HIGHLIGHTS
· The Union of the Comoros increases its resilience to heavy human and economic losses due to natural disasters
· World Bank funded immediate recovery efforts focus on the most affected communities
· Efforts to mainstream disaster risk reduction into development policies complement the Comoros agenda to improve disaster risk reduction
Following numerous natural disasters which were taking a heavy toll on the people and economy of the Union of Comoros, the government decided to strengthen its capacity and institutions by embarking on a new initiative toward building resilience to natural hazards. It adopted a “resilience over reaction” approach aimed at improving medium and long-term disaster preparedness. The Comoros is heavily affected by multiple natural hazards including volcanic eruptions, drought, flash floods and landslides. In fact, it is one of the most vulnerable countries in all of Africa. The World Bank Natural Disaster Hotspot Report estimates that 39.6% of land area on the small island nation is exposed to some form of natural disaster risk and 32% of the population lives in these areas.
“The Union of the Comoros has for too long endured constant and devastating impacts from natural disasters which affect the very heart of civil society. People’s livelihoods can be completely wiped out after one cyclone” emphasized Colonel Ismael Mogne Daho, Director of the Comoros Civil Protection Directorate.
During April 2012, unprecedented heavy rains lead to severe flash floods and landslides; affecting some 65,000 people. According to the Comorian National Meteorological Agency, the average annual amount of rain fell in only seven days. In the capital Moroni, the monthly April rainfall amounted to 1,738 mm, compared to the average of 267 mm. Landslides heavily affected the islands’ infrastructure, immersed agricultural fields, damaged houses and wiped out social infrastructure such as schools and hospitals.
Immediately following the floods and in coordination with local officials, The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) fielded a rapid assessment mission to determine the need for humanitarian assistance and work with the government to coordinate the relief response. An initial assessment of the physical damages using government reports and figures estimated that damages rose to US$18-20 million The most affected sectors in terms of damages were transport, education and housing. Foregone revenue from impacted livelihoods and lost agricultural production were also significant but have not yet been fully quantified.
“The April floods wreaked a heavy toll in human and material costs, which could have been less had the country had a stronger and more effective system of disaster risk reduction. As the government appeals for international support to help redress the recent disaster it also seeks assistance to ensure that it will be better prepared when the next disaster strikes and that the damages will be less severe in both human and financial terms.” Douglas Casson Coutts, UN Resident Coordinator in the Comoros
World Bank support during early recovery actions focused on enabling the most affected communities to recover quickly from the disasters through cash transfers, while supporting communities in their efforts to remove rubble and reconstruct vital small scale infrastructure. By restructuring two existing social protection programs, which are implemented by the Bank-funded Support Fund for Community Development (Fonds d’Appui au Developpement Communautaire - FADC), 15 small infrastructure rehabilitation and 21 cash-for-work schemes were immediately mobilized to help the most affected population. An additional financing from the World Bank to support FADC’s recovery efforts in the Comoros is currently being prepared.
Moving forward, the Government of the Comoros is adopting a proactive approach and looking for operational tools in order to reduce its vulnerability to disasters and build resilience. Rather than simply rely on reactionary methods to deal with disasters, the Government of the Comoros adopted a short, medium and long-term preventative approach to better deal with future floods and other types of disasters. As part of this approach, a training session focusing on using post disaster assessments to help build capacity and resilience against future disasters was organized in October 2012 in Moroni.
For the training, The World Bank, the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (through the African, Caribbean and Pacific States -European Union Natural Disaster Risk Reduction Program –or ACP-EU) and the United Nations joined efforts on providing assistance to the government in training 65 Comorians on post disaster impact and needs assessment.The Comorian Directorate of Civil Protection led the innovative sessions to train representatives of sectoral ministries, the private sector, local authorities and non-governmental organizations in conducting damage, loss and needs assessments following a natural disaster.
The training on the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (better known as a PDNA) helped building the foundations for improved future responses to disasters but more importantly, heightened the capacity of the country to better mitigate the large-scale impact to the people and economy. The concept of “build back better” introduced during the training emphasizes reconstruction beyond basic repairs to that of building infrastructure able to withstand future shocks.
The Union of Comoros is on track to mainstream disaster risk reduction into its development policies and sector strategies. Their efforts to build resilience will complement the country’s sustainable development for the coming years. This is facilitated by the establishment of a core group of government officials and civil society representatives (who are capable of understanding and conducting future needs assessments. This core group will lead the national strategy on disaster risk reduction and ensure the country remains on the path to resilience.
World Bank support for the short to long term response focuses on 3 main engagements:
Additional financing to social safety net program (US$3 million committed via Support Fund for Community Development (FADC) for recovery activities and measures for disaster risk reduction, including building-back-better strategies such as building codes for safe schools.
Addressing vulnerability to natural hazards as an important element of the Comoros’ economic reform grant (US$5 million) inorder to strengthen national capacity and accountability: The operationalization of the recently created national platform for disaster risk reduction is an important policy addressed through this reform grant.
Providing assistance to mainstream disaster risk reduction into sustainable poverty reduction (Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) grant of US$475.000 implemented through the United Nations Development Program) by conducting risk and vulnerability assessments for high risk areas and building disaster risk management capacities in The Comoros through e-learning programs.
Content and images courtesy of the World Bank Africa DRM team and Christina Irene. For more information, please contact cirene@worldbank.org.