When disaster strikes...the United Nations response to natural disasters.

When disaster strikes . . .

In the early hours of Sunday, 30 October 1983, an earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale hit the mountainous Erzurum region of eastern Turkey. Whole villages were demolished, more than 1,346 people were killed--nearly twice as many as in the well-known 1906 San Francisco earthquake--33,000 were left homeless, and roads and communications were disrupted, cutting off the entire region from the outside world.

Within hours of the first reports of the earthquake reaching the outside world, an official from the Office of the United Nations Disaster Relief Co-ordinator in Geneva was on his way. His mission: to assess the damage and estimate the relief requirements of the victims. His reports from Turkey formed the basis both of the United Nations Disaster Relief Co-ordinator's appeal and of the subsequent situation reports which were sent out to all major relief donors of the world. These reports gave a graphic picture of the destruction in the region and the changing relief requirements of the victims. Contributions received in response to that appeal amounted to over $21 million, and covered all relief needs within one month of the earthquake.

This is but one example of how the Office of the United Nations Disaster Relief Co-ordinator, known as UNDRO, answers the distressingly frequent number of disasters in the world.

Natural disasters have been called the greatest destroyer of lives, goods and property after war. On an average, 20 major disasters of various types occur in the world each year. In the dozen years from 1970 to 1982 alone, according to United Nations estimates, over 1 million persons were killed and property worth $46 billion was destroyed in cyclones, hurricanes and tornadoes, earthquakes, floods and other disasters. In that period, windstorms took 354,000 lives and caused $12.7 billion in material damage; earthquakes killed 442,000 persons and did $18.6 billion in damage; floods killed 64,000 and destroyed $9 billion in property.

By its mandate, the Office of the United Nations Disaster Relief Co-ordinator is the focal point, within the United Nations system of organizations, for disaster relief matters. In a computerized Co-ordination Centre at its Geneva headquarters, UNDRO's staff receive and quickly process data on large-scale emergency situations of all kinds--natural or man-made. Often this work is being done even while disasters threaten, for one of UNDRO's functions is to try to take advantage of the information provided by early warning systems. Its staff of 50 people co-ordinates the relief activities of United Nations agencies with those of other intergovernmental, governmental and voluntary agency efforts, so as to try to ensure that the right relief items reach the right place, in the right quantity, at the right time.

Unlike many other United Nations bodies, UNDRO itself is not a supplier of goods and services. Its main concern is information: supplying urgently needed assessments of emergency requirements and proposing solutions to problems. Processing data for large, extremely complex emergencies where a variety of factors and tangled logistics, and often more than one country, are involved, it relays this information to those concerned--the actual and potential donors, officials and the international community in general--letting them know how much aid is needed and what kind. Thus it helps to expedite delivery of aid, prevents waste, and tries to ensure that no essential relief item is overlooked.

HISTORY AND MANDATE OF UNDRO

The history of disaster relief efforts by the community of nations goes back to 1927, when the International Relief Union was established under the aegis of the League of Nations. After the Second World War, several relief agencies were established by the United Nations, including the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration which ceased activities in 1947, the International Refugee Organization and its successor, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). United Nations operations in Korea, the Congo, the Indian subcontinent and South-East Asia also led to the provisions of assistance to displaced civilians. Specialized agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have long been active in disaster relief. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), as well as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have undertaken disaster preparedness and reconstruction projects since the late 1950s.

In the immediate post-war period, natural disasters were considered to be within the competence of the League of Red Cross Societies and other voluntary agencies. None of the United Nations relief agencies received a specific mandate to handle them. But gradually it came to be recognized that the United Nations system had a role to play. In 1965 the General Assembly approved a proposal by the Secretary-General that the Working Capital Fund, included in the United Nations budget, be used to provide funds for emergency relief. He also reported on the importance of pre-disaster planning in disaster-prone countries.

Then, in the late 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s, a series of unconnected disasters took a great number of lives and caused extensive devastation around the globe. These included earthquakes in Nicaragua and Peru, drought in Afghanistan, floods in Hungary, Jordan, Malaysia and Romania, and a cyclone and tidal wave in what is now Bangladesh.

