“More effective prevention strategies would save

not only tens of billions of dollars, but also save

tens of thousands of lives. Funds spent on
intervention and relief could be devoted to
enhance development instead, which would
further reduce the risk for war and disaster.
Building a culture of prevention is not easy. While the costs of
prevention have to be paid in the present, its benefits lie in a
distant future. ”- Kofi Annan
To give a brief
idea about
community
based disaster
management.
A serious disruption of the functioning of a
community or a society causing widespread
human, material, economic or environmental
losses which exceed the ability of the affected
community or society to cope using its own
resources.

WHO
DISASTER HOUSEHOLD

DROUGHT 645381

FLOOD 1503742

CYCLONE 929410

TORNADO 180422

STORM 377265

THUNDERSTORM 651492

RIVER EROSION 215702

LANDSLIDES 3520

HAILSTORM 518180
Bangladesh bureau of statistics
CBDM is an approach of building the capacity of
communities to assess their vulnerability to both human
induced and natural hazards and develop strategies and
resources necessary to prevent and/or mitigate the impact
of identified hazards as well as respond, rehabilitate, and
reconstruct following its onset.

COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY (CSU)

To minimize the damages caused by disasters, various
efforts have been taken by government, international
communities including donor agencies. It has been
observed that many of the disaster management
programs have failed to be sustainable at local level
after the completion of the project.
A critical element of sustainable disaster management is
communities’ participation in these activities.
The most common elements of community involvement
are-
 partnership
 participation
 empowerment
 ownership by the local people
A communication model
Community Preparedness Programs
Developing Partnerships and Connecting
with the Public
Community Disaster Resilience Programs
Community Disaster Response Team
Effective education and outreach must be based in
a thorough understanding of the process that
individuals go through when they make decisions
about modifying their personal behavior.
First, the locals must be aware of their risk.
Second, they must understand the impacts an event
may have on their family and community.
Third, they must accept the idea that not following
a warning message can result in injury or death.
Finally, they must take action and heed the warning
to evacuate.
Raising awareness about the risks of disaster
Community preparedness can be thought of as the
advance capacity of a community to respond to the
consequences of an adverse event by having plans in
place so that people know what to do and where to go
if a warning is issued or a hazard is observed.
Components of a community preparedness
program include:

