LESSONS LEARNED FROM PAST NOTABLE DISASTERS

RUSSIAPART 5: WILDFIRES

Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna,

Virginia, USA 

Natural Phenomena that Cause Disasters

Planet Earth’s atmospheric-hydrospheric-lithospheric interactions cause:

W\ilefires

RUSSIA

Russia, the largest country in the world, and the only one

surrounded by twelve seas and spread out on two continents,

has wildernesses—urban interfaces at risk from

wildfires.

NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED DISASTERS IN RUSSIADISASTERS IN RUSSIA

NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED DISASTERS IN RUSSIADISASTERS IN RUSSIA

FLOODS

WINDSTORMS

EARTHQUAKES

WILDFIRES

ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE

GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

HIGH BENEFIT/COST PROGRAMS FOR BECOMING DISASTER RESILIENT

HIGH BENEFIT/COST PROGRAMS FOR BECOMING DISASTER RESILIENT

GOAL: PROTECT PEOPLE GOAL: PROTECT PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIESAND COMMUNITIES

GOAL: PROTECT PEOPLE GOAL: PROTECT PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIESAND COMMUNITIES

SCIENCE OF WILDFIRES

WILDFIRES are conflagrations caused by

lightning discharges (or acts of man) in wilderness areas close enough to one or more urban interfaces that they threaten

people, property, infrastructure, and business enterprise.

WILDFIRES are conflagrations caused by

lightning discharges (or acts of man) in wilderness areas close enough to one or more urban interfaces that they threaten

people, property, infrastructure, and business enterprise.

THE WILDERNESS AREAS typically contain national forests, national parks, or resorts, and the adjacent urban areas typically contain large, expensive homes and, some times, government centers.

THE WILDERNESS AREAS typically contain national forests, national parks, or resorts, and the adjacent urban areas typically contain large, expensive homes and, some times, government centers.

ELEMENTS OF RISK AND DISASTER

HAZARDSHAZARDSHAZARDSHAZARDS

ELEMENTS OF WILDFIRE RISK ELEMENTS OF WILDFIRE RISK ELEMENTS OF WILDFIRE RISK ELEMENTS OF WILDFIRE RISK

EXPOSUREEXPOSUREEXPOSUREEXPOSURE

VULNERABILITYVULNERABILITYVULNERABILITYVULNERABILITY LOCATIONLOCATIONLOCATIONLOCATION

RISKRISKRISKRISK

THE WILDFIRE HAZARDS

ARE POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS

WILDFIRE HAZARDS (AKA POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS)

• FIRE

• HOT GASES AND SMOKE

• HOT SPOTS

• BURNED OUT SLOPES (with increased susceptibility to insect infestation, erosion, and landslides)

WILDFIRE HAZARDS (AKA POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS)

• SUNDOWNER WINDS

• LOCAL CHANGES IN AIR QUALITY

• LOCAL CHANGES IN WEATHER CAUSED BY A CONFLAGATION

A DISASTER CAN HAPPENWHEN THE

POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS OF A WILDFIRE INTERACT WITH

THE WILDERNESS--URBAN INTERFACES OF RUSSIA’S

COMMUNITIES

A DISASTER CAN HAPPENWHEN THE

POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS OF A WILDFIRE INTERACT WITH

THE WILDERNESS--URBAN INTERFACES OF RUSSIA’S

COMMUNITIES

LIGHTNING STRIKES

WILDFIRESWILDFIRES

MANMADE FIRES

PROXIMITY OF URBAN AREA TO THE WILDLAND FIRE

WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION (DAY/NIGHT)

DRYNESS

HIGH TEMPERATURES

LOCAL FUEL SUPPLY

CAUSES OF DAMAGE

CAUSES OF DAMAGE

DISASTER LABORATORIES

DISASTER LABORATORIES

A DISASTER is ---

--- the set of failures that overwhelm the capability of a community to respond without external help  when three continuums: 1)  people, 2) community (i.e., a set of habitats, livelihoods, and social constructs), and 3) complex events (e.g., wildfires, earthquakes,..) intersect at a point in space and time.

Disasters are caused by single- or multiple-event natural hazards that, (for various reasons), cause

extreme levels of mortality, morbidity, homelessness,

joblessness, economic losses, or environmental impacts.

THE REASONS ARE . . .

• When it does happen, the functions of the community’s buildings and infrastructure will be LOST because they are UNPROTECTED with the appropriate codes and standards.

THE REASONS ARE . . .

• The community is UN-PREPARED for what will likely happen, not to mention the low-probability of occurrence—high-probability of adverse consequences event.

THE REASONS ARE . . .

• The community has NO DISASTER PLANNING SCENARIO or WARNING SYSTEM in place as a strategic framework for early threat identification and coordinated local, national, regional, and international countermeasures.

THE REASONS ARE . . .

• The community LACKS THE CAPACITY TO RESPOND in a timely manner to the full spectrum of expected and unexpected emergency situations.

THE REASONS ARE . . .

• The community is INEFFICIENT during recovery and reconstruction because it HAS NOT LEARNED from either the current experience or the cumulative prior experiences.

