REMEMBERING SOME OF THE LESSONS FROM 2013’S DISASTERS PART 2: TYPHOONS Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna, Virginia, USA

SUPER TYPHOON HAIYAN DEVASTATES THE PHILIPPINES; NOVEMBER 8-10, 2013

HAIYAN REACHED THE PHILIPPINES: FRIDAY, NOV. 8

LANDFALL ON FRIDAY MORNING, NOV. 8

WIND AND WATER PENETRATE BUILDING ENVELOPE TYPHOONS UPLIFT OF ROOF SYSTEM FLYING DEBRIS PENETRATES WINDOWS STORM SURGE HEAVY PRECIPITATION FLASH FLOODING (MUDFLOWS) LANDSLIDES (MUDFLOWS) CAUSES OF RISK CASE HISTORIES

ONCE AGAIN, 2013’S DISASTERS DEMONSTRATED THAT IT USUALLY TAKES MULTIPLE DISASTERS BEFORE THE STRICKEN NATION ADOPTS POLICIES TO BECOME DISASTER RESILIENT MOST UNAFFECTED NATIONS USUALLY DON’T LEARN ANYTHING NEW AND DON’T CHANGE EXISTING POLICIES

A FLAWED PREMISE: ONE TYPHOON DISASTER ANYWHERE SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO MAKE ANY NATION SUSCEPTIBLE TO TYPHOONS ADOPT AND IMPLEMENT POLICIES THAT WILL LEAD TO THEIR OWN TYPHOON DISASTER RESILIENCE

EXAMPLE: THE PHILIPPINES

THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES HAVE HAD MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN VITAL LESSONS FROM PAST TYPHOONS OF ALL SIZES MAKING LANDFALL THERE The Philippines has more than enough experience with typhoons for action.

A FLAWED PREMISE: BY NOW, THE PHILIPPINES SHOULD HAVE POLICIES IN PLACE FOR TYPHOON DISASTER RESILIENCE (i.e., A SUPER TYPHOON SHOULD NOT MAKE THAT MUCH DIFFERENCE WHEN THE POLICIES ARE RIGHT)

LESSON: THE TIMING OF ANTICIPATORY ACTIONS IS VITAL The people who know: 1) what to expect (e.g., high-velocity winds, rain, flash floods, landslides, and storm surge), 2) where and when it will happen, and 3) what they should (and should not) do to prepare will survive.

LESSON: TIMELY EARLY WARNING AND EVACUATION SAVES LIVES The people who have timely early warning in conjunction with a community evacuation plan that facilitates getting out of harm’s way from the risks associated with storm surge, high winds, flooding, and landslides will survive.

LESSON: EMERGENCY MEDICAL PREPAREDNESS SAVES LIVES Damaged hospitals and medical facilities combined with lack of clean drinking water, food, and medicine, and high levels of morbidity and mortality will quickly overrun the local community’s capacity for emergency health care.

LESSON: WIND ENGINEERED BUILDINGS SAVE LIVES Buildings engineered to withstand the risks from a typhoon’s high velocity winds will maintain their function and protect occupants and users from death and injury.

LESSON: EMERGENCY RESPONSE SAVES LIVES The “Uncontrollable and Unthinkable” events will always hinder the timing of emergency response operations.

LESSON: THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY ALWAYS PROVIDES AID The International Community provides millions to billions of dollars in relief to most nations to help “pick up the pieces, ” but this strategy is not enough by itself to ensure disaster resilience.

HAIYAN: A SUPER TYPHOON

RATED AS PROBABLY THE STRONGEST TYPHOON EVER TO STRIKE THE PHILIPPINES

HAIYAN MOVED TOWARDS VIETNAM AND CHINA: SAT., NOV 9

ADVANCE EVACUATIONS 800,000 people were evacuated to emergency shelters.

AN EVACUATION CENTER

FOUR HOURS OF FEAR AND DESTRUCTION Winds flattened hundreds of homes. Heavy rainfall triggered mudslides and flash flooding. A storm surge with waves of up to 10 m (30 feet) destroyed everything, sweeping people away and drowning thousands.

AN AERIAL VIEW It was like a tsunami," Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas told Reuters. "From a helicopter, you can see the extent of devastation. From the shore and moving a kilometer inland, there are no structures standing.

DESTRUCTION EVERYWHERE

TACLOBAN (ON LEYTE ISLAND) HIT THE HARDEST

SURVIVOR STORIES Survivors of the storm described towering waves that swept away all but the most robust engineered structures.

