Preparing Communities Ahead of Disasters: U.S. Consulate General, CPPR Launch Handbook

KOCHI:
The U.S. Consulate General, Chennai, in association with the Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR), Kochi, released the Community Resilience Handbook for Disaster Preparedness and Management in English and Malayalam languages in a virtual event held today.

Anne Lee Seshadri, Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Chennai, released the handbook, which is a key outcome of the America with Kerala: Uniting for a Disaster Resilient Kerala project organized in association with CPPR and Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA). Anne Seshadri said, “I hope that the outcomes of the America with Kerala project will contribute to advancing U.S.-India ties and collaborations in the area of disaster management.” Following the handbook launch, Dr. D. Dhanuraj, CPPR Chairman, moderated a panel discussion on “All-Hazards Approach to Community-Based Disaster Risk Mitigation.”

Dr. Muralee Thummarukudy, Chief of Disaster Risk Reduction, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) thanked the U.S. Consulate General for supporting Kerala during the 2018 floods. “If the disaster management curriculum that is being worked on as part of the America with Kerala project is introduced in our universities, it will have a long-lasting impact on our communities. Empowering the community with knowledge and resources is the global best practice in disaster mitigation,” he said.

Dr. Himanshu Grover, co-director, Institute for Hazard Mitigation and Planning, College of Built Environments, University of Washington, said, “The memory of disasters fades away easily and people forget how they responded in crisis situations. Academia can document the framework for risk reduction and can share knowledge with communities, bridging that gap.”

Dr. Nivedita P. Haran, Honorary Chairperson, Board of Directors, Centre for Migration and Inclusive Development, Kerala, highlighted the change active women participation can bring in disaster preparedness. “Wherever women have come forward to become a part of the risk reduction process, the results have been extremely effective,” she said.

Dr. Shekhar L. Kuriakose, Member Secretary, Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA), said that Kerala was the first state in the country to notify COVID-19 pandemic as a disaster. “The impact of COVID will be felt on response to other natural disasters as well; we have been working on emergency mode,” he said.

A series of workshops and awareness events were held from June to October 2019 as part of the “America with Kerala” project to share key lessons and best practices in disaster management from the U.S. with agencies and stakeholders in Kerala while the U.S. experts learned from Kerala’s experience of managing the floods.

The handbook is available in English and Malayalam on the CPPR website: https://www.cppr.in/