Philippines: SIAGA raises community awareness

Source(s): Makassar Community Alliance for Disaster Response
Photo copyright SIAGA

Photo copyright SIAGA

Press release SIAGA - Makassar Community Alliance for Disaster Preparedness, commemorating the International Day for Disaster Reduction

Natural disasters caused by climate change and social vulnerability arising from the rapid urban development today become the main theme of the International Day for Disaster Reduction 2010. Earthquakes in Haiti, Chile and New Zealand; torrential rains and floods in Pakistan, Eastern Europe, Mozambique and other parts of Africa; in the Russian forest fires, landslides and volcanic eruptions in Indonesia and Iceland, all causes of human suffering and damage to infrastructure -economy. In the shadow of climate change, cities are not immune from disaster. Reports the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) called the 2.57 billion people in vulnerable low-income due to the rate of urbanization, population growth, sanitation and poor health services, as well as cases of violence. Between one third to one half of the population of large cities that had low income living in informal settlements or slums.

The UN Strategy for Disaster Reduction Strategy (UNISDR) invited the city government to sign the "Ten Point Essensials Checklist to Making Cities Resilient”. In DRR Forum Shanghai late last July, Margaretha Wahlstrom, the UN secretary general's special representative - UNISDR called on the mayors, city planners and employers and civil society to build collaborations to develop alternative solutions and innovative practices in reducing disaster risk and social vulnerability. Makassar City Government together with 85 other mayors, including part of the signatories of the campaign.
Today, the City of Makassar is arranging itself to be World City Based Local Wisdom. Like the wagon, makassarese spurs its development to follow the growth path of a metropolitan city generally. However, the direction of progress, urbanization, housing density, the low carrying capacity of the environment and traffic congestion is a problem that remains. With a population of 1,371,904 inhabitants, the city of Makassar 62.06 RT leaving poor families, among them uninhabitable married 3197 RT, and stay on top of slum area of 540.78 ha in 23 sub-district.

The growth of slum settlements with building materials that are vulnerable to fire, poor drainage systems mainly concentrated along the canal and the coast south and north of the city. Vulnerable of social conflict. Conditions of settlements prone by flood, a pool of water mixed with garbage/waste. A total of 16 689 families resident in areas at risk of disaster. According to data of Fire and Disaster Management Agency, the average case of fire 15 times per month in the last year. While the 24 flood-prone slums, who are at risk of increased cases of diarrhoea, typhoid and dengue fever.

Today’s campaign is one way of civil society action to making sensitivities of all parties on the impact caused by climate change and urban development disparities. This campaign will highlight the government responsibility to anticipate of disaster and realize the city a safety and resilient. UNISDR Secretariat called on its partners to take a more active role. The SIAGA alliances encourage the city government, business and civil society organizations to work together to realize the "Ten Point Essensials". To follow up the call, the alliance issued 15 calls to emergency response:

1. Make the village and the home page green and clean
2. Families cultivate medicinal plants
3. Work together to clean ditches and canals
4. Avoiding excessive use of plastic packaging
5. Managing waste into handicrafts
6. Aware of sources of fire (stove, electricity, gas cylinders)
7. Socialization of education since the early disaster response
8. Make sure an important document put in a safe place
9. Monitor information on radio and television disaster
10. Record and contact numbers of disaster management agency
11. Noting the direction of the government's disaster-prone areas
12. Building homes in areas safe from natural disasters and evictions
13. Help each other cope with catastrophic events
14. Putting human safety rather than property
15. Create reports of damage and losses caused by disaster

As a form of awareness, we are SIAGA (Getting Ready) – Makassar Community Alliance Disaster Preparedness – a multi-stakeholder partnership composed of community organizations, nature conservation community and student, a youth of PMI volunteers, campaign the importance of city government to anticipate disasters and social vulnerability.

Schedule of SIAGA activities -  13 October 2010 were as follows:

1. Started on 08 am in the Pavilion Losari Beach.
• Speech and release SIAGA by the Mayor, Ilham Arief Sirajuddin
2. On 10 - 12 am: Spread Leaflets - 10 CHARTER OF CITY RESILIENT; Stickers/Pins - MY CITY IS SIAGA (Getting Ready) in 10 strategic locations in Makassar.
3. On 12.30 pm – 14 pm: Talk Show at local TV (FAJAR TV) in Graha Pena Tower
• Speakers from PMI (Red Cross) branch of Makassar (Syamsu rizal); the city government advisor (Abdul Talib Mustafa), the expert of environmental studies from Hasanuddin University (Prof. Kahar Mustari or Prof. Idrus Paturusi); and Uplink Indonesia (M. Nawir)
• Topic: Building Sensitivity and the Resilience of Communities against Disasters
4. On 15 pm - Talk Show at radio Mercury FM
• Topic: Solidarity dan Donation for Papua Wasior Flood-slideDisaster

SIAGA 2010 – Uplink Indonesia Makassar, PMI Makassar, KPRM Makassar, Forkom KSR PT, KPA Nazarad, KPB RBN, FPL, Makassar Rescue, Sintalaras UNM. KPA Jelajah Nusantara, PMR Unit 207, Sispala SMU Negeri 7 Makassar, Kopi Manis.
Kontak: Awi – 08124138480
Email: uplink_mks@yahoo.com; panji.reforma@gmail.com; aji_reform@yahoo.com

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