media professionals to take anintelligent interest in the wider disastersubject. This moment is in the immediateaftermath of a disaster event.

Paradoxically, such moments alsounderscore huge cultural gaps that existbetween journalists and the engineers,scientists, health teams and administratorswho want to promote wider publicunderstanding about risk.

The media wants the story. In the firstbewildering hours after a catastrophe newsis not always available. Instead there issilence. Roads are cut, communications aresevered, water and power supplies areinterrupted and the civic authorities andhospitals that should be the sources ofinformation are themselves part of thedisaster.

At such moments, reporters telephonefrantically to find university or government-based specialists who might be prepared tospeculate on what might have happened.When approached urgently, by oftenpreviously unknown questioners, theseexperts tend to worry about reputations forscholarly accuracy, mature judgement andpolitical soundness. They often shrink fromcomment, apologetically promising to offerthoughtful analysis when firm informationbecomes available.

This is a mistake. News people have nochoice. They must report on a disaster thathas just happened even if they have only thesketchiest details. If an informed andthoughtful expert is hesitant to commentbased on limited information, mediareporters will go in search of a less-informed and less-thoughtful commentatorwho will.

“Professionalnewspapermen lovedisaster – it is their

business – but don’t relyon them to be very

different from the rest ofthe community. The

independent commercialmedia survives and

thrives by reflecting thecommunity it serves. If acommunity is complacent,then there is a fair chancethat its journalists too will

take the placid line… Ifpeople don’t die in

thousands, it is not adisaster, and therefore not

news. The preparednessmessage gets only a limited

airing.”

Source: T. Radford, TheGuardian, 1999


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It is at such moments that disaster risk managementprofessionals have a golden chance to describe thepattern of loss and destruction. They can drivehome the lessons of risk awareness and knownprocedures that can reduce those risks. They shouldseize the chance to do this, in vivid, clear andchilling language.

Once television cameras get to the disaster zone,images of injured children, weeping relatives andtoiling rescuers begin to flood the public. Theimagery and the grim statistics of sufferingdominate the news. And then who will want to hearsomebody talking in academic terms aboutmonitoring hazards or mitigating future risks?Strong media networks allow for the development ofresources towards increasing public awareness abouthazards. Outspoken media reporting can provokereaction by public officials and promptincorporation of disaster reduction in local policiesand planning. The media can also be utilized as aninstrument for issuing early warning and hazardalerts.

With the objective of early warning being to provideindividuals and communities exposed to disaster riskwith accurate information about an impendinghazard – thereby allowing them to act to reduce theprobability of suffering losses – the media can play amost important function at the national and locallevels by assisting in the provision of clear, consistentand timely messages to communities at risk.

There are some signs of change. Public reporting ofdisasters has begun to include references to humanactions that have contributed to the severity of anevent, particularly as they may relate to the loss oflife and property.

Increasingly, questions are being raised about theresponsibility of public officials in eithercontributing to, or tolerating hazardous conditions.Media reporting was outspoken about theinadequate quality of construction and placement ofmany houses that were destroyed by the Turkishearthquake in Izmit, in 1999.

In 1999, reporting about the extensive lossessuffered in the Venezuelan mudslides queried whythe informal settlements had been constructed insuch potentially hazardous conditions. Reports alsoquestioned whether extensive deforestation hadcontributed the disaster.

The extraordinary floods in Algiers in 2001 werereported as having been caused, in part, byunserviceable drainage systems. So far, suchinquiry happens after the consequences of anunmitigated hazard become a political ornewsworthy event.

In a more far-sighted outlook, some nationalofficials seek to relate distant events to their ownmore immediate conditions. The response to theISDR questionnaire by Western Samoa notedthat one of the most important issues to beaddressed was local media commitment to covermajor world disasters.

Journalists were encouraged to describe reliefresponses in both the short and long term, sothat the full coverage would influence theiraudiences to act with greater attention to disasterpreparedness.

In Mozambique, an important objective ofpublic awareness campaigns has been to developthe media as a better source of publicinformation about hazards. INGC has mademedia relations a priority in improving publicawareness.

The need for more accurate reporting was arecurrent theme expressed by journalists, districtadministrators and other local authorities. Now,disaster management officials are workingtogether with technical specialists and journaliststo involve the media more effectively as a meansto issue early warning alerts.

