Peace Corps

DPM:

Integrating Disaster Preparedness

and Mitigation in Your Work

Idea Book

M0084

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Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

1

DPM:

INTEGRATING

DISASTER

PREPAREDNESS

AND MITIGATION

IN YOUR WORK

Peace Corps

August 2001

Information Collection and Exchange

Publication No. M0084
DPM:

2 Peace Corps

The Idea Book Series

This Idea Book is one of a series of booklets produced to share specific

activities you may be interested in replicating. Other titles in the series

are listed below. These ideas come from the work of Volunteers and

others in the development field. Most of the submissions contain only

the description printed; there is no additional information. Others were

parts of larger reports. Where there are additional reference materials

for an idea, notations tell you how to obtain them. There is also a

reference section at the end of the booklet. Please contact the appropriate person/group to follow up on the ideas.

You are encouraged to submit your successful activities to this series.

You will find a form on the final page of this booklet with instructions.

Titles in the Idea Book Series:

Beyond the Classroom: Empowering Girls

In the Classroom: Empowering Girls

HIV/AIDS: Integrating Prevention and Care Into Your Sector

DPM: Integrating Disaster Preparedness

and Mitigation in Your Work

Potential Titles in the Idea Book Series:

Information and Communication Technologies:

Integrating Digital Tools into Your Sector

SPA Grants: Small Project Assistance Program

Supporting Community Development
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

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Table of Contents

Quiz ñ Do Disasters Matter? ............................................................ 5

Introduction ...................................................................................... 9

Disasters 101 ñ The Role of Volunteers ......................................... 12

DPM Activities in Your Community .............................................. 18

Initial Questions and Suggested Approaches........................... 18

Key Elements of the Planning Process .................................... 21

DPM Activities Any Volunteer Can Do ......................................... 26

DPM and Agriculture/Environment ............................................... 35

DPM and the Health Sector ............................................................ 40

DPM and Education ....................................................................... 44

DPM and Youth .............................................................................. 48

DPM and Small Enterprise Development ...................................... 52

Challenges and Potential Solutions ................................................ 55

Additional Resources on DPM ....................................................... 57
DPM:

4 Peace Corps

Acknowledgements

This Idea Book is the product of collaboration between the Center,

Crisis Corps, and Peace Corps field offices.

The development team included staff and Volunteers in the Dominican

Republic and Palau for input at workshops; Crisis Corps, Regional,

and Center staff in Washington for materials collection, photos, case

studies, design and editing; and Patricia Delaney for writing.
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

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Quiz: Do Disasters Matter? Introduction

If you are like many Peace Corps Volunteers and other development

practitioners, you are probably wondering:

Do disasters matter?

In order to begin to answer that question, take a few minutes to complete

the following quiz about disasters in the world today. Answers and

commentary, designed to help you think about the relevance of disasters

to your work as a Volunteer, are provided on the following pages.

True/False Quiz

about Disasters in the World Today

The entire world is hit just about equally in terms of

the deaths and injuries resulting from natural disasters. T/F

In 1998, deforestation contributed to the flooding

which affected the lives of 180 million people in

Chinaís Yangtze Basin. T/F

By mid-2000, over three million people in the Horn

ofAfrica were affected by ongoing drought conditions

there. T/F

The per capita economic cost of disasters is lower in

developing countries than in industrialized nations. T/F

Natural disasters have declined over time and are

considered to be less of a threat today than they were

50 years ago. T/F

1

2

3

4

5
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False. Although disasters occur on every continent and in

virtually every country, the developing world suffers far more

deaths and injuries than the industrialized nations. Of the nearly

one million people killed by natural disasters each decade,

over 96 percent die in developing countries.

Due to a variety of factors, including environmental degradation,

population pressure, poverty, and poor infrastructure, people in

developing countries are much vulnerable to the human impacts

of disasters. Since most Peace Corps Volunteers serve in developing countries, disasters can often have a major impact on their

service.

True. Chinaís flooding in 1998 is but one example of the

tremendous global impacts of rain and flooding. Conservative

calculations by the International Federation of Red Cross and

Red Crescent Societies estimate that approximately 10 million

people live under constant threat of floods in the world today.

2

1

Public awareness campaign Caribbean
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

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Flooding, which can result from rain, tsunamis, cyclones,

hurricanes, and a variety of other short-term weather patterns, is

a ìrapid-onsetî disaster which is exacerbated by poor environmental management, improper land use planning, and a lack of

zoning. Many Volunteers serve in areas that are historically floodprone, including low-lying areas and island states. In these and

all cases where floods are a common natural disaster, preparedness and mitigation activities can help minimize the impacts of

flooding and, sometimes, even prevent floods from reaching

some communities or areas.

True. The slow-onset disaster of drought in the Horn of Africa

is a classic example of the devastating and complicated impacts

of this natural hazard. In Kenya, Somalia, and elsewhere in the

Horn, the drought has led to deaths of livestock, agricultural

disruption, famine, and even political conflict. Although

droughts come on slowly, they are no less of a disaster than a

flood or a volcanic eruption. Volunteers working in droughtprone areas can help reduce the impacts of drought by integrating

preparedness and mitigation activities such as water conservation

and drought-resistant agricultural production.

False. Although industrialized countries suffer great economic

losses from natural disasters, due to their expensive roads,

housing, and economic infrastructure, the economic cost of

natural disasters can be 20 times higher in terms of gross

domestic product (GDP) per capita for developing countries

than for industrialized ones. Within developing countries the

poorest of the poor are the worst affected. Volunteersí work to

help with Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation (DPM) can help

to lessen the economic impacts of disasters on the communities

in which they serve.

4

3
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False. Natural disasters of all types, from hurricanes and

cyclones to droughts and famines, are on the rise. Both the

quantity and the intensity of these events have increased

dramatically in the last decade. There were three times as many

great natural disasters in the 1990s as in the 1960s. Population

pressure, increasing urbanization, and the dramatic changes in

weather patterns around the world lead most scientists to predict

that the trend towards more frequent and more intense

disasters will continue for the foreseeable future. Thus, even

those Volunteers serving in places that have not had many natural

disasters in the past should be alert to the possibility of new

natural disaster events in the near future.

5
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

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Things to Consider as Introduction

Hopefully, the quiz has satisfactorily answered the initial question of

ìdo disasters matter?î However, the fact that disasters are tremendously important is not enough to explain why Peace Corps Volunteers

might consider integrating DPM into their work. In order to do that,

two more questions seem relevant:

ï Are natural disasters related to development?

Disasters and Development: The devastation of Hurricane Mitch in

Central America in 1998 reminded the international community of a

key lesson ó the root causes of most disasters in developing countries

include poverty and inappropriate development. Unsustainable development practices, from hillside agriculture, deforestation, poor watershed management, and inappropriate housing and construction, to

inadequate communication and transportation infrastructure, can exacerbate the impacts of even relatively small events like flooding, wind,

or drought. Simply responding to disasters, without taking the development issues that can cause them into account, will lead to a vicious

spiral of suffering.

ìWe must, above all, shift from a culture of

reaction to a culture of prevention. Prevention

is not only more humane than cure; it is also

much cheaper.... Above all, let us not forget

that disaster prevention is a moral imperative,

no less than reducing the risks of war.î

ó Kofi Annan, Secretary General of The United Nations

(Strategy for a Safer World in the 21st Century:

Disaster and Risk Reduction, Geneva, July 9, 1999)
DPM:

10 Peace Corps

ï And if so, is there really anything I can do about natural

disasters as a Peace Corps Volunteer?

