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close this bookDisaster Mitigation - 2nd Edition (Department of Humanitarian Affairs/United Nations Disaster Relief Office - Disaster Management Training Programme - United Nations Development Programme , 1994, 64 p.)
View the document(introduction...)
View the documentUnited Nations reorganization and the Disaster Management Training Programme
View the documentIntroduction
close this folderPart 1 - Introduction to mitigation concepts
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View the documentThe sanitary revolution: a paradigm for disaster mitigation
View the documentKnow your enemy: hazards and their effects
View the documentSaving life and reducing economic disruption
View the documentTargeting mitigation where it has most effect
View the documentVulnerability
close this folderSpecific Hazards and Mitigation
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View the documentFloods and water hazards
View the documentEarthquakes
View the documentVolcanic eruption
View the documentLand instabilities
View the documentStrong winds (typhoons, hurricanes, cyclones, tropical storms and tornados)
View the documentTechnological hazards
View the documentDrought and desertification
View the documentSUMMARY
close this folderPart 2 - Actions to reduce risk
View the document(introduction...)
View the documentReducing hazard vs reducing vulnerability
View the documentTools, powers and budgets
View the documentCommunity-based mitigation
View the documentThe menu of mitigation actions
View the documentSUMMARY
close this folderPart 3 - Mitigation strategies
View the document(introduction...)
View the documentAims and methods
View the documentEconomics of mitigation
View the documentPracticalities of mitigation
View the documentOpportunities for mitigation: post-disaster implementation
View the documentEmpowerment and community-based mitigation
View the documentSUMMARY
close this folderPart 4 - Implementing organizations
View the document(introduction...)
View the documentBuilding up skills and institutions
View the documentThe regional context: a problem shared
View the documentInternational exchange of expertise
View the documentSupporting decision-making: external specialists
View the documentKnowledge dissemination
View the documentInternational decade for natural disaster reduction
View the documentDisaster mitigation in UNDP country programming
View the documentInitial phases of the UNDP country programming exercise
View the documentSUMMARY
View the documentAnnex 1: Profile of selected United Nations agencies and their activities in disaster mitigation
View the documentAnnex 2: Acronyms
View the documentAnnex 3: Additional reading
View the documentGlossary
View the documentModule evaluation

SUMMARY

MITIGATION STRATEGIES


Mitigation strategies will in many cases be incorporated as an element of larger scale development programs; any successful strategy should include a range of measures from the menu of possible actions. The appropriate mix will be different for each location and type of hazard.


The selection of an appropriate strategy should be guided by evaluating and considering the costs and benefits (in terms of future losses saved) of a range of possible measures.


To obtain political acceptability, a mitigation strategy may need to contain a mixture of immediately visible improvements and of less visible but long-term sustainable benefits.


Mitigation strategies are much easier to implement in the immediate aftermath of a disaster or near-disaster; awareness of the impact of similar natural hazards elsewhere can also assist in obtaining public and political support for disaster protection.


Mitigation strategies developed during disaster reconstruction should encompass all the hazards likely to be encontered in the future and promoted as far as possible beyond the reconstruction areas to other areas at risk from similar hazards.


Empower the local community by promoting planning and management of its own defences and obtaining outside assistance only where needed.