STORM SURGE

DESTRUCTION EVERYWHERE

DESTRUCTION AND DEATH EVERYWHERE

DESTRUCTION EVERYWHERE

TACLOBAN AIRPORT

INITIAL IMPACTS IN THE PHILIPPINES Wide spread flooding, mudslides, and power outages Winds of 380 kph (290 mph) TACLOBAN hit very hard by the storm surge with many deaths Tacloban’s airport destroyed

INITIAL IMPACTS IN THE PHILIPPINES Loss of communication An estimated 10,000 people dead Economic losses in the billions

SURVIVOR NEEDS Survivors are in desperate need of clean drinking water and food Survivors temporarily cut off from aid, and from their families in the Philippines as well as in other countries (e.g., 3 million in the USA)

USA MILITARY FORCES DISPATCHED TO ASSIST IN WHAT BECAME A HISTORIC RELIEF EFFORT

Search and Rescue and Relief Efforts Were Hampered by Landslides and Damaged Road Systems LESSON: All Kinds of Things Will go Wrong During the Emergency Response Period When the Uncontrollable and Unthinkable Happen.

TYPHOON DISASTER RESILIENCE POLICIES AND MEASURES NEEDED BY MANY NATIONS Preparedness Adoption and Implementation of a Modern Wind Engineering Building Code Time,y Early Warning and Evacuation Timely Emergency Response (including Emergency Medical Services) Cost-Effective Recovery

WAYS TO ACCELERATE PROGRESS TOWARDS TYPHOON RESILIENCE WAYS TO ACCELERATE PROGRESS TOWARDS TYPHOON RESILIENCE EXPERIENCES WITH PREPAREDNESS EXPERIENCES WITH MONITORING AND WARNING EXPERIENCES WITH DISASTER SCENARIO PLANNING EXPERIENCES WITH RECOVERY AND RECONSTRUCTION EXPERIENCES WITH PREVENTION, MITIGATION, AND ADAPTATION INTEGRATE GLOBAL EXPERIENCES WITH YOUR EXPERIENCES

THE CHALLENGE: POLICY CHANGES: CREATE, ADJUST, AND REALIGN PROGRAMS, PARTNERS AND PEOPLE UNTIL YOU HAVE CREATED THE KINDS OF TURNING POINTS NEEDED FOR MOVING TOWARDS TYPHOON RESILIENCE

COMMUNITIES COMMUNITIES DATA BASES AND INFORMATION HAZARDS: GROUND SHAKING GROUND FAILURE SURFACE FAULTING TECTONIC DEFORMATION TSUNAMI RUN UP AFTERSHOCKS TYPHOON HAZARDS INVENTORY VULNERABILITY LOCATION TYPHOON RISK RISK ACCEPTABLE RISK UNACCEPTABLE RISK TYPHOON DISASTER RESILIENCE PREPAREDNESS PROTECTION FORECASTS/SCENARIOS EMERGENCY RESPONSE RECOVERY and RECONSTRUCTION POLICY OPTIONS

CREATING TURNING POINTS FOR TYPHOON DISASTER RESILIENCE  USING EDUCATIONAL SURGES CONTAINING THE PAST AND PRESENT LESSONS TO FOSTER AND ACCELERATE THE CREATION OF TURNING POINTS

IS A GOOD TIME FOR A GLOBAL SURGE IN EDUCATIONAL, TECHNICAL, HEALTH CARE, AND POLITICAL CAPACITY BUILDING IN ALL FIVE PILLARS OF COMMUNITY DISASTER RESILIENCE

CREATING TURNING POINTS FOR TYPHOON DISASTER RESILIENCE  INTEGRATION OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS WITH POLITICAL SOLUTIONS FOR POLICIES ON PREPAREDNESS, PROTECTION, EARLY WARNING, EMERGENCY RESPONSE, AND RECOVERY

INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND POLITICAL CONSIDERATIONS INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND POLITICAL CONSIDERATIONS THE KNOWLEDGE BASE Best Practices for Mitigation Adaptation and Monitoring Gateways to a Deeper Understanding Real and Near- Real Time Monitoring Hazard, Vulnerability and Risk Characterization Anticipatory Actions for all Events and Situations Situation Data Bases Interfaces with all Real- and Near Real-Time Sources Cause & Effect Relationships APPLICATIONS Implement Modern Codes and Lifeline Standards Relocation/Rerouting of Cities and City Lifelines Create a Hazard Zonation Map as a Policy Tool Introduce New Technologies Move Towards A Disaster Intelligent Community EDUCATIONAL SURGES Involve Partners in Turning Point Experimemts Enlighten Communities on Their Risks Build Strategic Equity Through Disaster Scenarios Multiply Capability by International Twinning Update Knowledge Bases After Each Disaster OPPORTUNITIES FOR TURNING POINTS: For Disaster Resilience on local, regional, national, and global scales