Despite the alarming statistics, events such as droughts, earthquakes

and floods do not have to become disasters with devastating impacts

on lives, livelihoods, the economy, and the environment. Disaster

Preparedness and Mitigation activities can reduce the destruction and

minimize suffering in disaster-prone places, creating truly sustainable

development at the same time. This Idea Book provides concrete

strategies for Peace Corps Volunteers to integrate DPM in your work,

regardless of assignment.

Since one of the root causes of natural disaster vulnerability is poverty,

it is not surprising that Volunteers in almost every sector area can

make a contribution to Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in the

countries in which they serve. For some Volunteers, the most efficient

strategy might be to design complimentary activities that promote

disaster awareness and preparedness among counterparts, communities,

and partner organizations. For others, DPM activities can be integrated

directly into your main sector activity. For example, work in reforestation and environmental education not only promotes sustainable

development but also minimizes the impact of future natural disasters.

No matter which sector you are in, you can do your part to help

minimize the effects of future natural disasters in your community.
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

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The ideas developed in this book come from a variety of sources,

including examples from Crisis Corps Volunteers (CCVs), Volunteers

and from other community-based development organizations. Remember that DPM work, like all the work you do as a Volunteer, should be

flexible and responsive to the needs of your local community. The

decisions about which activities will be most appropriate will depend

on the needs and priorities of your community as identified by a

participatory appraisal at the beginning of your service. As always,

we encourage you to experiment with these ideas and welcome your

feedback and suggestions. The bottom line is that effectively incorporating DPM in to your work as a Volunteer can help you to do an

even better job of meeting your primary goals, whether those are in

environment/agriculture, business development, health, youth, small

enterprise development, education or any other area of development.

Community planning Dominica
DPM:

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Disasters 101 ñ

The Role of Volunteers

While it would be impossible to include all of the technical information

about disaster management in this short Idea Book, the following

section provides a brief overview of some of the most important

concepts in DPM. This brief introduction should help you to get a

handle on the main concepts as you begin to think about integrating

DPM in to your project. Please refer to the other Peace Corps publications, Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation Pre-Service Training

Module (ICE #T0123) and In-Service Training Module (ICE #T0124),

for additional information about the technical details. Additional

resources are also included in the final section of this publication.

Hazards

Natural hazards are natural events that may threaten human life. The

most common kinds of hazards include: wind, rain, hurricanes/

cyclones, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, mudslides, landslides,

wildfires, and drought.

Natural hazards do not always cause natural disasters. While

hazard events such as wind, rain, hurricanes, earthquakes, and extreme

freezing conditions may threaten human life and well being, that is

only the case if it occurs in an area of human settlement. Thus, if a

hurricane hits an unpopulated island, it is an example of a hazard, not

a disaster.
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

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Disasters

The definition of a natural disaster is different from a natural hazard

in two important ways. First, a disaster happens when a natural hazard

has human consequences ó such as loss of life, livelihoods, or property.

Second, an event is considered a disaster if the event is beyond the

ability of the local community to cope. Therefore, that same hurricane

striking a populated island would be considered a disaster if the

consequences were so severe that the local community could not cope

using their own resources.

Vulnerability

Vulnerability to disaster is the concept that explains individualsí and

communitiesí susceptibility to the negative consequences of natural

disasters. Disasters are not equal opportunity events and some people

are much more vulnerable than others.

Among the many types of vulnerability are:

Physical/Material ï Poor Housing

Vulnerability ï Community Located in Floodplain

ï Proximity to Volcano

Social/Organizational ï Poverty (lack of savings, insurance)

Vulnerability ï Gender (women not empowered to

make decisions) or other inequalities

ï Age (young people unaware of hazards)

ï Literacy (non-literate unable to read

warning signs)

ï Organizations lack capacity (local

disaster committees have no training)

Cultural/Attitudinal ï Fatalism or cultural beliefs about

Vulnerability hazard control
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Capacities

Despite the considerable vulnerabilities that exist in many communities

in which Volunteers serve, it is important to remember that there are

also many strengths and resources which can, and should, be mobilized

to prepare for and minimize the impacts of natural disasters.

While there are many different kinds of capacities/resources for disaster

work at the local level, some of the most important include:

Physical/Material ï Roads, bridges, transportation

Capacities infrastructure

ï Radios, cellular phones,

communications systems

ï Water tanks, generators, grain storage

silos

ï First aid kits

Human Capacities ï Carpenters, plumbers, roofers

ï Nurses, teachers

ï Womenís committees and youth

groups

ï NGOs, clubs and associations

Social/Cultural ï Traditional ìcoping mechanismsî

(storing food above usual flood levels,

planting famine foods)

ï Indigenous Knowledge Systems

(early warning systems about rainfall

or drought)

ï Traditional ìdisaster-proofî housing

or other technology

The best DPM work builds on existing capacities while reducing local

vulnerability to natural disasters.
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

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Disaster Cycle

In order to effectively plan your interventions in DPM, it is important

to understand that there are three basic phases of natural disasters:

before, during, and after.

The Disaster Cycle

Peace Corps Volunteers are rarely called upon to assist in the ìduringî

or ìreliefî phase of a disaster. Instead, national and international

agencies that specialize in disaster relief are usually the most appropriate organizations to provide services such as search and rescue and

first aid. If Volunteers are asked to assist, their work is usually directed

by local relief organizations, such as the Red Cross or National Emergency Office, and only lasts for a short duration of the acute emergency

phase. Since such actions are usually very short-term and completely

dependent on the local situation, they are not discussed in this Idea

Book.

BEFORE

Preparedness

Mitigation DURING

Response

AFTER

Rehabilitation

Reconstruction
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The more likely and most effective time for Peace Corpsí involvement

is in the before phase ó before a natural disaster even happens. This

is precisely because Volunteers are development workers, not relief

agents. The suggestions in this Idea Book focus on two specific kinds

of activities that can be conducted during the ìbeforeî phase ó Disaster

Preparedness and Disaster Mitigation.

Disaster Preparedness

As the name implies, Disaster Preparedness includes the whole range

of short-term activities that individual people, community groups,

whole communities, regions, and national organizations can put in

place to get ready for potential disasters.

While there are dozens of possible preparedness activities, some of

the most common include:

ï Early warning systems (tornado sirens, flood gauges, radio warnings);

ï Evacuation routes and drills;

ï Emergency kits (first aid equipment, water, matches, batteries,

radio); and

ï Local disaster committee training and preparedness.
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

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Disaster Mitigation

Disaster mitigation, on the other hand, refers to longer-term activities

than can reduce a communityís vulnerability to the impacts of potential

disasters. Disaster mitigation can minimize, or sometimes even

eliminate, the negative impacts on peopleís health, livelihoods, housing,

and general well-being that can be created by wind, water, and other

natural hazards. Put more simply, good development is often the

best disaster mitigation.

Some examples of disaster mitigation activities include:

ï Reforestation;

ï Watershed management;

ï Urban planning and zoning;

ï Improved infrastructure (communications, transportation);

ï Utilization of drought-resistant seed; and

ï Improved construction practices (earthquake-resistant housing).

Reinforced building Antiga
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DPM Activities in

Your Community

As you begin to think about integrating DPM in your work, it is

important to consider the specific situation in the community in which

you work. In communities that have experienced a major disaster quite

recently, interest in and concern about Disaster Preparedness and

Mitigation will probably be quite high. In other places, where the most

recent flood or earthquake may have been fifty years ago or more,

you may need to spend more time soliciting input from the community

and raising awareness about DPM issues. In all communities, you

will need to be sure to utilize your participatory appraisal processes to

determine the specific activities that will be most appropriate.

You can use the following checklist of things to consider as you go

ahead with your DPM planning process:

DPM Checklist:

Initial Questions and Suggested Approaches

Question Suggested Approach

Are natural hazards a ï Participatory tool such as oral

concern in my community? history, historical map, or

While natural disasters are seasonal calendars to gather

very common in the develop- community perspective on

ing world, not all communities disasters.

where Volunteers serve are ï Data gathering of statistical

vulnerable to disasters. information/risk maps from

agencies such as Weather

Service, National Emergency

Committee, or Red Cross.
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

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Which types of hazards are ï Utilize checklist of common

most likely and/or most hazards: cyclones/hurricanes,

worrisome? Remember that flooding, wind storms, earthpeople will sometimes forget quakes, landslides, tsunamis,

about ìsilentî or distant volcanoes, droughts, forest

hazards, such as earthquakes fires.

or seemingly dormant ï Inquire about local hazards

volcanoes. in addition to the common list.

What types of vulnerability ï PACA tool such as community

to disaster exist in my mapping to identify physical

community? People are not vulnerability (houses in floodat equal risk to disasters. Be plain).

sure to think through who ï Participatory tool such as

might be most vulnerable to interviews to identify social

disasters ó and who you vulnerability (gender, age,

might target for your DPM literacy) or economic

activities. vulnerability (lack of insurance,

lack of access to credit).

ï Data gathering from local or

national organizations that

work in DPM.

What types of capacities/ ï PACA tool such as community

resources do people have mapping to identify physical

in my community? Most resources (generators, evacuadisaster ìvictimsî have to tion shelters).

save themselves due to the ï PACA tool such as interviews

long wait for relief to arrive. to identify human resources

Try to identify possible local (plumbers, womenís commitresources that you could draw tees, disaster committees) and

on. social/cultural resources (traditional early warning systems,

coping mechanisms).
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How will my DPM work fit ï Data gathering from local or

in with existing activities in national agencies (Red Cross/

the country? Most countries Crescent, National Disaster

have some, and sometimes Committee, national NGOs,

many, different agencies Civil Defense agency, donor

working in the area of disaster agencies) about existing publimanagement. Be sure to cations or activities

research existing materials ï Interviews with counterparts

and programs so that you can and other community members

draw on those and avoid about programs that may have

reinventing the wheel. worked in the area previously.

How will I integrate DPM ï Participatory planning with

into my existing work in the counterparts can help you to

community? In conjunction decide whether DPM will fit

with your counterpart and within your main sector project.

others in the community, you ï Consultation with other

will need to decide whether Volunteers and with PC staff

you can integrate DPM into can also help you to see how

your sector project or you other Volunteers at your Post

need to add a secondary have integrated DPM in similar

project about DPM. circumstances.
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

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Key Elements of the Planning Process

After you have completed this checklist and the other activities in

your participatory appraisal process, you can begin to think about the

key elements in planning your DPM activity.

Work with community members from concept development

planning all the way through carrying out the activity. The community in which you are working will know what is important to

people, how to phrase your messages, and how to design the

activity.

Conduct a Capacities and Vulnerabilities Analysis (CVA) for

your specific community. Such an analysis insures that you consider both the existing resources (capacities) and the possible vulnerabilities to disasters. This analysis should be conducted in a

participatory manner and should include as many local people as

possible. The following CVA was completed by Volunteers and

national agency counterparts in Vanuatu during a DPM miniworkshop:

Vanuatu CVA ñ July 2001

Capacities Vulnerabilities

Physical/ ï Airstrips ï Small Islands/Isolation

Material ï Roads ï Lack of food storage on

ï Healthcare system islands

ï Generators ï Few options for evacuï Public Works Supplies ation

ï Most remote islands

more vulnerable
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22 Peace Corps

Human ï Doctors, Dressers ï Dependence on

ï Youth Groups committees (lack of

ï Womenís Groups independence)

ï School Staff ï Age

ï Church Groups ï Gender

ï Nakamals ï Linguistic status

(Menís Houses)

Social/ ï Healthcare system ï Chiefsí power is

Cultural seen as important and declining

neutral ï No cultural sense of

ï Chiefs have strong preparation

leadership ï Traditional food storage

ï Traditional architec- not viable

tural knowledge

(cyclone resistant)

Incorporate local knowledge about disasters, natural phenomena, and the ways in which people traditionally cope with

disasters. While traditional knowledge can sometimes seem ìoldfashioned,î local people often have much more detailed knowledge of their micro-environment than a national weather service.

Traditional technologies can be coupled with ìscientificî approaches to increase participation and involvement. In Peru, a

local NGO adapted traditional building practices to create a more

earthquake-resistant house than standard western concrete blocks

would be.

Recognize limitations of local knowledge due to rapidly

changing environments. Although many communities once had

excellent knowledge about natural disasters, new conditions and

situations can rapidly make that information obsolete. For

example, rapid changes in weather patterns, agricultural expansion, road construction, or the local ecosystem can quickly render

traditional knowledge about early warning obsolete. Similarly,
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

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urbanization and rapid cultural change can also lead to a disconnect between local beliefs and the needs of DPM. Volunteers

should be sensitive to those changes and seek to work with

counterparts to address the realities of an often rapidly changing

environment.

Build Capacity in all of your DPM activities. Remember that

the goal in DPM, as in all Peace Corps activities, is to foster selfsufficiency and sustainability. For example, Volunteers in Honduras serve as ìadvisorsî, not as full-time members, to community

disaster committees. During their activities, they work to transfer

skills and knowledge to their counterparts, instead of taking the

lead role themselves. In Ivory Coast, a Volunteer helped to

strengthen a womenís group that decided to utilize the profits

from their agricultural cooperative to build wells for the families

most vulnerable to drought, a good example of long-term disaster

mitigation.

In Vanuatu, the

ìcyclone-proofî and

ìmodernî houses

pictured here are

excellent examples of

the relevance of local

knowledge. According

to Volunteers placed

at this site, the

traditional house

served as the

community shelter

during the storm,

while the ìmodernî

house lost its roof and

required extensive

repairs afterwards.
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24 Peace Corps

Incorporate WID/GAD approaches and analyses in your DPM

activities. Make sure that your analysis of capacities and vulnerabilities to disaster includes a consideration of both men and

women, boys and girls. Such differences can be critically important to activity design. In the Dominican Republic, for example,

a gender analysis revealed that women were excluded from formal

disaster planning (a vulnerability) but had substantial resources/

capacity in the form of organized womenís groups that could be

mobilized for disaster preparedness.

Utilize participatory methods such as PACA and Non-Formal

Education methods in order to insure that you are reaching all

the most vulnerable members of the community. Disaster research

around the world shows that the people who are most vulnerable

to disasters ó the poor, the non-literate, the monolingual, femaleheaded households, the disabled ó are the least likely to be

consulted in DPM activities.

Consider the potential role of IT in your DPM activity. While

much of the work by disaster agencies is increasingly ìhigh tech,î

there is often a tremendous ìdigital divideî between national

agencies and local communities. Utilizing the Peace Corpsí IT

Initiative information, think about information gathering (e.g.,

weather monitoring stations to check rainfall levels at the village

level) and dissemination (e.g., early warning messages for

cyclones or volcanoes) for DPM. Consider how you might provide

a connection (via satellite phone or radio) between the nationallevel GPS mapping system and your communityís need for timely

information about disaster warning.
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

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Work with municipal authorities to develop construction standards for disaster resistant structures, zoning ordnances, and emergency action plans. Volunteers may also be involved in infrastructure planning in order to include disaster contingencies during

the design phase. Such work can help to insure that DPM is

integrated into the responsibilities and day to day activities of

municipal government.

Consult with and involve partner organizations in your DPM

activities. In order to promote sustainability, avoid duplicating

othersí work, and to further encourage capacity-building, be sure

to understand and involve other organizations working in the DPM

area. These might include the National Disaster Management

Office, Civil Defense, or local NGOs. In Belize, for example,

several Volunteers organized a community DPM workshop that

was hosted by the local Red Cross chapter. In Papua New Guinea,

Volunteers distributed publications about Tsunami Awareness that

had been produced by the national disaster office.

Consider the possible intersection of natural disasters and

HIV/AIDs in your project work. Communities with high levels

of HIV/AIDs patients may be especially vulnerable to the impacts

of natural disasters. The presence of both HIV/AIDs and natural

disasters can become a mutually reinforcing phenomenon and

Volunteers may want to design activities that address both

phenomena.
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26 Peace Corps

DPM Activities Any

Volunteer Can Do

Since the best DPM is really just good development, it is not surprising

that virtually all Volunteers can incorporate DPM activities in their

main sector projects. The key to remember is that the best Disaster

Preparedness and Mitigation not only reduces local-level vulnerability

to disaster but also increases local capacities, skills, and resources for

development. If you chose to implement a secondary activity in DPM,

your work may also have the added benefit of enabling you to become

more familiar with the community in which you are serving, thus

helping you to better design and implement your main sector project

as well.

The following are some examples of the variety of DPM activities

that Volunteers and counterparts have planned or implemented thus

far. Since this list is not exhaustive, you should feel free to be creative

and adapt these activities to fit your particular community.

Disaster Awareness Events ñ Volunteers and counterparts have

experimented with a variety of community-level activities that

are designed to raise awareness and initiate the DPM process.

Among the activities that have been tried or planned are:

Poster Contests ñ The Dominican Republic organized a

national poster campaign around the theme of ìdisaster

preparedness.î Working with the National Red Cross as a

partner organization, the contest featured lesson plans for

teachers about disaster issues, the actual poster contest as

an awareness-raising event, and the subsequent distribution

of the winning poster throughout the country.
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

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Community Education Campaigns ñ In Haiti, Volunteers

utilized the Community Content Based Instruction (CCBI)

methodology to develop a series of community education

campaigns in Haitian creole. These campaigns also incorporated local songs and theater activities.

Evacuation Drills and Disaster Simulations ñ Working

with the national disaster agency, Volunteers might participate in organized national ìdisaster awareness daysî or

create community-level tie-ins to those events. Such events

could be easily sponsored in conjunction with schools, youth

groups, womenís groups, farmerís cooperatives, or small

business associations. For example, Madagascar is hoping

to have Volunteers develop floats for annual disaster awareness parades while Samoa is planning to conduct activities

on the same day that the national religious leader issues his

annual ìprayer for cyclone protection.î

Poster contest Dominican Republic
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28 Peace Corps

Camps, Retreats, and Workshops ñ A variety of summer

camps and retreats have been designed and implemented by

education Volunteers. In El Salvador, DPM was added as an

important topic in the existing environmental awareness

camps. In Vanuatu, they are thinking about bringing Youth

groups to see traditional disaster technology (e.g., cyclone

proof housing in traditional villages) as part of their youth

retreats.

Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation Events ñ The range of

possible DPM activities is virtually infinite. Many of these

activities could be developed as secondary activities, or as part

of a DPM strategy that is more closely integrated with your main

sector project.

Community-Based DPM Workshops ñ Peace Corps/

Dominican Republic has decided to make a 3-day DPM

workshop a requirement for all Volunteers during their first

year of service. This workshop focuses on basic disaster

terminology and helps communities to begin the process of

creating both a family emergency plan and a community

emergency plan. A comparable workshop in the Eastern

Caribbean nation of St. Lucia focuses on providing resource

materials and skills transfer for Volunteers and counterparts.

Many of these workshops include key topics such as emergency communications procedures.
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

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Sample Training Plan for a Community-Based DPM Workshop

Example Follow-Up Plan From Honduras

Community: Monjar·s, Marcovia, Choluteca

January February March April May June

Normal Activities: Normal Activities: Normal Activities: Normal Activities: Normal Activities: Normal Activities:

Responsible Responsible Responsible Responsible Responsible Responsible

Person(s): Person(s): Person(s): Person(s): Person(s): Person(s):

Prevention and Prevention and Prevention and Prevention and Prevention and Prevention and

Mitigation Activities: Mitigation Activities: Mitigation Activities: Mitigation Activities: Mitigation Activities: Mitigation Activities:

Implement training 1. Talks at Julia Carry out first 1. Convene Emerworkshop for 15 Zalaya Institutes Annual Hurricane gency Committeemembers of the and Flood AwarenessEmergency Committee 2. Meet with different Week 2. Plan and ImpleCommissions ment Disaster

Simulation

Responsible Responsible Responsible Responsible Responsible Responsible

Person(s): Person(s): Person(s): Person(s): Person(s): Person(s):

Virginia and Mark Virginia and Mark Emergency 1. Mark

Committee 2. Virginia
DPM:

30 Peace Corps

Support for Community Disaster Committees ñ Volunteers

serving in a variety of sectors have been able to provide important

capacity-building for local disaster committees. Such support can

include linkages to national-level resources, technical assistance,

and recommendations about other Peace Corps initiatives, such

as WID/GAD. Gender analysis in Honduras, for example,

revealed that disaster committees had failed to account for femaleheaded households in their disaster planning, making those

families more vulnerable to disasters. In Bangladesh, local disaster

committees have decided to incorporate a disaster mitigation fund

to pay for small-scale projects such as retaining walls and storage

facilities for animal fodder.

DPM Activities as Mechanism for Cultural Preservation ñ

Some Volunteers in the Pacific region are researching traditional

food storage, disaster coping mechanisms, rituals (such as disaster

prevention dances) and traditional building technologies as a

possible activity to preserve traditional culture at the local level.

Communications Infrastructure Support ñ Volunteers might

be able to help with communications systems, IT, or other

technical linkages to national disaster committees and agencies

such as the Red Cross. In some countries, such support has

included helping local disaster committees to acquire appropriate

communications technology. In Antigua, one Volunteer helped

the National Office of Disaster Preparedness to develop a more

user-friendly website.

Risk Mapping with Community Groups ñ Several posts have

tried different versions of this PACA activity, adapted for DPM

use. Volunteers help Community groups or partner organizations

to assess their vulnerabilities to and capacities for responding to

disasters. The mapping exercise can be used as a first step in a

DPM design process.
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

31

Community Risk Mapping

How to Add DPM to this PACA Tool

In order to do an effective risk map, Volunteers should be sure to

work closely with counterparts and involve as many members of

the community as possible in the process. The more people are

involved, the more likely the map will accurately reflect all the

capacities and vulnerabilities to natural disasters, not just those

of the most vocal or most powerful.

The Volunteer and counterpart should jointly facilitate the

following steps to be completed by community members themselves:

Step 1: Complete a physical map of the community.

This might be done after a ìwalkaboutî through the whole area

or it could be done in small groups during a community meeting.

Be sure to encourage the participants to include everything that

they consider to be part of their ìcommunity.î This means housing,

schools and other buildings as well as agricultural lands, hunting

or grazing areas, and any other place that the community would

define as part of their territory.

Participants might use flip chart paper and markers or, if it is more

appropriate, locally available materials like stones, sticks, or

leaves. If the latter are used, be sure to transfer the information to

paper after the exercise so that you (and the community) can have

a permanent record of their work.

Step 2: Add vulnerabilities on top of the physical map.

Using a red marker, pink sticky notes, or other culturally appropriate indicators for danger, warning, or vulnerability, ask

participants to mark vulnerabilities to disaster on their map.

(continued on page 32)
DPM:

32 Peace Corps

Be sure to use good facilitation skills to help them work through

the various types of vulnerability ó physical (busy roads, floodplains, poor housing construction), social/organizational (locations of widows, the elderly, young children), and cultural (e.g.,

religious believers who do not follow national warning messages).

Step 3: Add capacities on top of the physical map.

Using a green marker, green construction paper, or other culturally

appropriate indicators for resources and capacities, ask participants to mark the capacities on their map.

Again, use your facilitation skills to make sure that they consider

physical (water tanks, generators), human (nurses, womenís

groups), and social/cultural (traditional housing, religious beliefs)

that might serve as resources before, during, or after a disaster.

Step 4: Use your completed Risk Map for your DPM Planning

and Activities at the community level.

Depending on what your next steps are, you may want to make

multiple copies of the maps for distribution in schools or churches.

You might simply use the map as a planning tool for the local

disaster committee and use it during those meetings.

(continued from page 31)

Girls creating vulnerability map Dominican Republic
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

33

Income Generation Activities for Vulnerability Reduction ñ

Using a SPA grant, a Volunteer in Paraguay helped a local

womenís group design and implement a milling project in which

they produced chicken feed from soy and corn. The resulting

income from the sale of chickens was utilized to minimize/mitigate

the effects of a long-term drought in an agricultural area where

the failure of the cotton crop had increased womenís vulnerability

to the effects of drought.

Park or Garden Clean Up ñ The common Peace Corps

secondary project of park clean up can also serve as Disaster

Mitigation in areas that are prone to forest fires or in places where

access to evacuation routes is needed.

Tree planting or reforestation ñ In communities where

deforestation and erosion have increased vulnerability to disaster,

Volunteers from any sector could initiate reforestation activities

through schools, youth groups, womenís groups, or any other

local organization. Such reforestation would serve both DPM and

environmental management goals.

Participation in National Disaster Reporting Systems/Early

Warning Systems ñ Volunteers and counterparts can serve as a

ìbridgeî to national level disaster organizations. They can

disseminate information from the National Red Cross or other

agencies to local people but also serve as ìdata collectorsî for

reporting systems and early warning systems. In Niger, Volunteers

are collecting critical information about ìfamine early warning,î

including market prices for key staples. This information helps

relief agencies to target scarce food relief to the neediest areas in

the country. In El Salvador, Volunteers and counterparts who had

been trained with standard national protocols were among the

first people to provide damage reports to the national disaster

response agency after a recent earthquake.
DPM:

34 Peace Corps

Capacity Building for Local Groups ñ In Grenada, Volunteers

have provided capacity building to local groups that are interested

in DPM in a variety of areas including desktop publishing (to

produce disaster materials), web design, classroom activity design,

and mechanisms for community outreach.

Disaster-Proof Construction Techniques ñ Volunteers in the

Eastern Caribbean have incorporated disaster-proof construction

techniques (e.g., hurricane straps) when supporting construction

projects such as latrines, schools, and replacement housing. It is

especially important to consider physical vulnerabilities and avoid

building practices which might exacerbate disaster impacts (e.g.,

do not build in a flood plain or place a school on the other side of

an often-flooded river, endangering the children who would have

to cross it).

Gabion to reinforce stream bank Grenada
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

35

DPM and Agriculture/

Environment

Agriculture/Agroforestry, Environmental Education, and Natural

Resource Management (NRM) are being combined in this section

because many Volunteers who work in these areas are concerned with

the sustainability of the environment as it relates to human activity.

Additionally, many of the economies and societies in which Volunteers

work are ones in which livelihood security, often agricultural in nature,

relies on the natural resource base. These are the very natural resources

activities that tend to be quite sensitive to natural disasters, especially

floods and droughts, but also to catastrophic freezes, earthquakes, and

other natural hazards. Studies from Hurricane Mitch in Central

America, for example, show that poor watershed management and

improper land use contributed needlessly to the toll of death and

destruction in the region. Other studies show that farmers who had

applied soil erosioin techniques were much less affected.

Erosion control ñ ditches and tall grasses Guatemala
DPM:

36 Peace Corps

Volunteers can help contribute to Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation

in the agriculture and environment sector through a wide variety of

activities. Some actions such as reforestation, watershed management,

and soil conservation obviously contribute to both sustainable development and disaster mitigation. However, the full range of food security

and sustainable farming technologies, can also be utilized to both

promote good environmental management and disaster vulnerability

reduction.

Ways in Which Natural Disasters Impact

Agriculture and Environment

ï Destroy crops and devastate household incomes;

ï Kill and displace domestic animals;

ï Damage or destroy agricultural infrastructure (processing facilities,

markets) and storage facilities;

ï Devastate the next seasonís seed supply (rotting in the field or being

eaten by hungry farmers);

ï Make roads impassable to get time-sensitive crops to market;

ï Increase soil erosion and loss of soil fertility;

ï Dramatically increase incidence of pests and opportunistic species;

ï Wash pollutants (oil, garbage) and human waste into streams and

rivers;

ï Further degrade fragile ecosystems, including wetlands, watersheds,

and buffer zones; and

ï In the case of drought, agriculturalists, agroforesters, and

pastoralists might be forced to migrate in search of livelihoods or

wage labor.
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

37

Ideas for DPM Activities in

Agriculture and Environment

ï Extension activities in Guatemala

have focused on activities that promote farmer and partner organization

adoption of sustainable farming

practices, improved Natural Resource Management, and biodiversity conservation.

ï Food security activities in Africa have focused on the distribution

of drought-resistant seed and education of farmers about the

changing natural environment.

ï Educational tours of poor NRM and disaster impacts were

conducted following several disasters in the Central American

region. After showing community leaders and community groups

the devastating impacts of poor NRM first hand, many initiated

better NRM practices in their communities.

