Attachments
Introduction
Myanmar is prone to various natural hazards that include earthquakes, floods, cyclones, droughts, fires, tsunamis, some of which have the potential to impact large numbers of people. Historical data shows that there have been medium to large/scale natural disasters every few years. Myanmar is currently ranked 12th out of 191 countries on the Index for Risk Management (INFORM ) , the 1 st in the Southeastern Asia , which assesses the risk of humanitarian crisis and disasters that could overwhelm national capaci ty to respond, and 2nd on the Global Climate Risk Index of countries most affected by extreme events from 1995 to 2014.
Since 2002, more than 13 million people have been affected by natural disasters, including three Category 4 cyclones, several major ear thquakes, and in 2015 the country experienced the worst flooding in decades.
In 2008, Cyclone Nargis devastated southern Myanmar, killing 140,000 people and causing extensive damage to infrastructure. There have been many lessons learned since then and efforts made to improve disaster risk reduction measures, early warning capacit y and preparedness for r esponse . Myanmar was hit by devastating floods and landslides in 2015 which affected more than nine million people in 12 of the country’s 14 states/regions, killed 172 people and temporarily displaced 1.7million people.
In the event that large numbers of people are affected (such as was the case in 2008 following cyclone Nargis or the 2015 floods and landslides), the government may decide to request international assistance to support their efforts in responding to the disaster.
The humanitarian community in Myanmar, represented by the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), therefore developed and regularly updates the inter - agency Emergency Response Preparedness (ERP) Plan to support the Government of the Union of Myanmar in preparing for, and responding to, any of the hazards that may affect the country.
The ERP approach seeks to im prove effectiveness by reducing both time and effort, enhancing predictability through establishing predefined roles, responsibilities and coordination mechanisms. The Emergency Response Preparedness Plan (ERPP) has four main components: i) Risk Assessment , ii) Minimum Preparedness Actions, iii) Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), and iv) Contingency Plans for the initial emergency response. Besides these four elements, the preparedness package als o includes the updated M ulti - Sector Initial Rapid Assessment (MIRA) methodology, the Scenario Plan for a cyclone in Ayeyawaddy as well as the key documents for cash transfer programming in new emergencies.
The overall goal of the ERP Plan is to mitigate the impact of disasters and save as many lives as possible f rom preventable causes. It aims to ensure that effective and timely assistance is provided to people in need through effective coordination and communication on emergency preparedness and humanitarian response between members of the HCT in Myanmar.
The app roach has been developed in collaboration with the Government, to facilitate a coordinated and effective support to people affected by humanitarian crises.