RUSSIA HAS SOME OF PLANET EARTH’S NOTABLE “WILDFIRE

LABORATORIES”

EACH WILDFIRE PROVIDES VALUABLE LESSONS FOR BECOMING

WILDFIRE DISASTER RESILIENT

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT MEDVEDEV DECLARES STATE

OF EMERGENCY

600 WILDFIRES KILL 34 AND BURN 309,000 ACRES IN 7 REGIONS

JULY 29 – AUGUST 13, 2010

LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT DISASTER RESILIENCE

ALL WILDFIRES PREPAREDNESS FOR ALL OF THE LIKELY HAZARDS IS ESSENTIAL FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE

Wildfires happen in Russia about once every 30 to 40

years, so Russian communities generally lack

readiness capability for fighting a wildfire.

The hottest temperatures in 130 years across much of

western and central Russia topped 35 degrees C (95 F)

during a 5-week period, causing 19 peat bog fires and

creating conditions that exacerbated wildfires and

drought.

On July 29, forests in the Moscow region's Kolomna

district caught fire.

600 WILDFIRES WERE BURNING IN 7 REGIONS

14 regions were declared an emergency situation and

nearly 86,000 people were evacuated.

The fires destroyed more than 1,800 homes, leaving

nearly 5,000 people homeless.

Several villages in the Nizhny Novgorod, Voronezh

and Ryazan regions were reduced to ashes.

PRIME MINISTER PUTIN: “VILLAGES TO BE REBUILT BEFORE WINTER”

Russia deployed nearly a quarter of a million people (comprised of the military,

professionals, and volunteers) and 25,000 pieces of equipment

(including planes and helicopters) to fight the fires.

 

STRONG WINDS AND 32 C – 42 C TEMPERATURES HINDERED FIREFIGHTING

VORONEZH WILDFIRE

ONE OF 14,000 FIREFIGHTERS: VORONEZH FIRE

MOSCOW IN SMOKE:AUGUST 6

Moscow was veiled in acrid smoke from the fires, causing landmarks to

disappear from view and commuters to hold

handkerchiefs to their faces

Russia received help from the following countries: France,

Germany, Italy, Poland, Turkey, and the USA, as well

as from former Soviet Republics: Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and

Ukraine.

The USA delivered firefighting

equipment (valued at $2.5 million (euro 2 million)) and

the State of California contributed fire-protective

clothing.

RUSSIA’S NEXT WILDFIRE IS INEVITABLE

RUSSIA’S NEXT WILDFIRE IS INEVITABLE

• ---SO, DON’T WAIT FOR ANOTHER REMINDER OF THE IMPORTANCE OF BECOMING WILDFIRE DISASTER RESILIENT..

THE ALTERNATIVE TO A WILDFIRE DISASTER IS

WILDFIRE DISASTER RESILIENCE

THE ALTERNATIVE TO A WILDFIRE DISASTER IS

WILDFIRE DISASTER RESILIENCE

RUSSIA’S RUSSIA’S COMMINITIESCOMMINITIES

RUSSIA’S RUSSIA’S COMMINITIESCOMMINITIES

DATA BASES DATA BASES AND INFORMATIONAND INFORMATIONDATA BASES DATA BASES AND INFORMATIONAND INFORMATION

HAZARDS: GROUND SHAKING GROUND FAILURE SURFACE FAULTING TECTONIC DEFORMATION TSUNAMI RUN UP AFTERSHOCKS

• WILDFIRE HAZARDS•INVENTORY•VULNERABILITY•LOCATION

WILDFIRE RISK WILDFIRE RISK

RISK

ACCEPTABLE RISK

UNACCEPTABLE RISK

WILDFIRE DISASTER WILDFIRE DISASTER RESILIENCERESILIENCE

•PREPAREDNESS•PROTECTION•FORECASTS/SCENARIOS•EMERGENCY RESPONSE•RECOVERY and RECONSTRUCTION

POLICY OPTIONSPOLICY OPTIONS

DISASTER RESILIENCE STRATEGIES FOR WILDFIRES

DISASTER RESILIENCE STRATEGIES FOR WILDFIRES

• PURPOSE

• PROTECTION

• THREAT IDENTIFICATION; WARNING

• PURPOSE

• PROTECTION

• THREAT IDENTIFICATION; WARNING

• TECHNIQUE

• FIRE RETARDANT MATERIALS FOR CONSTRUCTION

• REMOTE SENSING;

COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES

• TECHNIQUE

• FIRE RETARDANT MATERIALS FOR CONSTRUCTION

• REMOTE SENSING;

COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES

LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT DISASTER RESILIENCE

ALL WILDFIRES TECHNOLOGIES THAT FACILITATE THREAT IDENTI-FICATION FOR SMART COUNTER-MEASURES IS ESSENTIAL FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE

THREAT IDENTIFICATION:

THREAT IDENTIFICATION:

LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT DISASTER RESILIENCE

ALL WILDFIRES PREPAREDNESS FOR

ALL THE LIKELY WILDFIRE HAZARDS IS ESSENTIAL FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE

LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT DISASTER RESILIENCE

ALL WILDFIRES TIMELY EMERGENCY RESPONSE IS ESSENTIAL FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE