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Disaster Management Centre Port-harcourt
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1.7 PROJECT JUSTIFICATION
The
project is located within the southern section of Port Harcourt. The
site is in close proximity to the State secretariat, the Nigerian marine
base, Trans Amadi Industrial Layout; Orobum Vimmage (now called
Obunabali). Ogbunabali bound the site on the East, the far North by
Trans Amadi Industrial Layout, to the West by the Amadi flat and old GRA
Residential Quarters and the South by Marine Base.
This site was chosen for the following reasons:
•
It can be assessable through the Eastern bypass road and various
pedestrian routes emanating from the neighbouring residential zones
• No existing facility defined for this purpose within the area.
• The area is very busy and prone to disasters like accidents.
• The site can be assessable from land and water.
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS
•
Disaster: this is an event, natural or man-made, sudden or progressive,
which impacts with such severity that the affected community or
individual has to respond by taking exceptional measures.
• Disaster
management: is the systematic observation and analysis of disasters to
improve measures relating to prevention, mitigation, preparedness,
emergency response and recovery.
• Disaster management centre: this
will serve as a centre for the operational squad and aid for
investigation, assistance and relief of people affected with disasters.
•
Risk: is the relative degree of probability that a hazardous event will
occur. An active fault zone, for example, would be an area of high
risk.
• Mitigation: is action taken to reduce both human suffering
and property loss resulting from extreme natural phenomena. Measures
include land use planning, improved disaster-resistant building
techniques, and better agricultural practices.
• Preparedness:
encompasses those actions taken to limit the impact of natural phenomena
by structuring response and establishing a mechanism for effecting a
quick and orderly reaction. Preparedness activities could include
pre-positioning supplies and equipment; developing emergency action
plans, manuals, and procedures; developing warning, evacuation, and
sheltering plans; strengthening or otherwise protecting critical
facilities; etc
• Disaster Prevention: this is action taken to
eliminate or avoid harmful natural phenomena and their effects. Examples
of prevention include cloud seeding to control meteorological patterns,
pest control to prevent locust swarms, erection of dams or levees to
prevent flooding, etc.
• Intervention: this refers to an action
taken in order to change the course of events. In disaster management
the term's use is similar to the medical sense, i.e., disaster response
initiated from outside the affected community is a form of intervention
and, as such, must be handled with care because it does come from
without. It therefore always runs the risk of being more disruptive than
productive.
• Pre-disaster planning: this is the process of
preparing, in advance, to meet a future disaster. Pre-disaster planning
consists of disaster prevention, mitigation, and preparedness.
•
Vulnerability: this is a condition wherein human settlements, buildings,
agriculture, or human health are exposed to a disaster by virtue of
their construction or proximity to hazardous terrain.
• Maintenance:
refers to the services that are provided to refugees during the period
after the emergency but before a permanent solution to their plight is
developed. Maintenance operations may include tracing and family
reunification, general care and food distribution, a variety of social
services such as education and cultural activities, and efforts to help
the people to become as self-sufficient as possible under the
circumstances.
• Evaluation occurs as a refugee operation ends or as
a new phase begins. Evaluation should be carried out by every manager
and key members of the staff. The results and lessons learned should
become the basis for further emergency preparedness activities.
•
Durable (Permanent) Solution is the term used to describe collectively
the three long-term solutions that resolve a refugee situation-voluntary
repatriation, assimilation, and resettlement to a third country. In
this phase, any number of activities can take place including
transportation of the refugees, legal assistance, and provision of
financial and material aid to the refugees to help them start their new
lives. If the solution is repatriation or assimilation, the Patterns of
assistance often resemble reconstruction and development assistance
given to the victims of natural disasters.
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