Paper guidelines for 5th Building Resilience Conference 2015

First Author,

Research Institute for the Built and Human Environment, University of Australia

(email: )

Second Author,

Research Institute for the Built and Human Environment, University of Australia

(email: )

Abstract

The risks and vulnerabilities exposed by natural hazards and disasters are on the rise globally, and the impacts are severe and widespread: extensive loss of life, particularly among vulnerable members of a community; economic losses, hindering development goals; destruction of the built and natural environment, further increasing vulnerability; and, widespread disruption to local institutions and livelihoods, disempowering the local community. Rising population and infrastructures, particularly in urban areas, has significantly increased disaster risk, amplified the degree of uncertainty, challenged emergency arrangements and raised issues regarding their appropriateness

Keywords: Disaster mitigation, Enhanced lifecycle, Disruptive challenge, Resilience, Knowledge management

1.Background

1.1Natural hazards, disasters and human settlements

Heritance Kandalama near Dambulla was again the setting for a major international conference on the development of societal resilience to natural and human induced disasters. The International Conference on Building Resilience welcomed over 65 international and 45 Sri Lankan academics, practitioners, professionals and policy makers concerned with interdisciplinary approaches to disaster risk reduction, and the development of sustainable communities and cities. The conference had a particular focus on the challenges associated with reconstruction of communities in a post-war environment.

The conference programme incorporated keynote addresses by respected government officials, leading industrialists and implementers, and distinguished local and international academics. The Chief Guest, Minister of External Affairs, Hon Professor G L Peries, and Guest of Honour, Mrs Marina Mohamed, Secretary, Ministry of Disaster Management Sri Lanka, welcomed delegates and provided an important policy context for the subsequent debate, highlighting national priorities and action plans. They also established an expectation that the conference will serve as an impetus for further action in helping Sri Lanka to tackle the challenge of disaster risk.

Table 1: A summary of the types of disaster in Europe 1990-99

Region
Type / Eastern
Europe / Western
Europe / Northern
Europe / Southern
Europe / Total
Drought / 3 / 1 / 2 / 7 / 13
Earthquake / 8 / 4 / 1 / 18 / 31
Epidemic / 12 / 2 / - / 1 / 15
Extreme Temperature / 17 / 5 / 3 / 4 / 29
Flood / 37 / 26 / 8 / 23 / 94
Industrial Accident / 28 / 19 / 9 / 12 / 68
Miscellaneous Accident / 18 / 16 / 4 / 7 / 45
Slides / 6 / 5 / 2 / 4 / 17
Transport Accident / 49 / 36 / 25 / 43 / 153
Volcano / - / - / 1 / 1 / 2
Wild Fires / 8 / 2 / - / 12 / 22
Wind Storm / 15 / 26 / 16 / 10 / 67
Total / 201 / 142 / 71 / 142 / 556

1.2Components of a disaster

Natural hazards like earthquakes, however intense, inevitable or unpredictable, translate to disasters only to the extent that the population is unprepared to respond, unable to cope, and, consequently, severely affected. An earthquake will cause little damage if it takes place in an empty desert. It may also cause little damage if it takes place where people can afford to be well protected. Hence, a natural event only causes serious damage when it affects an area where the people are at risk and poorly protected. Disasters occur when these two factors are brought together (Figure 1):

Figure 1: Components of a Disaster

1.3Resilience

The concept of resilience has arisen from an amalgamation of historic developments in the disaster planning process. It has a focus on disaster and addresses the ability of the community to recover following the impact of a disastrous event [1]. Karim [2] define resilience from the perspective of risk as, “the capacity to use change to better cope with the unknown: it is learning to bounce back” and emphasise that, “resilience stresses variability”...

2.Construction's role in resilience and recovery

Although more robust construction in and of itself will not eliminate the consequences of disruptive events, there is widespread recognition that the engineering community has a valuable role to play in finding and promoting rational, balanced solutions to what remains an unbounded threat [3]. There has been considerable research aimed at developing knowledge that will enable the construction of a generation of buildings that are more robust and safer, for example, through reduction of injury inducing blast debris, the development of glazing materials that do not contribute to the explosion-induced projectile hazards and have enhanced security application, as well as the integration of site and structure in a manner that minimises the opportunity for attackers to approach or enter a building...

3.ISLAND: Inspiring Sri-Lankan reNewal and Development

In recognition of the need for a disaster knowledge networking platform to facilitate interaction and simultaneous dialogue with related expertise, the school of the Built Environment at the University of Salford, have started ISLAND (Inspiring Sri-Lankan reNewal and Development), a twelve month research project funded by RICS. The research is aimed at increasing the effectiveness of disaster management by facilitating the capturing and sharing of appropriate knowledge and good practices in land, property and construction. Due to the broad scope of disaster management-related activities, this initial research focuses on creating a knowledgebase on the post-Tsunami response, with specific reference to case material in Sri Lanka. The broad aim of the research will be addressed by:

  • Creating an infrastructure for developing, sharing and disseminating knowledge about disaster management, particularly mitigation measures, for land, property and construction;
  • Developing a knowledgebase on disaster management strategies arising from post-tsunami recovery efforts; and
  • Developing case materials on post-tsunami response in Sri Lanka.
  • ...

4.Conclusions

It is clear that much work has been done and is ongoing, relating to disaster management and construction’s role specifically. Despite this, knowledge appears fragmented, although there are undoubtedly many successful practices and lessons to be learnt, most significantly from major disasters such as the 2004 Tsunami. A lack of effective information and knowledge dissemination can be identified as one of the major reasons behind the unsatisfactory performance levels of current disaster management practices....

References

[1] Dynes, R. (2003) Finding Order in Disorder: Continuities in the 9-11 Response. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, Research Committee on Disasters, International Sociological Association, Vol. 21, No. 3, pp 9-23.

[2] Karim, N. (2004) Options for Floods and Drought Preparedness in Bangladesh. Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Post-disaster reconstruction: Planning for Reconstruction, 22-23 April 2004, Coventry University, UK.

[3] Warfield, C. (2004) The disaster management cycle, (available online [accessed on 22/12/2006])

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