Since the 2000 Mozambique floods, the mediahas played an increasingly valuable role indisaster management. At that time it served asan important catalyst for emergency action bythe international community.

In October 2001, the National MeteorologicalService inaugurated a television studio equippedwith professional media equipment providedthrough Finnish development assistance. In thisway, the country was able to increase its owncapacity to provide better public informationabout the weather and potential weather hazards.

The most important medium for socialcommunication remains the local language radionetwork of Radio Mozambique. This service


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broadcasts information regularly about riskreduction measures, as well as communicatingalerts at the time of imminent hazards.

INGC works with WFP to conduct trainingseminars for journalists in order to improve thequality of reporting, and an annual prize has beenproposed for the best disaster reporting.

Local community experience promotes public awareness

Some of the most effective public awarenessmeasures take place at the local community levelwith the added advantage of involving a cross-section of the local population.

The Community Action Group for Floodwater inthe Old Community of Rodenkirchen was foundedin Cologne, Germany, after the severe flooding ofthe Rhine River in 1993 and 1995. This groupadvocates the interests of more than 4,000 residentsin matters of local flood protection.

In 2001, the community action group sailed theboat Pegellatte up the Rhine from Cologne toBasel, Switzerland. The group staged events andconducted discussions in 18 towns and citiestogether with other community action groups andrepresentatives of local authorities.

In 2002 the group took their floodwater campaignboat downstream from Cologne to the Rhinedelta. Promoting greater awareness about floodissues is not limited to their community or countryalone. The group’s trips also go through parts ofFrance, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Thegroup cooperates closely with the GermanCommittee for Disaster Reduction and the RhineEmergency Floodwater Organization.

Case: South Africa

A number of public awareness projects arecurrently underway in South Africa covering avariety of communities at risk. Ukuvuka:Operation Firestop aims to reduce the risk fromwildfires in the Cape Peninsula. The campaignwas launched in the Western Cape Province inFebruary 2000 after fires burned land along TableMountain behind Cape Town.

The Ukuvuka campaign has a four-year mandate.Its goal is to transfer lessons learned aboutconservation and biodiversity and to pass on theselessons to other communities. The primaryobjective is to protect the land and vegetation bycontrolling alien plant species and by rehabilitatingfire-damaged areas.

Elsewhere in South Africa, the TshwaneMetropolitan Council embarked on a riskreduction campaign in urban communities. Thecampaign targets local risks including informalsettlement fires, floods, extreme weatherconditions, pollution and the spread of disease andHIV/AIDS.

Box 4.32Tsunami in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is highly susceptible totsunamis because of its topographical conditions andthe frequency of earthquakes and volcanic activity inthe surrounding seas.

In 1998, an earthquake measuring seven on the RichterScale occurred, with the epicentre only 30 kilometresfrom the coast of north-west PNG. The resultingtsunami struck coastal villages of the Aitape regionalmost immediately claiming more than 2,200 lives.

While tsunamis are not new to PNG, lessons learnedfrom previous experiences were not passed on to newgenerations. People knew little about the imminentthreat of tsunami hazards. Many residents who felt theearthquake did not seek refuge from the tsunamiimmediately and this contributed to the manycasualties.

At the request of PNG authorities, the Asian DisasterReduction Center (ADRC) in Kobe, Japan agreed totransfer Japanese experience to local communities inPNG. ADRC produced posters and pamphlets inEnglish and local languages with many pictures andillustrations. They distributed them to residents andschool children living in coastal areas.

The information was also used and distributed by thePNG Red Cross. The lesson to beware of tsunamisfollowing an earthquake and to seek refuge on higherground has since spread to more people in the country.

In 2000, an earthquake measuring eight on the RichterScale occurred off the PNG coast. While it created atsunami that destroyed thousands of houses, therewere no deaths. ADRC continues to work in this areafollowing its commitment to provide guidance toneighbouring countries with similar problems.

Source: ADRC, 2001.


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The Western and Eastern Cape Provinces jointlyimplemented an innovative I-SPY awarenesscampaign. This programme involved thedistribution of information boxes. These smallcubes had magnifying lenses placed on either end.Information about reducing community hazardscould be seen by looking through the magnifyinglens. As the information was depicted in pictures,the messages crossed language barriers.