ï Wells, fire breaks, siltation dams, and microcatchments were

completed to mitigate drought in Niger.

ï Agricultural education and extension work in the Pacific is

focusing on the importance of diversification (since monoculture

is more vulnerable to natural disasters) and on the importance of

traditional food crops (which are more resistant to wind, rain, and

sea spray from cyclones).

ï Environmental education projects with local NGOs incorporated

DPM awareness and potential activities in order to increase

awareness support capacity-building of NGOs and create ideas for

their future activities.
DPM:

38 Peace Corps

ï Municipal environmental and DPM plans are being developed

by Volunteers and counterparts in the new Municipal Management

projects in Guatemala. The new Village-Based Project in Samoa

has similar plans to focus on village-level capacity for DPM and

other priorities, as defined by the community.

ï Develop construction standards for disaster resistant structures,

including housing, schools, public facilities, and workplaces. Special attention should be given to low cost structures that utilize

local materials and know-how. Municipal authorities also have an

important role to play in ensuring that these standards are both

publicized and enforced.

ï Community Forest Management training has incorporated DPM

training and activities and promoted sustainable forestry throughout

Latin America.

ï DPM awareness has been integrated into existing NRM

education projects such as WET, WILD, and Learning Tree in

the EMA region.

ï Tree Nursery construction in Guatemala included not only tree

nurseries for four schools but also environmental education,

compost training, and the organization of environmental clubs.

ï Fuel-efficient stove distribution was coupled with NRM training

in Nicaragua, in order to decrease deforestation and disaster

vulnerability in disaster-prone communities.
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

39

ï Low-technology retaining walls were constructed in Bangladesh,

after local communities conducted their own vulnerability analysis

and targeted the fields most at risk.

ï Protection of pasture lands from overgrazing and communal

systems to protect animal fodder were set up in drought-prone

East Africa.

ï Locate vulnerable or high risk lands that could benefit from

reforestation, gabion and barrier construction, storm water seepage

ponds, or some other form of management. These could include

riverbanks, steep slopes adjacent to the community, road cuts, urban

developments, and natural areas. Volunteers may be able to provide

technical assistance throughout this process.

ï Small livestock replenishment activities in Honduras helped to

improve diet and income of those impacted by disaster.
DPM:

40 Peace Corps

DPM and the

Health Sector

While the most obvious impacts of natural hazards on human health

include death and injury due to rising water, high winds, or falling

debris, they are only the most immediate impacts that these events

have on health, health infrastructure, and health-seeking behavior in

the aftermath of a disaster. The effects can last for months or even

years. After the major floods in 1999 in Mozambique, for example,

there was an outbreak of cholera due to poor sanitation and crowded

conditions in the temporary shelters for displaced people.

However, the obvious links between the health sector and DPM also

make this sector an obvious candidate for the incorporation of DPM

activities. Such efforts can easily be seen as a natural extension of the

work that Volunteers are already doing in health and water/sanitation

and can often be integrated with comparatively little effort and few, if

any, financial resources.

Flood damaged road Mozambique
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

41

Ways in Which Natural Disasters

Impact the Health Sector

ï Deaths and severe injuries immediately following the disaster;

ï Increased mental health concerns including depression, alcohol and

drug abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress and other anti-social behaviors;

ï Increased risk of communicable diseases, especially when wells

are contaminated and sanitation systems are damaged or destroyed;

ï Increased incidence of ìsecond generationî disasters including

domestic abuse, sexual abuse, rape, and drug/alcohol abuse;

ï Disruption of transportation systems and damage to health facilities

impacts health care delivery and pharmaceutical deliveries ó

communities may be left without health care services for weeks or

months;

ï Healthcare workers leave posts to return to their families ó leaving

communities without health services;

ï Overcrowding, lack of medicines, and unsanitary conditions

possible at major hospitals;

ï Damage to water systems and food storage may exacerbate existing

health problems; and

ï Increased risk of non-communicable diseases (e.g., malaria, dengue

fever) from disasters that result in standing water.
DPM:

42 Peace Corps

Ideas for DPM Activities

in the Health Sector

ï Water Tank Construction was used as a mechanism for drought mitigation in Tonga. Organized and

implemented by the local youth group, with support

from a Volunteer, the project increased the available

water supply for humans, livestock, and agricultural

crops. The capacity-building process incorporated

not only information about tank maintenance but also

about good DPM practices and how to better mitigate

the constant threat of drought in Tonga.

ï Child Survival Volunteers in the Dominican Republic designed a

series of activities integrating DPM including: inviting local Red

Cross chapters to conduct first aid training; developing miniworkshops on DPM and health; and developing/distributing

first aid kits to schools and other community facilities.

ï Aqueduct Construction in the Dominican Republic now integrates

DPM into both construction and maintenance, including four

important DPM steps in every project design: 1) Hazard Analysis

and study of possible effects on the water system (e.g., hurricanes

might lead to the loss of water in the catchment due to river course

changes); 2) Capacities and Vulnerabilities Analysis both before

construction and after completion; 3) Completion of a Risk Map

for future water systems in the community; and 4) Community

DPM in order to insure sustainability.

· Work with municipal authorities involved in road, water and

sewerage infrastructure to include disaster contingencies during

the design phase. For example, increase the size of drainage culverts

downstream of areas that are likely to see increased storm run-off

due to deforestation and urbanization trends.
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

43

ï Support formation and capacity-building of health subcommittees to the disaster committees at the community level.

Such sub-committees can organize for short-term disaster response,

first aid, and provision and supply of medical equipment and

supplies in the event of a disaster.

ï Health Volunteers in Nicaragua integrated their programming

with Environment Volunteers and jointly worked on the design

and implementation of the fuel-efficient woodstove projects.

These activities served to promote DPM (by decreasing deforestation), encourage better Natural Resource Management, and

improve respiratory health ó all at the same time.

ï Health Volunteers in Micronesia utilized their contacts with local

communities to help recruit grassroots promoters for an anticholera campaign.

ï Health Fairs in Ecuador were designed to incorporate DPM health

information, including information about communicable diseases

and the prevalence of second-generation disasters (Post-Traumatic

Stress, sexual violence, alcoholism) in temporary shelters.

ï Post-Traumatic Stress Workshops were developed and implemented in Nicaragua, to help those communities who suffered most

from Hurricane Mitch.

ï First aid training was developed

and provided in conjunction with

national counterparts in several

Central American countries.
DPM:

44 Peace Corps

DPM and Education

Natural disasters, such as floods, extreme cold events, and volcanic

eruptions can have devastating impacts on formal and informal

education alike. The disasters themselves can disrupt learning for days,

weeks, or months. The after effects of the event, including trauma,

displacement of families, health impacts, and the common decrease in

food security all can contribute to negative impacts in the education

sector.

Equally important, however, is the extent to which the education sector

can be an excellent opportunity for building awareness about disaster

preparedness and mitigation and for implementing a variety of activities

that can minimize the future negative impacts of disasters in all sectors,

Public awareness campaign Caribbean
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

45

not just education. The process of curriculum development, both formal

and non-formal, and the training of future teachers are two of the best

examples of places where the integration of DPM can have a

tremendous impact at both local and national levels.