The international community responded with vast quantities of relief aid. In 1970 the Office of Inter-Agency Affairs was designated to be the focal point for co-ordination of relief from the United Nations system during emergency operations. Still, at the scene of many emergencies, relief agencies reported that aid too often failed to achieve the purposes for which it was sent. Sometimes supplies arrived in duplicate, or too late. Relief donors were unable to find reliable information on requirements or to obtain assurances that supplies could be handled and distributed to those in need.

On 14 December 1971, the General Assembly took action to remedy the situation. By resolution 2816(XXVI), it established a single central office within the United Nations system to co-ordinate and strengthen relief efforts.

Pointing out the necessity to ensure prompt, effective and efficient response to a Government's need for assistance in a natural disaster "or other disaster situation', the Assembly called upon the Secretary-General to appoint a Disaster Relief Co-ordinator who would report directly to him. The Co-ordinator was given three broad functions: (1) the co-ordination of relief; (2) the provision of assistance in pre-disaster planning and disaster preparedness; and (3) the promotion of disaster prevention.

The resolution spelled out his specific tasks:

To establish and maintain the closest cooperation with all organizations concerned, and to make all feasible advance arrangements with them to ensure the most effective assistance;

To mobilize, direct and co-ordinate the relief activities of the various organizations of the United Nations system in response to a request for disaster assistance from a stricken State;

To co-ordinate United Nations assistance with that given by intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, in particular by the International Red Cross;

To receive, on behalf of the Secretary-General, contributions offered to him for disaster relief assistance to be carried out by the United Nations, its agencies and programmes for particular emergency situations;

To assist the Government of the stricken country to assess its relief and other needs and to evaluate the priority of those needs, to disseminate that information to prospective donors and others concerned, and to serve as a clearing-house for assistance extended or planned by all sources of external aid;

To promote the study, prevention, control and prediction of natural disasters, including the collection and dissemination of information concerning technological developments;

To assist in providing advice to Governments on pre-disaster planning in association with relevant voluntary organizations, particularly with the League of Red Cross Societies, and to draw upon United Nations resources available for such purposes;

To acquire and disseminate information relevant to planning and co-ordinating relief for disasters, including the improvement and establishment of stockpiles in disaster-prone areas, and to prepare suggestions to ensure the most effective use of available resources;

To phase out relief operations under his aegis as the stricken country moves into the stage of rehabilitation and reconstruction, but to continue to interest himself, within the framework of his responsibilities for relief, in the activities of the United Nations agencies concerned with rehabilitation and reconstruction;

To prepare an annual report for the Secretary-General, to be submitted to the Economic and Social Council and to the General Assembly.

UNDRO began its work in Geneva in March 1972 in temporary office space with a staff of six and an annual budget of $330,000. In the following years, with additional staff often borrowed from other United Nations agencies, UNDRO worked out its basic procedures. Still operating on a very small scale and coping with lack of funds, the Office responded, within the limits of its resources, to nearly 60 emergencies throughout the world before it was realized that extra resources, both human and financial, were essential for the proper fulfilment of the mandate.

The mandate itself raised several questions: The "other disaster situations' referred to in the Assembly's resolution were not defined. Did they include "man-made' disasters (war, civil strife, genocide), "creeping' disasters (droughts, epidemics, famines); and "accidental' (maritime, industrial, nuclear) disasters? In allocating its resources, what was the proper balance between UNDRO's relief activities and its prevention, preparedness and pre-disaster planning functions? How much of an operational role, if any, should it play supplying relief? And where did the critical "emergency' phase end, inasmuch as requests from stricken countries for assistance and from donor countries for information often continued well beyond the ending of immediate relief operations, into the rehabilitation phase?

These are the functions UNDRO sought to reconcile as it responded to emergency after emergency throughout the following decade--at the same time assessing its performance, improving its methods, strengthening its capacity and effectiveness, drawing up guidelines.

