This document outlines the proper preparation needed to deal with the impacts of flood-related disaster. While not a fully-fledged training manual, it provides keys to effective disaster management – leadership on spot, human resources on spot, materials on spot, and logistics on spot – before, during, and after a disaster. The document is geared towards local authorities, the community and the household. It recommends that a leader be chosen within the community to head the disaster management initiative. He/she will be in charge of coordinating with the national government in acquiring the necessary equipment and resources (e.g. food and medicine) needed during and after an event respectively, supervising the training of locals in disaster preparedness and search and rescue, recording the levels of compliance for all households and businesses within the community and recognizing the best routes to safety. The same model is suggested for use at the household level. The case of the Tam Tra Commune in Vietnam is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the model. The example used in the document shows a seamless transition from the abstract theory to its practical application in an actual flood context. The authors note that while there have been shortcomings in the proper implementation of the four on-spot-motto, much of this has been due to a lack of resources and political will rather than any flaws in the concept as such. Though it is disappointing to find that this approach to disaster management has been primary applied to hydrometeorological hazards, its simplicity lends itself to modification and adaptation for application in response to other forms of hazards. This community focused resource is critical in educating the public that it is they who are responsible for their own safety as the state or others actors may not have the resources or know-how needed to protect them.
General Disaster Management
1. General information p. 6; 1.1 Disaster context p. 6; 1.2 The concept p. 6; 1.3 Legal rationale p. 7; 1.4 Purpose p. 8; 1.5 Underlying ideology p. 8; 2. Target audience p. 9; 3. Types of disasters p. 10; 4. Principles in application p. 11; 5. Contents of the Motto p. 12; 5.1 Leadership on-the-spot p. 12; 5.2 Human resources on-the-spot p. 13; 5.3 Materials on-the-spot p. 14; 5.4 Logistics on-the-spot p. 14; 6. Application of the motto in different stages of disaster management at commune level p. 15; 6.1 Before disaster p. 15; 6.2 During disaster p. 19; 6.3 After disaster p. 23; 7. Challenges and constraints in application p. 28; 8. Lessons learnt and recommendations p. 30; Annex 1: References p. 30; Annex 2: List of agencies providing information p. 32