Focus Days

Let's Shake Your Community: Earthquake Hazard Mapping Approach for Community Resilience

May 16, 2016
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Building a Community of Practice for Resilience of Small Island States to Climate and Disaster Risks

May 16-17, 2016
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Urban Floods and Last Mile Early Warning

May 18, 2016
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Opening Ceremony

Opening Remarks delivered by John Roome, Senior Director, Climate Change Group, World Bank Group

Program

Resilience Dialogue: Technology, Disaster Risk and the Gender Divide

May 19, 2016
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Technical Sessions

Check the Vitals: Making Infrastructure More Resilient

May 19, 2016
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Reading the Tea Leaves: When Risk Models Fail to Predict Disaster Impacts

May 20, 2016
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Global School Safety: Reaching for Scale through Innovation

May 20, 2016
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Closing Ceremony

Laura Tuck, the World Bank’s Vice President for Sustainable Development, addresses the UR2016 Forum, providing closing remarks that connected the need to continue enhancing risk identification with the World Bank’s ability to help developing countries manage their growing risks from disaster losses.

Let's Shake Your Community: Earthquake Hazard Mapping Approach for Community Resilience

Monday, May 16, 2016 10:00-12:00

At “Let's Shake Your Community: Earthquake Hazard Mapping Approach for Community Resilience”, panelists and participants shared experiences bringing accurate scientific information to hazard mapping, while also finding new and innovative ways to ensure that communities are an essential part of these processes from assessment to preparedness.

Keiko Saito, Disaster Risk Management Specialist, Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), World Bank Group, and Yoshitaka Yamazaki, Manager, Earthquake Disaster Management Department, OYO International Corporation explained the experience and practice of Japanese local governments in conducting and applying community hazard mapping exercise that is well connected to preparedness efforts.

María Teresa Rodríguez-Blandon, Director of Fundación Guatemala demonstrated the value that indigenous women groups can play in enhancing hazard mapping processes and bringing this experience to leadership training – effectively making hazard mapping a tool for empowerment that can also connect to livelihood and disaster preparedness.

Prema Gopalan, Director of Swayam Shikshan Prayog, noted that women play a critical role in risk identification, “not as beneficiaries, but as change agents”.

Emi Kiyota, President, Ibasho, pointed to the need for hazard mapping and preparedness planning based on the unique needs of different community members, particularly the elderly, who require greater time and attention during evacuation.

Keiko Sakoda Kaneda, Disaster Risk Management Specialist, Disaster Risk Management Hub, Tokyo, GFDRR, World Bank Group noted that hazard mapping is most successful and effective when the daily needs of different community member are integrated into the process and the resulting preparedness planning. Ms. Sakoda Kaneda also led the 70 session participants in a hands-on interactive community mapping exercise, using the “Nigechizu” methodology, which was developed in Japan by architectural firm Nikken Sekkei.

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Presentation Materials

Keiko Saito
Disaster Risk Management Specialist, Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), World Bank Group
Yoshitaka Yamazaki
Manager, Earthquake Disaster Management Department, OYO International Corporation
"Earthquake Hazard Mapping for Community Resilience in Japan: The Role of the Government" PDF

María Teresa Rodríguez Blandón
Director, Fundación Guatemala
"Empowering Indigenous Women Groups through Community Hazard Mapping" PDF

Prema Gopalan
Director, Swayam Shikshan Prayog
"Women Groups as Change Makers: Grassroots Approach for Community Risk Mapping" PDF

Emi Kiyota
President, Ibasho
"Elderly Leading Resilient Community" PDF

Related Material

"Saitama City Disaster Prevention and Urban Development Plan 2016" PDF

Building a Community of Practice for Resilience of Small Island States to Climate and Disaster Risks

Monday, May 16, 2016 09:00-17:00 and Tuesday, May 17, 2016 09:00-12:00

At the session on “Building a Community of Practice for Resilience of Small Island States to Climate and Disaster Risks”, Hajime Kayanne, Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Environmental Science / Department of Earth and Planetary Science / Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo emphasized the importance of ecosystem based management for coastal protection in small island states to the more than 70 session participants from Fiji, Jamaica, Kiribati, and Sao Tome, among many other developing countries and development partners. Focusing on the unique challenges faced by atolls, Professor Kayanne noted the specific values in beach nourishment and coral farming and replacement, while citing the need to balance so-called “gray infrastructure” with other green options, which better integrate ecosystem needs.

Urban Floods and Last Mile Early Warning

Wednesday, May 18, 2016 09:00-12:00

How likely are flood conditions in my community? How many people will be affected, if a flood does hit? What can we do to increase the effectiveness and timeliness of warnings to communities? How much will all this cost?

There are many ways to answer these questions and help policymakers, government officials, technical experts and development professionals think about the importance of early warning information and preparedness, as well as the costs and uncertainty associated with natural disasters. While studies and technical assessments are needed to make critical urban flood management investments, communities and government officials also require methods that connect to the emotional and visceral decision-making process that drives real-life preparedness decisions.

Using a newly developed learning and engagement tool, 40 risk identification professionals from more than 15 countries and representing various governments and development partners piloted this “serious game” that tests users’ ability to process flood early warning information, make strategic decisions to invest in flood preparedness, and keep residents safe under real-world budget constraints.

Jolanta Kryspin-Watson, Lead Disaster Risk Management Specialist and Regional Coordinator for East Asia and the Pacific, World Bank Group, framed the session’s connection to the global Urban Flood Community of Practice.

Pablo Suarez, Associate Director for Research and Innovation, Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre and Janot Mendler de Suarez, Consulting Technical Adviser, Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre, provided active and engaging facilitation to help participants understand and engage with this “serious gaming” approach.

