David Alexander is an expert in risk planning and disaster management at University College London. He knows well the characteristics of the Mediterranean, on which this graduate in Geography wrote his thesis, and the challenges of civil protection, of which he was scientific director in Lombardy.
Alexander is committed to taking the prevention of natural disasters seriously from school to politics so that a catastrophe on the scale of Valencia does not happen again.
He has written several books on the different phases of a disaster and the need for good prevention and management. How do you explain the magnitude of the Valencia disaster?
An alert system has three components: technical, administrative and social. If any of them fail, it doesn’t work. In the case of the floods in Valencia, the administrative part – that is, the decision-making – and the social part – that is, the response – were weak or absent. We must also take into account the factor of cars, which cause the majority of victims in floods in developed countries. With less than half a meter of water a car floats and the currents will move it away quickly. Additionally, electronic locking systems short circuit and can trap people. There is a widespread tendency to underestimate the risks of driving in a flood, which is why psychologists call “normality bias.” [la tendencia a pensar que todo funcionará como siempre, lo que lleva a subestimar catástrofes o imprevistos].
What does a late reaction like the one that has occurred compared to an early one mean? As it says in an article, once the emergency progresses, it is difficult to improvise or react without preparation.
In sudden disasters there is usually a window of opportunity, the golden period, during which it is possible to rescue people and save lives. This period varies between 8 and 72 hours. Search and rescue operations must be rapid and well-coordinated. That is why it is important that emergency managers have a clear and constant image of the situation. It is also essential to share information with all actors participating in the emergency.
Which countries are pioneers in a good reaction?
For example, Italy, where there is a well-organized civil protection system and almost 4,000 local volunteer organizations. However, there is still much to be done in public awareness and reaction to disasters. In Japan, volunteering is less developed, but the government takes disasters very seriously. The population is disciplined and has widespread awareness of the risk of disasters, especially earthquakes, floods, storms and landslides. I believe that volunteering is a useful way to connect the population with the civil protection system and this is well developed, for example, in Australia and Iran.
What needs to be done so that devastation like that in Valencia does not happen again?
It requires a multi-strategy approach. From dredging rivers, raising dams, building dams and widening canals to taking advantage of nature itself, in the style of the Chinese idea of sponge cities [por ejemplo, recrear humedales urbanos que absorben las aguas de una riada]. Monitoring and alert systems can be improved, the issuance of which must be done in a timely manner. It is also essential to raise awareness among citizens about the risk and teach them what to do when the alarm sounds. This requires extensive public education.
Civil protection in the event of emergencies must be taken seriously and considered as a basic service, on the same level as water supply, public lighting or garbage collection. This requires the involvement and support of politicians and citizens.
In addition to mobile alerts, what other types of effective notification systems are there in a society that is dispersed in its information consumption and surrounded by ‘fake news’?
We desperately need to change the culture of how we deal with emergencies around the world, especially in a period when weather events are intensifying. It is a cultural change and requires immense resources and time, but it is possible. It shouldn’t be overly difficult to use social media and mass media more effectively to convey messages. The key is to build a strong relationship based on mutual trust. Without it, any initiative is destined to fail.
The first weeks after DANA have shown a lack of organization and logistics: donations that did not arrive, cars piled up, transportation collapse… What can be done to ensure orderly management?
There must be a proper system, structured and tested through drills and practice. Emergency planning needs to be rigorous and systematic. All the problems mentioned were perfectly foreseeable. Why were they not foreseen, then? It’s time to get serious about emergency preparedness.
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