Ways in Which Natural Disasters

Impact the Education Sector

ï Disruption of school calendar due to disaster impacts, including

common use of school buildings as temporary shelters;

ï Disruption of school calendar due to teachersí return to community

of origin following the disaster;

ï Lack of access to schools due to disruptions in transportation

systems, destroyed bridges, and the like;

ï Damage to school structures and equipment;

ï Psycho-social trauma leading to attention-deficit problems and lack

of focus in the classroom;

ï Children removed from school by parents who need their labor to

clean homes, remove mud, replant crops, and engage in other

livelihood practices; and

ï Lack of access to schools due to families becoming homeless and

being relocated in temporary shelters.
DPM:

46 Peace Corps

Ideas for DPM Activities

in the Education Sector

ï Develop evacuation plan and conduct evacuation drills to minimize

risks through the school systems

(using appropriate plans for different

types of hazards).

ï Promote Disaster Preparedness by incorporating DPM into the

curriculum through a variety of classroom activities. In the

Dominican Republic, Volunteers have created a manual which

includes a lengthy list of recommended classroom activities that

can be incorporated into geography, natural science, and history

curricula. These include:

ï Classroom Emergency Plans (evacuation routes, fire planning);

ï Family Emergency Plans (for students to create as homework);

ï Risk Mapping (small group work as part of geography

lesson)

ï Observational Walk across community as ìfield tripî;

ï Weather Forecasting exercise utilizing local periodicals;

ï Mural Paintings promoting disaster awareness; and

ï Dialogues/Theatre/Puppet Shows about DPM.

In Kiribati, Peace Corps staff and Volunteers are working closely with

the Ministry of Education to incorporate DPM information about the

most likely hazards in the island nation, drought and sea rise, into the

national science curriculum.
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

47

ï Incorporate environmental education and DPM in all teacher

training.

ï Work with parent-teacher associations, parentsí clubs, and

other community groups.

ï Develop summer projects in disaster awareness and DPM

training. Volunteers in the education sector in Madagascar are planning to develop disaster awareness activities and events during the

summer school break.

ï Provide DPM information to school staff and train teachers. In

Nicaragua, a Volunteer and counterpart completed DPM training,

including first aid, with school principals and teachers in several

communities.

ï Complete mitigation activities to protect the physical infrastructure of the school. After completing a risk mapping exercise

in El Salvador, the local Volunteer helped school personnel to build

several retaining walls and save the school from further erosion. In

Vanuatu, one Volunteer worked with his secondary school to complete the construction of well covers for the school water supply.

Such covers are an important preventive measure to protect the

water supply from ash storms from the nearby volcano.

ï Design pilot curriculum for highly vulnerable schools. A

Volunteer in the island nation of Grenada developed a pilot curriculum for those schools that were physically vulnerable to disaster.

The Volunteer went on to develop an instructional video to sensitize Grenadian youth about natural hazards, including volcanoes

and hurricanes. The video, was utilized in informational sessions

conducted by the Volunteer and counterpart with over 1200 children

throughout the country.
DPM:

48 Peace Corps

DPM and Youth

Natural disasters and their aftermath impact the whole community

but young people can be especially affected, due to both physical and

cultural factors. Physically, young people are often undergoing rapid

physiological changes and can be especially susceptible to depression,

post-traumatic stress, and the host of communicable diseases which

spread in the aftermath of a disaster. Culturally, youth are often the

least prepared to deal with a natural disaster because of the sense of

invincibility that many young people possess. In the Dominican

Republic, for example, many young men reported that they first thought

that Hurricane Georges was a ìpartyî and an opportunity to ìswing

on the coconut trees.î

Hillside retaining wall being built Grenada
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

49

Most Volunteers working with youth will readily tell you that young

people also bring a tremendous amount of skills, resources, and

capacities. These energies can and should be channeled towards

sustainable development and the reduction of vulnerability to disaster,

especially in those communities at highest risk.

Ways in Which Natural Disasters

Impact the Youth Sector

ï Young people may be called upon to do ìdouble dutyî following a

disaster, taking on more household responsibilities or wage-earning

expectations than they normally would. Sometimes, they are asked

to do tasks (childcare, caring for the ill) for which they are not

prepared;

ï Depression, post-traumatic stress, and increased exposure to communicable diseases;

ï Increased alcohol abuse, drug use, and other vices among young

people;

ï Increased promiscuity, sexual abuse, and cases of rape and incest;

ï Increased sense of hopelessness, lack of direction, and frustration

among youth; and

ï Increased vulnerability due to disbelief about disasters and/or lack

of personal experience with the devastating impacts of past disasters.
DPM:

50 Peace Corps

Ideas for DPM Activities

in the Youth Sector

ï Strengthen youth groups to

enable their participation as Volunteers with national disaster

agencies. In the Pacific, several

countries are exploring the possibility of strengthening youth

councils at the provincial level

and then utilizing them as ìextension agentsî for DPM activities

and disaster response actions as

well.

ï Target youth groups for DPM outreach. In the Eastern Caribbean,

youth councils received DPM training from Volunteers and

replicated their experiences throughout the country. In Vanuatu,

Youth Volunteers are planning to use local Youth Groups to develop

and deliver DPM awareness messages using songs, theater, and

radio performances.

ï Promote youth groups as agents of Disaster Mitigation

programming. In Tonga, a Volunteer helped the local youth group

to design and complete a drought mitigation project, a water tank.

Such activities can easily be supported by youth groups that have

received DPM awareness training and appropriate capacity-building

assistance.

ï Develop and conduct youth camps and activities that capitalize

on youthís interest in the natural environment. Environmental Youth

Camps in El Salvador now incorporate both NRM and DPM

approaches in all of their work.
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

51

ï Promote non-formal education about environmental impacts of

poor farming practice. Environmental education with youth in

Guatemala has included lessons about upstream deforestation and

its impacts on downstream disaster incidents. In Tonga and Samoa,

the Peace Corps is planning to utilize the Farmer-to-Farmer model

to reinforce information about the importance of DPM and sound

environmental management.

ï Utilize DPM as a mechanism for inter-generational work. While

elders often have solid cultural knowledge about traditional practices

(housing, food storage, agriculture), younger people may have good

access to more modern technologies (weather forecasting, satellite

early warning). Youth projects might utilize the combination of

these skills sets in the creation of Disaster Preparedness Plans and

thus build ties between the generations.
DPM:

52 Peace Corps

DPM and Small

Enterprise Development

Many natural disaster events can be devastating for small businesses

and cooperative enterprises in the developing world. The multiple

impacts of loss of inventory, supply networks, and the common

paralysis of the local market are often simply too great a burden for

small business people to endure. It is important that Volunteers working

in this sector incorporate disaster awareness and forecasting in the

development of business plans so that these negative impacts can be

minimized.

Storm surge damage ñ Hurrican Lenny Dominica
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

53

Ways in Which Natural Disasters Impact the

Small Enterprise Development Sector

ï Destruction or damage of inventory and/or equipment due to hazards

(wind, water, freezing temperatures) or ìsecondaryî impacts (lack

of electricity, running water);

ï Lack of insurance, cash reserves, or backup inventory leads to

business decline;

ï Steep decline in sales due to customersí lack of income, distortion

of the local economy due to free disaster relief hand-outs, and

customersí relocation to temporary shelters;

ï Disruption in supply chain and deliveries due to problems with

transportation and communication;

ï Potential for increased sales of emergency items (matches, bottled

water, batteries) if sufficient supply is on hand;

ï Competition with aid agencies that give free handouts; and

ï Loss of money in local economy due to lost crops, livestock, and

other resources.
DPM:

54 Peace Corps

Ideas for DPM Activities in the

Small Enterprise Development Sector

ï Incorporate DPM risk analysis and

planning in business plans. Planning

should include site selection (is the

business located near a floodplain or

do the majority of the customers live

on the other side of an oft-flooded

river?).