James Newman, Dsaster Risk Management Specialist, Disaster Risk Management Hub, Tokyo, Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), World Bank Group, engaged participants on how the game can be used and adapted for enhancing the understanding of government officials and technical experts.

Related Programs and Projects

World Bank Disaster Risk Management Hub, Tokyo (DRM Hub, Tokyo)

• Knowledge Program: Integrated Urban Flood Risk Management

Related Community

World Bank Urban Floods Community of Practice (UFCOP)

Resilience Dialogue: Technology, Disaster Risk and the Gender Divide

Thursday, May 19, 2016 09:00-10:30

Check the Vitals: Making Infrastructure More Resilient

Thursday, May 19, 2016 11:00-12:30

At “Check The Vitals: Making Infrastructure More Resilient,” panelists walked the more than 60 participants through the challenges and most important factors needed to improve the overall risk profiles of infrastructure systems, focusing on improved building codes, standards, design, construction quality, operation, and maintenance.

Highlighting key innovations seen in Japan, such as earthquake-resilient ductile iron piping, Nagahisa Hirayama, Associate Professor, Disaster Mitigation Research Center, Nagoya University, explained some of the key infrastructure damaged in the 1995 Kobe Earthquake and the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, and how the country had improved it as a result, particularly in the water supply. Additional examples were noted in Japan’s creation and use of emergency water stations and integrated business continuity planning.

Dr. Hirayama’s examples complemented those of John Schneider, Secretary General, Global Earthquake Model (GEM), who showed the need to understand the nature of systemic risk in infrastructure systems, and of Tuna Onur, Seismic Hazard and Risk Consultant, and Vasudevan Suresh, Vice Chair, National Building Code of India, who explained the key elements needed to improve building codes and enforcement, such as performance-based codes and greater recognition of the demand for better buildings in urbanizing countries.

Ignite Session

Video

Presentation Material

Nagahisa Hirayama
Associate Professor, Disaster Mitigation Research Center, Nagoya University
“More Resilient and Reliable Water System: Business Continuity & Technologies”

Related Programs and Projects

World Bank Disaster Risk Management Hub, Tokyo (DRM Hub, Tokyo)

• Knowledge Program

Reading the Tea Leaves: When Risk Models Fail to Predict Disaster Impacts

Friday, May 20, 2016 09:00-10:30

At “Reading the Tea Leaves: When Risk Models Fail to Predict Disaster Impacts”, panelists exchanged views on the ways in which risk models have proven effective in approximating the extent of disaster damage, and where and why they have fallen short. Even as challenges of model accuracy and uncertainty abound, the panelists agreed on the need to see risk modeling as a framework for making assumptions about expected scenarios and disaster effects more explicit and then teasing out insights for pre- and post-disaster planning.

Fumio Yamazaki, Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Chiba University, who is supporting the Disaster Risk Management Hub, Tokyo’s work on Seismic Risk Identification and Decision-Making and Building Regulation for Resilience, pointed out the challenges of setting appropriate risk levels for investments in preparedness. One key stumbling block is finding a common language and understanding between risk modelers, who tend to think probabilistically and with a strong sense of uncertainty, and policymakers, who are usually seeking concrete time-bound answers and actionable information on which to make decisions.

Dr. Yamazaki noted Japan’s experience in fostering communication between technical and non-technical stakeholders for decision making, as well as the responsibilities of both sides as user of modeling results for decision making, complementing the points of moderator Ron Eguchi, ImageCat; Kelvin Berryman, GVS Science; David Lallemant, Stanford University; Keiko Saito, Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR); and John Bevington, ImageCat.

Ignite Session

Video

Related Programs and Projects

World Bank Disaster Risk Management Hub, Tokyo (DRM Hub, Tokyo)

• Knowledge Program: Seismic Risk Identification and Decision-Making
• Knowledge Program: Building Regulation for Resilience
  

Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR)

• Innovation Lab

Global School Safety: Reaching for Scale through Innovation

Friday, May 20, 2016 11:00-12:30

At “Global School Safety: Reaching for Scale through Innovation”, panelists noted the progress made in establishing a global database of school infrastructure, including new advances made using innovative technologies, such as big data and data mining analysis. The session also showed how authorities in Nepal, Peru and Turkey are taking novel steps to make schools safer, working with the World Bank.

Highlighting Peru’s experience, Luis E. Yamin, Professor, Los Andes University, introduced key steps, including risk assessments, engineering studies, and prioritization for investments, to bring current efforts to scale, building on the achievements to date and ongoing technical support by the World Bank, including technical assistance from the World Bank Disaster Risk Management Hub, Tokyo. Fernando Ramirez-Cortes, Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist, World Bank Group, noted Peru’s strong commitment, represented in the government’s 10-year seismic retrofitting plan that identified 110,000 school buildings requiring retrofitting and reconstruction and a financing need of US$ 3.2 billion.

The case of Peru was complemented by that of Nepal following two major earthquakes in 2011, which Hayley Gryc, Arup, and Carina Ferreira, World Bank Group, presented. Ahmet Hakan Mutlu, Section Chief, Department of Construction and Real Estate, Ministry of National Education, Turkey, presented the case of Turkey and how it scaled up a regional program into a nation-wide program demonstrating a long-term commitment to safer schools.

Ignite Session

Video

Related Programs and Projects

World Bank Disaster Risk Management Hub, Tokyo (DRM Hub, Tokyo):

• Country Program
• Knowledge Program: Safer Schools
  

Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR)

• Global Program for Safer Schools