Christian Blind Mission Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction

What do you need help with?

  • Home
  • Sections
  • Cards
  • Favourites
  • About
  • Languages

What do you need help with?

E.g. risk assessment, early warning

Step-by-step practical guidance on inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction.

English

Flood

Make favourite Share

An early warning system (EWS) for floods at the community level comprises four inter-connected components: 1) Risk knowledge, 2) Monitoring and warning, 3) Dissemination and communication, and 4) Response capability. For ensuring the effectiveness of the system, every component should be accessible to everyone in the community, including persons with disabilities covering the diversity of disability, older persons, minority groups and other community members. 

Consider these tips: 

  • When providing information and preparedness measures for persons residing in flood prone areas, information has to be provided in an accessible way to make sure that everyone fully understands the risks, evacuation procedures and household preparedness. 

  • Community mapping process should highlight, in a dignified manner, houses and settlements where persons with disabilities reside for ensuring swift evacuation and provision of life saving support in case of floods. 

  • In case persons with disabilities live in areas prone to flash flood and/or landslides, persons with disabilities should be made aware of the risk and be supported for better preparedness through inclusive mock drills and personal safety exercises. 

  • Community disaster management committees can monitor flood markers and gather information from media and the government. These committees can be supported by Self-Help groups, who in case of a flood, can inform the community and make sure that persons with disabilities and their families receive and understand the information. 

  • Warning signals / warning dissemination systems should be available in audio format (bells, sirens, drums, etc.), signals, images and symbols (appropriate to the context), text and phone messages. Warnings through media should include radio, TV (with subtitles and sign language interpretation, expressive body language), easy-to-read messages and posters/leaflets, etc. 

  • People who are identified as particularly at-risk or likely not to receive the early warning should be alerted through individual house visits.    

  • If the flood requires evacuating or relocating communities, persons with disabilities should be kept together with their families or support networks, while ensuring easy access to basic services, as far as possible. Do not isolate persons with disabilities or their families in a separate location. 

  • Disaster response teams and authorities in the districts should be trained and equipped with relevant skills for ensuring disaster response is inclusive and accessible of all persons with disabilities, older persons and other at-risk groups from the community.  

  • A network of accessible evacuation centres should provide shelter if a disaster strikes. 

Tags

  • Early warning

Sources

  • Local Flood Early Warning Systems in the Philippines, Global Initiative on Disaster Risk Management

  • Community-Based Flood Early-Warning System India, United Nations Climate Change

Help us improve

Fill out this survey, it takes only 3 minutes - thank you!

Take our survey

Supported by:

Swiss NGO DRR Platform

© CBM Global Disability Inclusion

If you have any suggestions for how we could improve this tool, please send your feedback
Privacy policy

Back to top