On Boxing Day 2004 as my phone beeped with an SMS news alert, a new world entered my vocabulary: tsunami. Pronounced soo-nah-mee (with a silent t), I learnt that the Japanese word stood for ‘a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake.’ News broadcasters both local and International were reporting that an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred off the west coast of Sumatra has caused a tsunami. After Indonesia, the Sri Lankan Island was the hardest hit with over 30,000 reported dead.
In the days immediately following the 5th Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) there were several disaster and extreme weather incidents that were reported from around the world. Hurricane Sandy hit the Caribbean, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States while cyclone Nilam hit Sri Lanka and Southern India. Just days back a tsunami warning was issued to Hawaii following a 7.7 quake off western Canada. Here in Sri Lanka months of drought that left farmers hapless were followed by incessant rains that led to the rise of water levels in major rivers inundating several cities. The need to prepare is real: the urgency, imminent.
Disaster Risk Reduction
As the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction’s Guide for DRR Reporting explains ‘Hazards are natural. Disasters are not. There is nothing natural about a disaster. Nature provides hazards-earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods and so on-but humans help create the disaster. We cannot prevent a volcanic eruption, but we can prevent it from becoming a disaster.’ ‘Once we understand that there is a difference between a natural hazard and a disaster, we then understand that disasters are mostly human induced.’
The Curious Case of Tilly Smith
Tilly Smith is a British girl who, at the age of 10, was credited with saving nearly a hundred tourists at Maikhao Beach in Thailand by warning beachgoers minutes before the arrival of the tsunami caused by the 2004 earthquake. Tilly had learned about tsunamis in a geography lesson two weeks before from her teacher. She recognized the symptoms of receding water from the shoreline and frothing bubbles on the surface of the sea and alerted her parents, who warned others on the beach and the staff at the hotel where they were staying. The beach was evacuated before the tsunami reached shore, and was one of the few beaches on the island with no reported casualties.
Meanwhile, in Sri Lanka, in a rather unfortunate turn on events, clueless beachgoers ran towards the sea in snooping excitement at the receding of water levels. This cost the better half of them their lives. Awareness is key. What people know is more important than what they have when it comes to saving lives, reducing loss and in the bigger picture of building a culture of safety and resilience. Being a product of the system of free education of Sri Lanka, DRR was not incorporated in my school curriculum. Unlike Tilly, I wasn’t taught that if water levels are receding, that’s the sign of a tsunami to come, or that one should duck under a table in the event of an earthquake etc… While information on disasters were taught as part of environmental studies, geography and science; what steps to take when a hazard strikes were never taught in schools, or for that matter, in universities. Speaking at a side event at AMCDRR Dr. Deepthi Wickramasinghe from the Department of Zoology of the University of Colombo highlighted the need for the inclusion of DRR Strategies in school and university curricula. The need for countrywide public awareness is real.
A tale of two Cities
As important as awareness, risk assessment and disaster resilient infrastructure is protecting the natural defenses that nature has blessed us with. The story of Kapuhenwala and Wanduruppa, two neighboring villages in the lagoon of southern Sri Lanka, shows the importance of mangroves in saving lives: while in Wanduruppa 5,000 to 6,000 people died following the 2004 tsunami, in the neighboring town of Kapuhenwala, the tsunami killed only two people — the lowest number of tsunami related fatalities in a village in Sri Lanka’s South. The reason for this turn of events: Kapuhenwala was bordered by 200 hectares of dense mangroves and scrub forest while the mangroves surrounding Wanduruppa have been degraded for commercial purposes. Coastal wetlands such as mangrove forests, marshes and coral reefs serve as natural buffers and reduce the impacts of waves and storms. It is our responsibility to protect them from degradation.
The host of this year’s Asian Ministerial Conference Indonesia; is an example of a country that strives to be prepared despite being constantly faced by the wrath of nature. Indonesia sits between the world’s most active seismic and tectonic regions — the Pacific ”Ring of Fire” and the Alpide Belt. However, the country is taking steps to be prepared in the wake of hazards. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono addressing the opening ceremony of the conference said his ‘ultimate goal is to ensure that Indonesia is better equipped and more ready in the wake of any natural disasters.’
Furthermore, disaster resilient infrastructure is also absolutely imperative. Speaking following the launch of the Asia–Pacific Disaster Report 2012 Dr. Shamika Sirimanne, Director-Information and Communications, Technology and DRR Division of the UN ESCAP, highlighted the need for the prioritization of DRR in the post war development agenda of Sri Lanka.
Is Climate Change to blame?
Disasters happen for many reasons but the four main factors that contribute to the increase of the risk posed by disasters are climate change, rapid urbanization, poverty and environmental degradation. As predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); Climate change will create new hazards causing glaciers to melt, sea levels to rise, etc… and these effects amp up extreme weather events.
One doesn’t know for sure, if there is a direct link between Sandy, Nilam and Climate Change. But facts show that there have been dramatic changes in weather patterns and if one connects the dots it is easy to see that climate change fuels to extreme weather events. This doesn’t mean that any given storm or flood is caused solely by climate change. That would be wrong and misleading. Its way more complicated and many factors contribute to that. But Climate Change is a contributor and scientific complexity shouldn’t be exploited to avoid discussion and debate.
Disasters hit the most unexpected of regions at the most unexpected of times. As the media guide describes, disasters can affect everyone, and are therefore everybody’s business. Disaster risk reduction should be part of everyday decision-making; from how people educate their children to how they plan their cities. Each decision can make us more vulnerable or more resilient.’
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About the author
Senel is a Sri Lankan activist tracking climate issues in South Asia and beyond. He's a trained journalist, columnist, radio news reporter, editor, student, and a Rio+20 Fellow.