ï Organize business owners to be more proactive in DPM in their

communities.

ï Develop and implement disaster mitigation activities in the

workplace such as provision of back-up generators, designation of

dry storage area during rainy season, or alternative supply chain

plans in the event of disaster.

ï Develop preparedness plans for business, staff, and customers.

Include consideration of hazardous materials.

ï Develop an emergency accounting plan to deal with short-term

cash flow problems. Such a plan might rely on short-term loans, a

contingency fund, cooperative lending, or the sale of liquid assets.

ï Consider the products needed by disaster victims and plan

inventory according to the season and likelihood of natural disasters.

In the Dominican Republic, Volunteers and counterparts have

decided to recommend that small businesses consider selling

disaster preparedness kits to local people at a fixed price. Such

kits might include jerry cans, matches, bottled water, candles,

batteries, and battery-powered radios.
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

55

Challenges and Potential

Solutions in Integrating

DPM into Your Work

Like any new initiative, the work to incorporate DPM can sometimes

present challenges for implementation. The following list of challenges

and potential solutions summarizes some of the collective wisdom

from Volunteers, Crisis Corps Volunteers, and Peace Corps staff members who have been working on the integration of DPM throughout

the Peace Corps world. In general, the main advice is for you to be

flexible and adpatable as you move forward with your important DPM

work.

Challenges Potential Solutions

ï Lack of specific Utilize the existing resources in your DPM

tools (information, Training Materials Kit, the ICE Catalog,

materials) for DPM and the additional resources listed at the

end of this Idea Book. Research and contact

potential partner agencies in your country.

ï Lack of financial Most DPM activities (community workresources for shops) can be done for relatively little

DPM activities money. With your counterparts, you may

want to seek out existing funding mechanisms both within the Peace Corps (such as

SPA grants) and external sources (Ambassadorís Special Funds, Rotary, Lionís and

other service NGOs).
DPM:

56 Peace Corps

ï Complacency/lack Recognize that this may be a valid

of concern about cultural perception, depending on how

disasters in the long it has been since the last disaster

local community and also depending on other priorities

(poverty, subsistence). Utilize local resources to illustrate importance (e.g., oral

histories of older residents who are disaster

survivors) and potential threats. Utilize role

plays, dramatizations, and stories from

similar communities to illustrate significance. (See ICE publications #T0104,

#M0042, and #M0052 for ideas about

theater productions.)

ï Fear of losing focus You do not need to address DPM directly

in your project or to work on reducing vulnerability to disasthat your whole ter. If you are aware of disaster vulnerabilproject needs to be ity in your community, you may address it

DPM through the impact of your specific sector.

ï Fear for personal Make sure to review your EAP (Emergency

safety and security Action Plan) for your post. Check with

due to natural your APCD or other staff if you still have

disasters concerns. Educate yourself and prepare

your personal disaster kit.

ï Long-term planning Focus on the immediate steps that can be

seems overwhelming taken. Try not to dwell on the larger issues

to local people that may not be within the communityís

control (e.g., land tenure).

ï Sense of hopeless- Remember that preparedness is always posness about rapid- sible, even for disasters for which there is

onset disasters no early warning. Emphasize the measures

(e.g., earthquakes) that can be taken (having a disaster kit

ready, knowing the safest location in the

house when a tremor starts) and try not to

worry too much about the ìwhat ifs....î
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

57

Additional Resources

on DPM and

Working with Your

Community

The following documents and publications are available from ICE.

Contact your APCD or you In-Country Resource Center for more

information and/or to order these publications.

Publications specifically related to disaster preparedness and mitigation.

ICE #T0123 DPM PST Training Module

ICE #T0124 DPM IST Training Module

ICE #CD057 Community Based Mitigation

ICE #CD020 Disasters and Development

ICE #CD058 Reducing Risk

ICE #CD056 Rising from the Ashes

ICE #T0125 DPM Training Materials Kit
DPM:

58 Peace Corps

Other publications that will assist you with carrying out DPM activities

ICE #M0053 Participatory Analysis for Community

Action

ICE #T0104 Promoting Powerful People

ICE #T01007 The New Project Design and Management

Workshop Training Manual

ICE #T0112 Community Content-Based Instruction

Training Guide and Working with CCBI

Workbook

ICE #M0042 Nonformal Education Manual

ICE #M0052 Above and Beyond: Secondary Activites

for PCVs
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

59

Websites and Internet

Resources on DPM

www.paho.org Pan American Health Organization has

an excellent Emergency Preparedness

Program with publications and links to

other sites in Latin American and

around the world

www.redcross.org American Red Cross

www.fema.gov Federal Emergency Management

Agency

www.usgs.gov/themes/hazard.html U.S. Geological Survey

www.udel.edu/DRC/homepage.htm Disaster Research Center, University of

Delaware

www.ibhs.org Institute for Business and Home Safety

www.usaid.gov/bhr/ofda Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance

(OFDA)

www.colorado.edu/hazards Natural Hazards Research Center

www.reliefweb.int Relief Web

www.disasters.org/deralink.html Disaster Preparedness & Emergency

Response Association

www.uhh.hawaii.edu/~nat_haz Center for Study of Active Volcanoes,

University of Hawaii

www.disasterrelief.org Worldwide Disaster Tracking

information

www.ifrc.org International Federation of Red Cross

and Red Crescent Societies
DPM:

60 Peace Corps
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

61

Got a Good Idea?

Send us your ìideaî suggestions for The Idea Book.

Name:

Address:

Telephone/Fax:

E-mail:

Hereís my idea(s) that might be useful in future idea books:

If necessary, attach additonal sheets to complete description.

Include any samples or photos that help illustrate your project ideas.

Send to: Peace Corps

Information Collection and Exchange

1111 20th Street, NW

Washington, DC 20526

Telephone: (202) 692-2640

Fax: (202) 692-2641
DPM:

62 Peace Corps
Integrating Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Your Work

63

Information Collection

and Exchange

This publication was produced by the Peace Corps Center for

Field Assistance and Applied Research. It is distributed

through the Information Collection and Exchange (ICE). For

further information or additional copies, please contact ICE

and refer to the ICE Catalog number that appears on the

publication.

Peace Corps

Center for Field Assistance and Applied Research

Information Collection and Exchange

1111 20th Street, NW ñ Fifth Floor

Washington, DC 20526

Add your experience to the ICE Resource Center. Send

your materials to ICE or the Center for Field Assistance

and Applied Research so that we can share them with other

Volunteers. Your technical insights serve as the basis for

the generation of Peace Corps manuals, reprints, and

training materials. They also ensure that the Peace Corps

is providing the most up-to-date, innovative problem-solving

techniques and information available to you and your fellow

development workers.

There is a special form at the end of this booklet for submitting your activities for future Idea Books.