IOM, ECHO mark international disaster reduction day in Indonesia
Indonesia - IOM will tomorrow mark the International Day for Disaster Reduction by hosting a one-day seminar for 120 West Java community members focusing on disaster preparedness, mitigation and risk reduction.
The workshop, which will take place in Pameungpeuk – a coastal village of West Java, is funded by the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO), as part of its disaster preparedness programme (DIPECHO).
Indonesia is second only to Bangladesh as the world's most natural disaster-prone nation, according to the 2010 Natural Disaster Risk Index.
In recent years Indonesia has experienced the 2004 Asian tsunami and powerful earthquakes in Yogyakarta, Central Java, West Sumatra and West Java, which have cost tens of thousands of lives and at least USD 8 billion in damage to housing and infrastructure.
DIPECHO is currently funding a EUR 470,000 IOM project: "Enhancing Disaster Preparedness and Response Capacity in Garut District, West Java" as part of its EUR 10 million7th Action Plan for Southeast Asia launched in February.
The 15-month IOM project supports government efforts to engage communities in disaster preparedness, focusing on five sub-districts.
It develops multi-hazard maps for villages and sub-districts, mobilizes villagers to develop hazard maps, trains community leaders in risk assessment and hazard mapping, and trains health professionals in basic trauma life support.
For more information, please contact:
Peter Kern
IOM Bandung
Tel: +62 22 2032855
E-mail: [email protected]