Surviving Mega Disasters: Policy
MAftMeasures
After TTsunamii

Presented by:Fathimath Thasneem
Deputyp y Minister
National Disaster Management Centre
Republic of MaldivesCountry Profile 1,190 islands.

 Population approx. 400,000

 170 Inhabited Islands.

 Economy ‐ Tourism and Fishing Total land area 300 km2

 No
N proven non renewable
bl energy
resources Islands range
g b/w/ 0.2 – 5 km2

V l
Vulnerabilities
bili i• Low-lying islands• Extremely flat topography (highest point ofelevation is 1.5m above sea level))• Geographic dispersion of population andremoteness of islands• NarrowN
economic
i bbase(main(i economici activities
ti itiare tourism and fishing)Before the Tsunami
 Maldives had achieved considerablesocio
economic progresssocio-economic

 Was on-course to achieving highsustainable developmental goals
 High literacy rate Increase in access safe drinking
water Maternal and Infant mortality rates
d li i rapidly
idl
was declining

 Tourism sector had huge growth Maldives was recommended for
graduation from the group of LDCs

Indian Ocean Tsunami ‐ Snapshot

53 of 199 island severely damaged

1/3 of the population directly impacted

5 islands completely damaged and reconstructed

30,000 people displaced

Economic damages and losses equivalent to 62%of GDP

Total asset losses were estimated to be $472
millionCommunication Network completely down

Sever damages
Sdtot essential
ti l iinfrastructures
f t t
ini
most islands. E.g. jetties, power house, etc

Environmental Damage of 2004 Tsunami:
Main Findings
g of the UNEP Assessment

Coral reef damage: damage caused by direct wave impact
 damage from sedimentation and excessive
amounts of debris
Coastal damage: extensive beach erosion and damage to coastal protection measures
Beach, soil, vegetation and cropdamage: extensive washing‐off of soil stress and dieback noted in certain species
from direct impact and possible salt
contamination

After the TsunamiDisaster Management was introduced to the MaldivesgNational Disaster Management
Centre was established

Recovery and reconstruction efforts was coordinate through multi-sector coordination mechanism

IDPs was managed using SPHERE standards

Capacity building at island level was undertaken to manage and coordinate tsunami recoveryefforts.

First DM plan was formulated and introduced

Safe island as a policy was establishedFirst Disaster Risk Profile of the country was undertaken



Detail island risk assessments of 10 safe islands was conducted

Networking with regional meteorological agencies was strengthenedCapacity in terms of hardware was acquired to monitor and predict hazards

10 years after the Tsunami – Main
Strategies and Policies

National DM Act has been ratified on September2015National Emergency Operations Plan (NEOP)
Drafted which outlines the national response
mechanism
throughamulti‐stakeholder
approachEstablishedanationalFramework
onCommunity Based Disaster Risk Reduction toincrease island level capacity for disastermanagement

Strengthen island level
le el response mechanisms byb
providing them basic disaster response
equipment such as flood drainage pumps

Development of Strategic National
Action Plan (SNAP)Enhancement of community capacity
for disaster responseStrengthening theWarning SystemsNationalEarly

Establishment ofCrescent in 2009

MaldivesRedStrengthening Policies and guidelines
onIDP management and Relief
ManagementEnhancement of capacity in disasterstatistics
t ti tiChallenges and Opportunities


Institutional and legal framework needs tobe expanded and streamlinedIslands lack the basic level of preparedness
p pincluding weather and climate hazards
monitoring that are prerequisite forpreparedness and effective response todisastersHazard and risk assessment needs todeveloped to all inhabited islands



Inadequate allocation of financial resources
for disaster managementInadequate expertise in hazard early warningand dissemination for both sudden onset andslow onset events

Limited involvement of all segments ofsociety in multi‐stakeholder, multi‐role
approaches to Disaster Risk Reduction andClimate Change Adaptation

Good practices and lessons learned

NDMC hashfformulatedl d a multil i sector
partnership approach with different
stakeholders to diversify resources andskills
killThe sharing of information between
Maldives Meteorological Services andNDMC has been strengthened in the past
few years



NDMC has pioneered a resort resilient
programme to build capacity in the tourismindustryy

NDMC has strengthened the network withlocal councils and responses to coordinate
local disasters



NDMC has formulated national early
warningi
St d d OperatingStandardOtiPProceduresd(SOPs)

Thank you