Cyclone Preparedness Programme (CPP)

Kazi Saiful Islam

Institute of Disaster and Vulnerability Studies

University of Dhaka

6/6/2014

FOLLOWING THE EMERGENCE OF INDEPENDENT BANGLADESH,

THE BANGLADESH RED CROSS SOCIETY CONSTITUTED VIDE

PRESIDENTS ORDER NO. 26 OF 1973. IT WAS RECOGNISED BY ICRC ON 20 SEPTEMBER 1973 AND ADMITTED TO FEDERATION ON

02 NOVEMBER 1973

THE NAME AND EMBLEM OF THE SOCIETY WAS CHANGED FROM

RED CROSS TO RED CRESCENT ON 4th APRIL, 1988

THE BDRCS HAS 68 DISTRICT UNITS, COVERING ALL THE

ADMINISTRATIVE DISTRICTS OF THE COUNTRY & FOUR

METROPOLITAN CITIES

THE BDRCS CHAIRMAN IS APPOINTED BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE

SOCIETY

PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC IS EX-OFFICIO, THE PRESIDENT OF

THE SOCIETY

- 2 DELEGATES FROM EACH UNIT ( 68 X 2 ) - 136

- CHAIRMAN, VICE CHAIRMAN, TREASURER - 03

- ELECTED MEMBERS OF MANAGING BOARD - 12

- 1 REPRESENTATIVE EACH FROM THE MINISTRY

OF HEALTH & FAMILY WELFARE, DISASTER

MANAGEMENT & RELIEF, SOCIAL WELFARE &

DEFENCE - 4

The mission of the BDRCS is to

improve the situation of the

vulnerable people by mitigating their

sufferings caused by disease and

disasters in accordance with the

fundamental principles of the

Movement and by mobilizing the

power of humanity

1. Aid to the sick and wounded of the armed forces of

Bangladesh

2. Prevention & alleviation of human suffering with

complete impartiality

3. The establishment & maintenance of peace among all nations

4. Provision of relief for the mitigation of suffering

5. Improvement of health, prevention of disease & mitigation

Life Member

Annual Member

Institutional Member

Honorary Member

Associate Member

PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT DIVISION

Organizational Development

Unit Affairs

Training

Fund Raising

Youth & Volunteers Management

DISASTER MANAGEMENT DIVISION

1. Community Based Disaster Management (CBDM)

2. Cyclone Preparedness Program (CPP)

3. Relief & Rehabilitation

4. Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Program

5. Community Empowerment Program (CEP)

6. Tracing

BACKGROUND: CPP From 1960 to 1965, 9 (nine) cyclones hit BD, i.e. idea of a Cyclone Preparedness activities started in 1965; IFRC &

SRC Piloting 1966, the CWS operational in 299 locations and supported by 473 team leaders; 1969, the 1st Weather Radar Station installed in Coxs Bazar ;

Following the Cyclone of 1970, the UN requested IFRC to take a leading role in establishing and improving the Pre-disaster planning programme of Bangladesh

from February 1972 lead to the new programme consisting of 20,310 volunteers in 204 Unions of 24 Thanas and a transceiver telecommunication system

In June 1973, the GoB approved the new programme and accepted financial responsibility for the recurring expenses and set up a joint programme management by the creation of a Programme Policy Committee and a Programme Implementation Board.

According to the By-law of the Programme, fulfillment of the following criteria by a person will make him eligible to be a

volunteer of the Programme

Must be a permanent resident of the locality. Age should be in between 18 to 35 years. Must know how to read and write. Should be a strong, stout and healthy person. Must be a self supported person. Must have favourable attitude for voluntary work. Must be honest, sincere and should have peoples support. Must have commitment to be a volunteer, should have

time and Opportunity to render humanitarian services

Unit responsibility In each Unit, the 10 male volunteers are divided into 5 groups, 2 in each, to discharge the following responsibilities : Disseminate cyclone warning signals issued by the Bangladesh Meteorological Department to all people Assist people in taking shelter. Rescue distressed people affected by a cyclone. Provide First Aid to the people injured by a cyclone. Assist in relief and rehabilitation operations. Assist in the implementation of the BDRCS Disaster Preparedness Plan. Assist in participatory community capacity build-up activities. Assist in the co-ordination of disaster management and development

activities. Two female volunteers of the Unit provide first aid to the distressed women after the cyclone besides their task of raising awareness among the women folk in normal time.

Local level Committee Unit Committee At Unit levels, 12 volunteers form a Unit Committee, elect

one of them as Unit Leader and another as Deputy Unit Leader.

Union Committee On an average 10 Units form a Union. The Unit Team

leaders of a Union form a Union committee and elect one of them as the Union Team Leader and another as Deputy Union Team Leader.

Thana (Sub-district) Committee On an average 10 Unions form a Thana(sub district). The

Union Team Leaders of the Thana form the Thana Committee and elect one of them as Thana Team Leader and another as Deputy Thana Team Leader.

MANAGEMENT Following the withdrawal or International Federation as

direct partner in the Implementation in July 1973, an new Programme Management structure in a form of joint venture was created by GOB and BDRCS. An agreement was signed by both parties spelling that the Programme will basically remain Red Crescent in nature and will be known as the Cyclone Preparedness Programme(CPP) of the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society with joint implementation and management scheme.

Two Committees were created to jointly administer and implement the programme. A 7 member policy Committee headed by the Minister for Disaster Management and Relief is constituted to give policy directives and allocating resources for the programme.

Policy committee

Functions of the committee 1.To provide policy directives and guideline to the CPP implementation board for effective implementation of the programme 2.To allocate funds and other resources

Implementation Board

Functions of CPPIB To determine and recommend frame an content of the

programme

To supervise the implementation of the programme

To administer all resources of the programme placed at the disposal of the Board by the Policy Committee

To approve all expenditure incurred on the of Cyclone Preparedness Programme

To determine priority and consistency with other related programme of coastal region

To fulfil all other functions necessary for the effective implementation of the cyclone Preparedness Programme

The committee will convene meeting immediately after heaving No.4 cyclone signal for all-out preparatory measures.

Administrative area of CPP

OPERATIONAL METHOD

CPP DH Office

Info. Get BMD

Zonal Office & Thana Office Info get Over HF radio

Union Info get over VHF radio

Unit Vol. spread out CW Mega phone. Door to visit

33,324 volunteers (Male-27,770, Female- 5,554) covering 710 km coastal area of 31 Upazillas and

2,777 villages under 11 Districts.

Role of CPP: Cyclone Preparedness Programme (Headquarters, Dhaka);

Field Level CPP Risk Reduction Phase

Emergency response: Normal Time, Alert stage, Warning stage, Disaster Stage, Rehabilitation stage

7 Principles of RCRC movements