Late in 1974, the General Assembly established a trust fund with the intention of strengthening UNDRO, and over the next two years the number of posts authorized rose to 49, with a corresponding increase in funding for operational expenses such as communications and travel.

In 1980 the Assembly reaffirmed UNDRO's mandate and added new responsibilities, at the same time calling for further specific steps to be taken to improve the capacity and effectiveness of the Office.

Individual agreements were negotiated with other agencies within the United Nations system, each defining the respective responsibilities of the parties according to their mandates. Detailed guidelines were developed under which, in cases of exceptional or complex natural disasters, a United Nations "lead entity' would be selected by the Secretary-General after consultations at the international level.

MANAGING DISASTER RELIEF

To gather data in order to fulfil its mandate "to ensure prompt, effective and efficient response to a Government's need for assistance', UNDRO relies on a number of governmental and non-governmental sources for a 24-hour-a-day global monitoring of actual and potential disaster situations. These listening posts include Sweden's Hagfors Observatory and the United States National Earthquake Information Service (for earthquakes), the World Meteorological Organization with its system of synchronous-orbit meteorological satellites (for severe storms), ground and satellite crop-observation systems of the United States Environmental Data Information Service and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (for droughts and agricultural disasters), and the tsunami (giant sea-wave) warning system of the International Tsunami Information Centres in Hawaii and Alaska.

It is not UNDRO's function to warn a Government of the approach of, for example, a severe tropical storm, but the knowledge of its approach does enable certain preparatory action to be taken. When a sudden disaster, such as an earthquake, occurs, UNDRO alerts the international donor community, and in some cases offers its assistance directly to the Government concerned. However, in common with other United Nations bodies, UNDRO can act only at the request of that Government. As soon as practicable after the disaster, a rapid assessment of the damage done is telexed to UNDRO in Geneva by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) representative based in the country where the disaster has occurred. (Stationed in over 100 developing countries, UNDP officials co-ordinate and oversee development projects for numerous United Nations bodies and specialized agencies. They serve as the permanent representatives of UNDRO and, at times of disaster, are often assisted by an UNDRO relief co-ordination officer sent from Geneva.) The damage assessment is compared with data programmed into UNDRO's Co-ordination Centre data bank and with information from other sources, such as the League of Red Cross Societies, so as to provide an overall picture of the emergency and the basis of the appeal which the UNDRO Co-ordinator then makes to the international community.

In the more serious and widespread emergencies (some of which may affect several countries), specialists are brought in, but increasingly multi-agency assessment missions are organized to go to the scene and assess the needs.

Once an assessment of needs is made, and concerted relief programmes are developed with the agencies concerned, united appeals for funds and supplies are launched for the affected country on behalf of the Secretary-General. These appeals provide potential donors with an overview of the proposed relief programme.

A cabled report might go something like this:

Donors are free to respond as they wish, either through bilateral contributions, by direct support of the programmes of specialized agencies or other organizations, or through a contribution to UNDRO as the focal point for the whole operation. The aim is to meet the requirements without duplication or gaps. For instance, a severe drought calls not only for emergency food aid but often also for transport, and usually for medical attention.

As the international community responds to UNDRO's appeals, an UNDRO representative at the site of the disaster, or the local UNDP representative/resident co-ordinator, co-ordinates the activities of relief groups and files constant reports with UNDRO in Geneva. At its headquarters, UNDRO records contributions and reconciles them with outstanding needs. This process of interchange of information continues throughout the emergency phase of all disasters in which UNDRO is requested to assist.

As part of the Office's mobilization and co-ordination function, UNDRO staff in Geneva organize meetings of potential donor Governments and representatives of the United Nations system and other organizations involved in humanitarian relief. These integovernmental organizations include the European Economic Community, the League of Arab States and the Organization of African Unity. To improve relations, a staff-exchange scheme has been initiated with these organizations, liaison officers have been nominated, and joint seminars held.

A growing number of non-governmental organizations are associated with UNDRO's relief programmes. Some of these organizations are subcontracted to execute UNDRO-financed operations, such as, for example, the Red Cross of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Middle East Council of Churches, OXFAM (formerly the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief), Catholic Relief Services, CARE and World Vision International.