Case: Nepal

Nepal is one of the most disaster prone countriesin the world. As both access and communicationsare difficult in much of the country, informationfrom the central government about hazards isoften difficult to convey. People in remote areas

are not easily provided with sufficientknowledge to reduce their immediate risks.

The government of Nepal is now training localleaders to disseminate disaster managementinformation. In 2001, government officials,ADRC and local NGOs conducted trainingcourses for local village chiefs, teachers, scoutsand women leaders from 30 villages in ten ofthe most disaster-prone districts of the country.

The courses addressed the national disastermanagement system, knowledge about hazard-prone areas and possible countermeasures toreduce risks. Also, a radio broadcast servicewas utilized for the first time to disseminatedisaster preparedness information.


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Box 4.33Riskland, a fun way to learn how to prevent disasters

In 2002, UNICEF and the ISDR Secretariat developed an education kit, consisting basic information related to disasters andrisk reduction, along with a set of tools aimed at getting students and teachers involved in this issue in a dynamic andenjoyable manner.

The kit includes also a board game “Riskland”, which refers to disaster prevention through a number of instructivemessages. The game helps understand which practices may be effective for reducing the impact of disasters and which arenot appropriate and, as a result may lead to an increased vulnerability to disasters. The kit is targeted for children in LatinAmerica and the Caribbean, between 8 and 12 years old, as a complement to any other material that schools may alreadyhave.

So far the Riskland is available in 5 languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese, Creole and Nepali), and has been widelydisseminated throughout the region and beyond. Several institutions in many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean,such as El Salvador, Mexico, Honduras, Colombia, Chile, Trinidad and Tobago are adapting and reprinting the game forlocal use in schools and for community activities, workshops etc. <http://www.eird.org>


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Box 4.34Times of Hurricanes

With the objective of disseminating messages on disaster prevention tocommunities at risk in an interesting and easily understandable way, UN-ISDR,the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) the International Organization forMigration (IOM) and CEPREDENAC joined forces to produce a radio dramaseries, Tiempo de Huracanes (Times of Hurricanes).

Conveying important messages on hurricanes and disaster reduction, the dramaconsists of four different stories which are divided into 20 chapters of 30 minuteseach. These carry the listener through the issues of what could happen before,during and after a natural hazard such as a hurricane or flood. It looks at theconsequences of not being prepared and how negative impacts may be reducedthrough preparation and awareness.

It also analyses the roles which men and women play in society and what can bedone to increase community capacity to prevent negative impacts of disastersituations. In addition to the main topic of disaster management, stories also covertopics related to health, gender and migration, to mention the most importantones.

Since early 2002, the radio drama Times of Hurricanes has been widely publicized and played by radio stations throughoutCentral America and Mexico as well as in South America (Venezuela, Ecuador) and the Caribbean (Cuba, DominicanRepublic).

Starting on 9 October 2002, in observance of the International Day for Disaster Reduction, and during the following month,Times of Hurricanes was broadcast by 46 radio stations throughout Central America, including those in Panama, Costa Rica,Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.

The campaign was coordinated by a Costa Rican NGO called Voces Nuestras, in collaboration with the regional network oflocal radio stations, Centroamerica en Sintonia, and with financial support from ISDR, PAHO and IOM. In June 2003, 86local radio stations through out the countries in Central America started the re-broadcast of the Times of Hurricanes, just atthe beginning of the hurricane season.

The production has been a huge success in communities throughout the region and requests keep coming in for producingmore of these kinds of radio series. In response to this, the ISDR Secretariat in collaboration with PAHO, CEPREDENACand UNDP produced a new series “Tremors in my Heart”, on topics related to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions andlandslides. Tremors in My Heart was launched in October 2003. <http://www.eird.org>

In the Spotlight: Radio Progreso, Honduras

Radio Progreso was one of the 46 radio stations that began broadcasting the radio drama on the International Day forDisaster Reduction in October 2002. Every Saturday afternoon, the residents of La Guacamaya, a small township in north-

eastern Honduras gathered in community buildings, neighbour’s homes, atthe football field, or anywhere where they could listen to the latest chapter ofthe radio drama Times of Hurricanes.