Raising public awareness and effecting behavioral change in

the areas of mitigation and preparedness
Deployment of stable, reliable, and effective warning
systems
Development of effective messaging for inducing favorable
community response to mitigation, preparedness, and
warning communications
Making disaster preparedness work
Bangladeshi evacuees head towards shelters as Cyclone ‘Mahasen’
moves towards landfall in Cox's Bazar on May 15, 2013.
A cyclone shelter in Gabtola, Bangladesh.
Media partnerships in raising awareness
In addition to working with the media, it is critical that the
correct community partners are identified. They must
represent a full demographic range of the community. One
place to start thinking about how to target the right
organizations is to consider the elements that make a
community function on a day-to-day basis. If all of these day-
to-day functions can continue after an event, the community
will truly be disaster resilient.
Communications and Coordination
A key to effective hazards management is effective
communication. This is especially true for hazards like tsunamis
and flash floods, since inundation arrival times may be
measured in just minutes. Such a “short-fused” event requires an
immediate, careful, systematic and appropriate response.
Warning Reception
Warning points and community Emergency Operations Centers
(EOC) each need multiple and redundant pathways to receive
warnings and to respond quickly
Warning Dissemination
Upon receipt of warnings suggesting a hazard is imminent, local
emergency officials should communicate the threat to as much of
the population as possible.
Community Preparedness
Public education is vital in preparing communities to respond
properly to threats. An educated person is more likely to take steps
to receive warnings, recognize potentially threatening events, and
respond appropriately to those events.
Administration
No program can be successful without formal planning, proactive
administration, and proper protocols.
The Community Disaster Response Team (CDRT) is
designed to complement and strengthen the existing role of
the District Emergency Organization (DEO) by helping to
increase its capacity.
The Red Cross trains and equips Community Disaster
Response Teams (CDRT) in each community to enable them
to carry out emergency first response when a disaster occurs.
The teams learn:
Fire prevention
Basic search and rescue
First Aid
Initial damage assessment
Shelter management
Psychosocial support
 The main role of the CDRT is to assist with increased
community resilience by:
Working closely with its associated the Dept of Emergency
Management (DEM)
Helping the community to prepare for and respond to disasters
through public education initiatives.
Developing and maintaining a strategic plan.
Mobilizing residents to participate in risk reduction activities
Implementing, updating and testing of plan.
Red Crescent brings safe water
to families displaced by flooding volunteers worked
in Bangladesh with emergency
services in both
rescue and relief.
Engage in public awareness campaign about disasters.
Coordinating disaster management and development
activities.
Community capacity building at the social, economic and
environmental levels.
Enhancing community preparedness for disasters and in
building social capital.
Educating people on how to mitigate the consequences of
disasters during relief, recovery and reduction preventive
strategies periods.
Playing a monumental role in providing psychological
support e.g. counseling for disaster survivors.
Tracking people down for family reunions after disasters.
Communication particularly utilizing interpersonal
communication for disseminating warning signals.
Recruiting local volunteers who are familiar with the local
logistics, resource and coordination plans.
A contingent of trained community organizers and policy
advocates is the group most capable of promoting the
needs of marginalized citizens who are displaced or who
have returned but are living in substandard conditions.
Afghan Training and livelihood Initiative
UNCRD Hyogo Office carried out “Afghan Training and
Livelihood Initiative (ALTI)” in Afghanistan from October 2002
to June 2003. As Afghanistan is an earthquake prone country, and
is located in one of the most active seismic belts of the world,
seismic risk needs to be incorporated in its rehabilitation process.
Patanka New Life (PNY) Plan
After the Gujarat earthquake of January 2001, PNY was initiated as
joint initiative of diverse organizations including government, non-
government, academics and international organizations for
community based effective rehabilitation. The aim of the initiative
was to train and empower local masons and communities with
proper earthquake-safer technologies focusing on local tradition
and culture. Emphasis was to ensure confidence building and long-
term use of traditional technologies.
School Earthquake Safety Initiative
The United Nations Centre for Regional Development
(UNCRD) is, currently, promoting School Earthquake Safety
Initiative through a project “Reducing Vulnerability of School
Children to Earthquakes” jointly with UN Department of
Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) in Asia-Pacific
region.
The Government of Bangladesh under the project "Support to
Comprehensive Disaster Management" took a number of
initiative for community based disaster management. The
program includes development of Local Disaster Action Plan
(LDAP)
It organizes quite good number of training and awareness
campaign at local level. Total 900 numbers of LDAPS had
been developed as of today.
Local Disaster Action Plan: Risk minimization is the basis of
local disaster action plan. DMB responsible for designing and
guiding LDAP under the project of “Support to Disaster
Management." Components of plan :
Union profile with hazard and vulnerability map.
Formation of DMC and its responsibilities.
Details of Action plan including various volunteer Groups
sub-committees with specified responsibilities.
 List of locally available resources with particulars of owners
for use during emergency situation.
Disaster Management Bureau
Awareness Building
Capacity Building
Community Mobilization
Preparation of CBDM local level plans integrating local
wisdom and indigenous methods
Local institutions should demonstrate efficient disaster
preparedness and response delivery.
Government should empower local institutions through
National policies which could promote establishment of on-
site disaster management system
Young generations can take part in raising awareness and
providing mechanisms of taking care of most vulnerable
households by using the social networks e.g. Facebook.
Volunteers and social workers can form groups which will
be available and very useful in times of disasters.
Vulnerable communities and disaster victims can form
their own groups for their psychological support, tracing
the lost relatives, sharing of grief and assisting the most
affected.
Community groups can be used to initiate small scale
enterprises by the victims of disasters in order to restore
their economic power.
Groups can be supported to assist disaster victims in
conducting funerals and assisting the orphans and
vulnerable children's.
 Government, development partners and other stake
holders can establish community enterprise funds which
can be channeled through groups.
The environment before and after the disasters has a large impact
on the ability of people to recover. The immediate coping after the
disasters could be solved by various emergency efforts.
We had been suffering from lots of disasters over the years.
Natives know how to fight disasters from experience.
It is our policy makers who are responsible for making a holistic
disaster management policy so that our people can know the best
possible way of preventing and fighting disasters.