As donors make relief available, UNDRO organizes transport. The Office stays in constant contact with international shipping lines and airlines, arranging where possible free transport of relief freight and personnel. UNDRO can also obtain helicopters and trucks needed to transport supplies from airports and docks to the crisis centre. While supplies are being delivered, UNDRO remains in constant touch with both suppliers and the concerned Government, acting as a conduct for information on the kind, quantity and timing of the supplies.

The key elements of each successful relief operation are co-ordination, speed and efficiency. To achieve these, the Office aims first to obtain accurate information on the emergency, next to assess urgently what assistance can best be provided by the international community, and then to communicate that information to potential donors.

UNDRO's mandate does not cover most post-emergency work; that is the job of numerous other United Nations agencies and assistance programmes, some of which have been established for that specific purpose for individual countries or regions. Thus, when the immediate emergency is over, and as the country moves into the stage of rehabilitation and reconstruction, UNDRO's relief activities are phased out. The data is has accumulated and proposals for development projects, which are drawn up as soon as possible by the relevant agencies, are passed on to the appropriate programme or organization of the United Nations system responsible for overseeing post-emergency activities. The reconstruction phase is often the best time to promote the inclusion of disaster prevention measures in the redevelopment projects; and it is also a time when a Government's interest in improving its disaster preparedness arrangements is likely to be increased.

SOME EXAMPLES OF UNDRO'S ACTIVITIES

During its first 10 years, UNDRO helped co-ordinate relief in more than 215 major disasters; $1.2 billion worth of international assistance was reported to it, mobilized by it or channelled through it. In the three years between 1981 and 1984, some $17.5 million worth of disaster assistance was channelled through UNDRO by individual donors. These figures are not entirely indicative of the total amount of aid, however, since many donors giving supplies and services do not ascribe monetary values to their help. In the same time span, UNDRO was directly involved in and launched international appeals for 108 major natural or man-made disasters.

UNDRO's reponse to the 1983 earthquake in Turkey has already been mentioned. Some of UNDRO's other larger recent efforts have concerned:

Angola: In 1981 UNDRO organized and led a multi-agency fact-finding mission to Angola in connection with the population displaced during civil strife in the southern provinces and central plateau. The country's difficult economic situation had been further complicated by drought. UNDRO launched a major appeal, and worked with the UNDP resident co-ordinator in Angola to co-ordinate the relief programme. In response to UNDRO's appeal, contributions to Angola totalled about $14 million.

Chad: One of the least developed countries of the world, Chad has known sporadic fighting almost continually since 1965. In 1980, concerned at the catastrophic emergency situation in Chad which followed these years of civil strife, destroying the infrastructure and agriculture and displacing much of its population, the General Assembly appealed to the international community for an aid programme to answer the needs of the country's people. In 1981 the Secretary-General designated UNDRO the co-ordinating agency for emergency relief. An International Conference on Assistance to Chad, convened by UNDRO in 1982, drew up an emergency programme. From 1982 to 1984, cash contributions for the Chad programme received through UNDRO totalled $3.5 million, and contributions reported to UNDRO amounted to some $165 million.

China: In 1981 and 1982, UNDRO initiated and led two multi-agency missions to China in connection with a prolonged drought and heavy floods in the north and central provinces of Hebei and Hubei. These disasters had seriously affected the lives of 20 million people. The mission's reports provided the bases for the international community's response--some $25 million--and for a follow-up evaluation of the international relief programme and its impact.

Ethiopia: Since 1973, Ethiopia has been suffering from a prolonged drought, and has received assistance through UNDRO since that year. In 1983 and 1984, UNDRO organized several relief missions to Ethiopia, including one inter-agency mission. The total monetary value of the international relief assistance to Ethiopia under this programme had amounted to $354 million by February 1985.