La Guacamaya is located between two creeks that were completelyharmless before Hurricane Mitch struck Central America in 1998. Afterseveral days of rain, they overflowed causing landslides that destroyed over200 of the town’s 300 homes. Luckily the mud and other debris fell relativelyslowly, giving residents the time to flee. After Hurricane Mitch, residentsformed groups to tackle immediate basic needs: food, shelter, and drinkingwater.

A similar approach has been employed in Asia where the Sri Lanka UrbanMulti-Hazard Disaster Mitigation Project of the Asian Urban DisasterMitigation Programme and the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center hasproduced a television drama about disaster reduction called, Of an EventForetold.


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s Future challenges and prioritiesPublic awareness

Effective public awareness requires sustained activities in several areas. Following are some prioritiesfor the future:

• official policies that promote the value of disaster risk reduction;• the use of public education and professional training as primary tools;• establishing closer partnerships between disaster managers and the media;• gender-sensitive public awareness campaigns;• increasing the value of public events; and• using multiple interests to publicize risk issues.

Official policies that promote the value of disaster risk reduction

Authorities and local leaders have a responsibility to provide information and the means to ensurepublic security. There is considerable scope to inform and advise the public about hazards and therisks they pose.

Local communities must be involved in the dissemination process as well as being the recipients ofinformation. Political support is equally important if sustained financial allocations are to be ensuredfor public awareness.

Using public education and professional training as primary tools

As there are few specialized courses currently devoted to disaster risk management issues alone, thereis a challenge for education authorities as well as professional training institutions to develop theseprogrammes. There are efforts being made to introduce more risk issues into the training ofprofessionals such as engineers, meteorologists, urban planners and physical scientists.

There are many additional areas of instruction such as environmental management, publicadministration, geography, and most of the social sciences which have not typically regarded riskawareness as part of the syllabus. This should change.

Learning about natural hazards must begin in school. As important institutions in most localcommunities, schools and educators can serve an important role in motivating students to becomeinvolved in exercises, public discussions and other activities that promote disaster reduction outside theclassroom.

Establishing closer partnerships between disaster managers and the media

There is a need for more frequent and better-informed media coverage about risk reduction before adisaster occurs. However, if the community itself were to become more interested in this subject, themedia would reflect this interest. Risk reduction programmes should involve media representatives,ensuring a well informed and concerned media. It is vital that disaster managers and journalistsinteract regularly, in particular, before a disaster occurs, in order to lay the groundwork for effectiveworking relationships in the aftermath of a disaster.

By becoming more familiar with each other’s work, disaster managers and journalists can join forces toensure appropriate messages reach audiences, as well as allowing for effective and widespread

Building understanding: development of knowledge and information sharing4.5 Public awareness

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4dissemination. Rather than employing sensational media coverage techniques showing shocking imagesof human emergencies in order to draw international aid, it is important for the media to report onhow people actually live with risk from day to day.

Gender-sensitive public awareness campaigns

Anecdotal evidence suggests that women are typically the most affected by disasters, often due tocultural norms that constrain their access to disaster information and emergency warnings. However, itis important to note that women are not only victims but are also agents of change. By workingtogether, women and men can identify those hazards that threaten their lives and livelihoods andcommit to building safer communities.

In many cases women are in the valuable position within communities for advocacy, initiating andpromoting grassroots disaster reduction initiatives. If women are neglected as a target audience, theyare unable to participate in minimizing risks associated with daily activities. For example, if women areexcluded from the issuance of a warning of an imminent cyclone, they are unable to make preparationsto evacuate the area with their family members in addition to the essential assets required to survive.

Increasing the value of public events

Special commemorative events have a useful role in raising the visibility of natural hazards andreflecting on the consequences of earlier unmitigated disasters. But they are no substitute for moresubstantive commitments to build public awareness. It is important that additional activities bepursued on an ongoing basis, so that public interest does not fade after the special event.

Using multiple interests to publicize risk issues

One of the biggest challenges in promoting risk awareness is to remove the subject from the sense ofcrisis or trauma that ordinarily accompanies it. Disaster risk reduction is not an emergency service.Rather, it should be considered as one of the daily concerns of people where they live and work.

4.5 public awareness section 5.pdf · living with risk: a global review of disaster reduction...

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