Disaster Preparedness
Managing Risks and Disasters to Prevent Loss of Life and Destruction
Hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and droughts cost many billions of dollars and many thousands of lives each year. The marine systems that cover three-quarters of the earth’s surface are vital drivers of global climate, and water and the meteorological cycle have implications for the physical safety of millions of people who suffer from droughts and floods annually. Changes in land use such as urbanization or the clearing of forests can reduce water quality and threaten human populations by exacerbating seasonal flooding and drought; biodiversity is additionally threatened by sedimentation and altered stream flow. Global climate change will only increase the variability and unpredictability of weather patterns and extreme events. Losses can be mitigated by planning, sound development, monitoring and preparedness.
USAID investments in Disaster Preparedness the two subcategories of:
- Monitoring and Forecasting
- Vulnerability Assessment
This category does not include medicinal and food aid delivered in response to droughts, floods, and storms. These activities do not include emergency provision of medicinal and food aid, potable water, water containers, or fishing nets response to droughts, floods and storms; or, the rebuilding of irrigation, water and sanitation systems damaged by natural disasters. Rather, these activities are included in the appropriate categories in Water Supply, Sanitation and Wastewater Management, as well as Economic Growth and Food Security.
Forecasting and Monitoring
Forecasting and monitoring activities are related to the transfer of technology for hydro-meteorological monitoring and assessment for hydrological monitoring, runoff and storm flow control, and protection of water resources from extreme weather variability and climate change. This category provides countries with the capacity building needed to operate such systems, and the institutional strengthening necessary to support effective forecasting and warning systems in the event of floods and storms.
Vulnerability Assessment
Vulnerability assessment activities are conducted in arid, semi-arid, or flood-prone areas specifically designed to evaluate and respond to flooding or desertification and improve overall sustainability of livelihood systems of local inhabitants. This category includes support for ecologically based strategies for protection against variability in weather and information to help identify or predict populations at risk of inadequate food production or natural disasters such as droughts and floods.
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