Gambia: In 1981 civil unrest caused heavy loss of life and considerable damage to the Gambia's vulnerable economy and infrastructure. At the Secretary-General's request, UNDRO organized a multi-agency assessment mission in August 1981. The Government and the mission agreed on a three-month emergency food-assistance programme for the 120,000 most severely affected persons (one fifth of the country's population). The joint United Nations/FAO World Food Programme granted emergency assistance for 70,000 people, and an UNDRO emergency allocation bought 83 tons of rice. Within one month, the emergency operation, which included medical, communications and transport assistance, was successfully completed, virtually all emergency needs having been met. Contributions recorded by UNDRO exceeded $12 million, of which the United Nations system contributed well over $1 million.

Mozambique: Heavy rainfall in 1981 caused extensive flooding in Mozambique. An UNDRO-led multi-agency assessment mission reported that 160,000 people had lost their subsistence crops. UNDRO provided emergency financial assistance for the purchase of light boats and medical supplies. Since March 1982, UNDRO has issued 34 situation reports in respect of drought, typhoon damage and internal strife. A further interagency mission took place in January 1984, and contributions reported to UNDRO amounted to $132 million by December 1984.

Viet Nam: Following four typhoons in October 1983, and at the request of the Government of Viet Nam, UNDRO appealed for assistance for the affected population of that country. In response, contributions in cash and in kind totalled $2.3 million by the end of the year.

During 1984, UNDRO devoted major attention to the considerable needs of the countries affected by the drought in Africa. The Office has prepared relief plans for Benin, Botswana, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique and Rwanda, among others. As of November 1984, those countries had received about $160 million in cash contributions, in addition to substantial donations of foodstuffs and other assistance in kind.

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND PREVENTION

In addition to gathering information and co-ordinating relief efforts, UNDRO assists in raising the standard of pre-disaster planning and preparedness, including disaster assessment and relief management capability, in disaster-prone countries, as well as promoting the study, prevention, control and prediction of natural disasters.

Over the years, the international community has become increasingly alarmed by disasters, which have tended to be more destructive as they affect ever-larger concentrations of population. International response was originally directed primarily to relief action, but it is now increasingly realized that the actual and potential consequences of disasters are becoming so serious, and increasingly global in scale, that much greater emphasis has to be given to planning and prevention. The humanitarian and social effects of disasters, important as they are, are not the sole reason for this. The economic effects of disasters form a formidable obstacle to national development, and may even cancel out any real economic growth which has been achieved. Moreover, the work of rehabilitation and reconstruction diverts resources, both national and international, from future development into the reestablishment of the status quo ante. Governments are now more aware of the need to pay much greater attention to disaster preparedness and prevention, recognizing that they should from an integral part of national development policies.

Disaster prevention and preparedness consist of a wide range of measures, both long- and short-term, designed to save lives and limit the amount of damage that might otherwise be caused by the event. Prevention is concerned with long-term policies and programmes to prevent or eliminate the occurrence of disasters. The corresponding measures are taken in such fields as legislation, physical and urban planning, public works and building.

Preparedness is not limited only to the short-term measures which are taken during a warning period before the impact of a disaster event: it must be supported by legislation and be concerned with operational planning; education and training of the population at large, and the technical training of those who will be required to help in a relief operation; stockpiling of supplies; and emergency funding arrangements. The more effectively these tasks are carried out in advance, the more readily will it be possible to take also the action necessary during the emergency phase itself and in the later phases of relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction.

To carry out this work, UNDRO, when requested by Governments, provides the services of experts, who undertake advisory missions to disaster-prone developing countries.

UNDRO has, in the recent past, undertaken projects such as:

--Establishing, with assistance from the Swiss Disaster Relief Unit, a co-ordination and information centre for emergencies in Chad, gathering information on the arrival and movement of relief goods and publishing a monthly statement of stocks and distribution by donor and region.

--Planning, in co-operation with UNDP and the United States Agency for International Development, a project for strengthening disaster management in Indonesia. This followed a volcanic eruption in Indonesia in 1982, and a review by a specialist in disaster management (seconded by the Swedish Stand-by Force for Disaster Relief) of national relief and rehabilitation activities.

