DISASTER EMERGENCY RESPONSE

A FOCUS ON SEARCH AND RESCUE AFTER A LANDSLIDE

Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, University of

North Carolina, USA

COMMUNITYCOMMUNITYCOMMUNITYCOMMUNITYDATA BASES DATA BASES AND INFORMATIONAND INFORMATIONDATA BASES DATA BASES AND INFORMATIONAND INFORMATION

HAZARDS: GROUND SHAKING GROUND FAILURE SURFACE FAULTING TECTONIC DEFORMATION TSUNAMI RUN UP AFTERSHOCKS

•NATURAL HAZARDS•INVENTORY•VULNERABILITY•LOCATION

RISK ASSESSMENTRISK ASSESSMENT

RISK

ACCEPTABLE RISK

UNACCEPTABLE RISK

GOAL: DISASTER GOAL: DISASTER RESILIENCERESILIENCE

•PREPAREDNESS•PROTECTION•EMERGENCY RESPONSE•RECOVERY

FOUR PILLARS OF FOUR PILLARS OF RESILIENCERESILIENCE

A DISASTER OCCURS WHEN A CITY’S PUBLIC POLICIES ALLOW IT TO BECOME …

UN—PREPARED

UN—PROTECTED

UN—ABLE TO RESPOND EFFECTIVELY

NON—RESILIENT IN THE RECOVERY PHASE

THE FOUR PILLARS OF DISASTER RESILIENCE

THE FOUR PILLARS OF DISASTER RESILIENCE

3. EMERGENCY RESPONSE (EVACUATION; MASS CARE; SEARCH AND RESCUE; EMERGENCY MEDICAL;

EMERGENCY TRANSPORTATION; LOCAL, REGIONAL, AND

INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE)…

3. EMERGENCY RESPONSE (EVACUATION; MASS CARE; SEARCH AND RESCUE; EMERGENCY MEDICAL;

EMERGENCY TRANSPORTATION; LOCAL, REGIONAL, AND

INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE)…

LANDSLIDES (MUDFLOWS)

NATURAL PHENOMENA THAT OCCUR WITH OR WITHOUT

HUMAN ACTIVITY

NOTE: Mudflows can be similar to unstable flowing

concrete, which makes extraction of people very

difficult during search and rescue operations

PHENOMENA THAT INCREASE THE LIKELIHOOD OF LANDSLIDES (MUDFLOWS)

• a) WINTER STORMS,

• b) HEAVY RAINFALL,

• c) FLASH FLOODS,

• d) PAST WILDFIRES,

• e) EARTHQUAKES,

• f) HURRICANES/ TYPHOONS,

• g) TREE CLEARING

• h) URBANIZATION

NOTABLE LANDSLIDES (MUDFLOWS) OF 2010

TOGETHER, THEY CREATED A DIVERSE SET OF URGENT SITUATIONS CALLING

FOR SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS AND/OR EVACUATIONS

SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS: The Timely And

Intelligent Concentration of a City’s Resources to Meet

Extremely Urgent Needs During the First Few Hours and Days

After a Large-Volume Landslide

NOTABLE LANDSLIDES IN 2010

• MACHU PICCHU, PERU

• SO. CALIF

• MADEIRA, PORTUGAL

• INDONESIA

• BRAZIL

• COLOMBIA

MACHU PICCHU: JANUARY 28, 2010

On January 28, 2010, rain and mudflows devastated the homes of thousands of Peruvians living in the vicinity of Machu Picchu and stranded tourists visiting

Machu Picchu and the Peruvian authorities.

Peruvian authorities used helicopters to airlift some of the foreign tourists trapped by rain

and mudslides after seven people visiting the famed Inca

ruins had been killed.

More than 2,500 others were left stranded: 1,900 in nearby Aguas Calientes and 670 more on the Inca Trail, the narrow Andean

pathway up to Machu Picchu that had been cut in several places

by mudflows.

