Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
LESSONS LEARNED FROM PAST NOTABLE DISASTERS CHILE PART 5: WILDFIRES Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna, Virginia, USA NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED DISASTERS IN CHILE FLOODS GOAL: PROTECT PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIES WINDSTORMS EARTHQUAKES/TSUNAMIS HIGH BENEFIT/COST FROM BECOMING DISASTER NRESILIENT VOLCANOES WILDFIRES GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE Natural Phenomena that Cause Disasters Planet Earth’s atmosphericlithospheric interactions create situations favorable for Wildfires (AKA BUSHFIRES) CHILE’S CITIES WILDFIRES are conflagrations caused by lightning discharges (or acts of man) in wilderness areas close enough to one or more urban interfaces that they threaten people, property, infrastructure, and business enterprise. SCIENCE OF WILDFIRES LOCATIONS OF 2012’S NOTABLE WILDFIRES WILDFIRE HAZARDS (AKA POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS) • • • • FIRE HOT GASES AND SMOKE HOT SPOTS BURNED OUT SLOPES (with increased susceptibility to insect infestation, erosion, and landslides) WILDFIRE HAZARDS (AKA POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS) • SUNDOWNER WINDS • LOCAL CHANGES IN AIR QUALITY • LOCAL CHANGES IN WEATHER CAUSES OF DAMAGE LIGHTNING STRIKES MANMADE FIRES PROXIMITY OF URBAN AREA TO THE WILDLAND FIRE WILDFIRES WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION (DAY/NIGHT DIFFERENCES) DISASTER LABORATORIES DRYNESS (AKA BUSHFIRES) HIGH TEMPERATURES LOCAL FUEL SUPPLY LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT DISASTER RESILIENCE ALL WILDFIRES PREPAREDNES FOR THE EXPECTED AND UNEXPEDTED IS ESSENTIAL FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT DISASTER RESILIENCE ALL WILDFIRES TIMELY EMERGENCY RESPONSE IS ESSENTIAL FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT DISASTER RESILIENCE ALL WILDFIRES EARLY WARNING (THE ISS) AND EVACUATION ARE ESSENTIAL FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE NOTABLE WILDFIRES IN CHILE 2012’s wildfires - the worst Chile has seen in years - were worsened by strong winds, high temperatures and exceptionally dry conditions Chile's southern regions, normally experiencing rain in January, were suffering instead from a nationwide heat wave on top of a drought; two factors that make wildfires more likely. LOCATIONS Nearly 50 wildfires in southern Chile destroyed hundreds of houses, forced the evacuation of thousands of people, and caused millions of dollars in damage to the forestry and tourism industries. TORRE DEL PAINE NATIONAL PARK (AFTER THE DEC. 2011 FIRES) WILDFIRE IN BIO BIO REGION: JAN. 4, 2012 • The worst of the blazes were concentrated in Chile's Bio Bio region, where about 24,800 hectares were destroyed BIO BIO (QUILLON AREA) WILDFIRE: JAN 5, 2012 QUILLON AREA WILDFIRE: JAN 5, 2012 AN IMPOSSIBLE TASK: QUILLON AREA WILDFIRE: JAN 5, 2012 A POSSIBLE TASK: FIGHTING THE QUILLON AREA WILDFIRE FIGHTING THE QUILLON WILDFIRES WILDFIRE IN BIO BIO REGION: JAN. 4, 2012 • Helicopters fight a massive forest fire affecting the commune of Ranquil, in southern Chile's Bio Bio region, 450 km (275 mi) south of Santiago. FIGHTING THE BIO BIO WILDFIRES IMPACTS: WILDFIRES IN BIO BIO REGION: JAN. 4, 2012 • 600 people were evacuated from the area • 160 homes destroyed. WILDFIRE IN ARAUCANIA REGION: JAN. 5, 2012 • Seven firefighters died after being trapped by flames when the wind suddenly changed direction. • They were part of a team trying to extinguish a blaze near Carahue in the Araucania region, about 700 km (434 miles) south of the capital Santiago. ARAUCANIA WILDFIRE: JAN 5, 2012 Mapuche Indians blamed for starting the deadly wildfires ARAUCANIA WILDFIRE: FALLEN FIREFIGHTER 7 FALLEN FIREFIGHTERS ELEMENTS OF HAZARDS AND RISK ELEMENTS OF WILDFIRE RISK HAZARDS EXPOSURE RISK VULNERABILITY LOCATION A DISASTER CAN HAPPEN WHEN THE POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS OF A WILDFIRE INTERACT WITH CHILE’S COMMUNITIES A DISASTER is ----- the set of failures that overwhelm the capability of a community to respond without external help when three continuums: 1) people, 2) community (i.e., a set of habitats, livelihoods, and social constructs), and 3) complex events (e.g., wildfires, floods,…) intersect at a point in space and time. Disasters are caused by single- or multiple-event natural hazards that, (for various reasons), cause extreme levels of mortality, morbidity, homelessness, joblessness, economic losses, or environmental impacts. THE REASONS ARE . . . • When it does happen, the functions of the community’s buildings and infrastructure can be LOST. THE REASONS ARE . . . • The community is UNPREPARED for what will likely happen, not to mention the low-probability of occurrence— high-probability of adverse consequences event. THE REASONS ARE . . . • The community has NO DISASTER PLANNING SCENARIO or WARNING SYSTEM in place as a strategic framework for early threat identification and coordinated local, national, regional, and international countermeasures. THE REASONS ARE . . . • The community LACKS THE CAPACITY TO RESPOND in a timely and effective manner to the full spectrum of expected and unexpected emergency situations. THE REASONS ARE . . . • The community is INEFFICIENT during recovery and reconstruction because it HAS NOT LEARNED from either the current experience or the cumulative prior experiences. THE ALTERNATIVE TO A WILDFIRE DISASTER IS WILDFIRE DISASTER RESILIENCE WILDFIRE RISK •WILDFIRE HAZARDS •PEOPLE & BLDGS. •VULNERABILITY •LOCATION DATA BASES AND INFORMATION ACCEPTABLE RISK RISK UNACCEPTABLE RISK CHILE’S GOAL: WILDFIRE DISASTER RESILIENCE COMMUNITIES POLICY OPTIONS HAZARDS: GROUND SHAKING GROUND FAILURE SURFACE FAULTING TECTONIC DEFORMATION TSUNAMI RUN UP AFTERSHOCKS • PREPAREDNESS •PROTECTION •EARLY WARNING •EMERGENCY RESPONSE •RECOVERY and RECONSTRUCTION MONITORING TECHNOLOGIES AND WARNING SYSTEMS ARE A VITAL PART OF SURVIVAL. TECHNOLOGIES FOR MONITORING, FORECASTING, AND WARNING ARE VITAL FOR SURVIVAL. THE FACTS: SURVIVORS OF A WILDFIRE HAVE TO START OVER LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT DISASTER RESILIENCE ALL WILDFIRES RECOVERY AND RECONSTRUCTION USUALLY MEANS STARTING OVER.