--Sending an expert mission to the United Republic of Tanzania to draw up proposals for working procedures for government ministries, the Tanzanian Red Cross and the Tanzanian National Disaster Relief Committee. The Committee is a central body which had been created following previous UNDRO recommendations. The mission worked out a plan for an in-service training programme for that Committee's key personnel.

Some projects currently helping countries set up or strengthen preparedness also include a disaster prevention component. This is in line with UNDRO's efforts to promote the adoption of a unified strategy incorporating all the elements of both preparedness and prevention.

Among the many intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations active in disaster preparedness and prevention with which UNDRO has co-operated are:

--The Pan-Caribbean Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Project, which, with its headquarters in Antigua, covers 28 island countries and territories. The project was established by several agencies, or which UNDRO was one, but it is now administered by the secretariat of the Caribbean Community. UNDRO remains responsible for the technical supervision of disaster prevention, prepardness and communication work;

--The WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones, upon which seven countries are represented and whose sessions review recommendations on the state of disaster preparedness in the region covered by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific;

--The UNESCO/UNDRO project on earthquake risk reduction in the Balkan region;

--The FAO/WMO/European Space Agency training project on satellite applications to flood control and forecasting, which holds annual courses for flood-management personnel from all over the world;

--The International Atomic Energy Agency, which is producing a number of manuals on preparedness for possible accidents at nuclear power plants and the off-site consequences which might follow such events.

In addition, URDRO has taken an active part in several other preparedness and prevention projects, training programmes, seminars and meetings.

While most of UNDRO's prevention activities are combined with preparedness programmes, there are several areas to which UNDRO devotes particular attention in prevention programmes. These include earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions, the use of space technology, industrial accidents, and health and housing.

UNDRO has also now nearly completed a compendium on the "state of the art' in disaster prevention and mitigation. This project has resulted in the publication of 11 monographs. A second component of the Strategy in progress is the compilation of a "world survey of disaster damage'.

UNDRO also publishes, as part of its public information progamme, monographs on subjects such as building emergency shelters, maintaining sanitation, and other topics related to disaster relief. A current list of publications available is given on page 16.

PROPOSED CONVENTION TO SPEED UP DELIVERY OF EMERGENCY AID

Getting relief supplies to the persons who need it is not always an easy task. Among the most troubling obstacles which UNDRO has found are those which have arisen from too great an insistence upon bureaucratic, legal, or even commercial, procedures designed by Governments for use when the stress of an emergency is not felt. It has happened that, during the process of supplying aid, overflight or landing clearances for relief aircraft have been refused or delayed; entry visas for relief personnel have not been forthcoming quickly; favourable exchange-rates have been denied to relief units; and relief personnel have been refused authorization to use their own radio transmitters and wavelengths. Other legal problems can also arise from the presence of foreign relief workers in a country. Privileges and immunities to enable them to work efficiently and effectively may be necessary, and normal rules government import duties and restrictions for relief supplies may need to be waived.

In an attempt to discover how to deal with these problems, UNDRO joined with the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in 1976 and 1977 to survey the obstacles encountered in delivering relief and to recommend ways of removing them. The proposals made received a cautious welcome in intergovernmental bodies. Work on the subject continued during the following years. In 1982 the United Nations Institute for Training and Research and the International Law Association each proposed guidelines for dealing with the delivery of relief after disasters. UNDRO invited an independent consultant to propose solutions in international law to these problems. His report was reviewed by an informal group of international lawyers and representatives of United Nations agencies which, in 1983, prepared draft proposals for a convention offering specific legal definitions and guidelines for delivery of emergency assistance. These proposals are still under consideration by the United Nations.

Table:

Photo: Drought

Chad--1984

Photo: Hurricanes

Dominica--1979

Photo: Fires

Burma--1984

Photo: Locusts

East Africa--1980

Photo: Earthquakes

Turkey--1983

Photo: Landslides

Brazil--1984

Photo: Floods

Viet Nam--1983

Photo: Storms

Madagascar--1984