MUDSLIDES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA:

FEB 6-10, 2010

THE INTERSECTION OF HEAVY RAINFALL IN SO. CA’s FIRST WINTER STORM OF 2010 AND BURNED OUT

AREAS FROM WILDFIRES OF 2009 WAS A Rx FOR LANDSLIDES

WILDFIRE BURN AREAS ARE MORE VULNERABLE TO MUDSLIDES

Forty-three homes in the La Canada Flintridge area of Southern

California were damaged and 800 more were evacuated Saturday,

February 6th, after water and mud overflowed basins and temporary barriers, and surged into streets,

taking furniture, cars and concrete barriers with them.

The intense heat from past wildfires also caused the soil to

seal itself, which made the mudslides move even faster.

FACT: MUDFLOWS INCREASE AFTER WILDFIRES

After 2009’s wildfires, the steep slopes of the San Gabriel Mountains

were shedding substantial debris (ranging from fine sediment to

large rock pieces) into the stream channels, which caused debris

flows after a storm to be similar to flowing concrete.

LA CONCHITA, CA

MUDSLIDES IN LA CONCHITA, CA: JAN 13, 2010

MUDSLIDES IN LA CONCHITA, CA

CARS TRAPPED IN FLASH FLOODS AND MUDSLIDES

CARS TRAPPED IN MUDSLIDES

MUDSLIDES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

ANOTHER VIEW

SHOVELING MUD

FLASH FLOODS AND MUDSLIDES IN THE MADEIRA ISLANDS,

PORTUGAL

AT LEAST 42 DEAD

FEBRUARY 20-21, 2010

LOCATION OF MADEIRA

WHAT HAPPENED

The worst storm to hit Madeira since 1993 lashed the south of the

Atlantic Ocean island, including the capital, Funchal, Saturday,

turning some streets into torrents of mud, water, and debris.

WHAT HAPPENED (continued)

The flash floods were so powerful they carved new paths down mountain slopes and ripped

through the city, churning under some bridges and tearing others

down.

A RESCUE: FEBRUARY 21:

MUDFLOW: FEBRUARY 21

MUDFLOW: FEBRUARY 21

FEBRUARY 21: DAMAGED ROAD

MUDFLOW: FEBRUARY 21

MUDFLOW: FERUARY 22

MUDFLOW: FEBRUARY 22

SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS

After sunrise on Sunday morning, it was easier for rescue workers to

move around roads and bridges damaged by floodwaters and

littered with uprooted trees, cars and boulders.

FEBRUARY 22: SEARCH AND RESCUE

EARTH MOVER AIDS S AND R

RAIN, TREE CLEARING, AND MUDSLIDES IN

CIWIDNEY, INDONESIA

FEBRUARY 23-25, 2010

FEBRUARY 23: CIWIDEY, INDONESIA

FEBRUARY 23: CIWIDEY, INDONESIA

FEBRUARY 23: CIWIDEY, INDONESIA

RAIN AND LANDSLIDES NEAR RIO DE JANIERO,

BRAZIL

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

FEBRUARY 25: RIO DE JANIERO, BRAZIL

LANDSLIDE DISASTER IN COLOMBIA OCCURS DURING COLOMBIA’S WORST RAINY

SEASON IN DECADES

DECEMBER 6, 2010

LOCATION

Prior to Dec. 6th weeks of heavy rain across the country had already caused floods and

landslides that killed more than 200 people and

displaced thousands

A mountainside collapsed in the Antioquia province on Monday, December 6th, sweeping away

houses and burying villages and people under tons of rock and

mud.

SEARCH AND RESCUE

Local residents used their bare hands immediately after the slide to dig into tons of mud that buried 30

houses, and, in spite of the hopelessness of the task without

heavy machinery, were still able to save seven people.

Red Cross sniffer dogs identified locations where

victims were buried, but officials said it was hopeless, because it would take several days to dig

them out.

SEARCH AND RESCUE

The search and rescue operations were

hampered by continued heavy rainfall, which

increased the likelihood of additional landslides.