Developing Early Warning Systems: A Checklist

1 Developing Early Warning Systems: A ChecklistEWC IIIT hird International Conferenceon Early WarningFrom concept to action27 29 March 2006, Bonn, , 11:08:29 FOREWORDE arly Warning is a major element of disaster riskreduction. It prevents loss of life and reducesthe economic and material impact of be effective, Early Warning systems need toactively involve the communities at risk,facilitate public education and awareness ofrisks, effectively disseminate messages andwarnings and ensure there is constant state January 2005, the World Conference onDisasterReductionadoptedthe HyogoFramework for Action 2005-2015: Building theResilience of Nations and Communities toDisasters . This included clear references to theimportance of Early Warning , and encouragedthe development of Early Warning systems thatare people centred, in particular systems whosewarnings are timely and understandable tothose at risk (.)

2 Including guidance on how toact upon warnings (..) (para. 17, ).The Third International Conference on EarlyWarning (EWC III) held in Bonn, Germany from27 -29 March 2006 provided the opportunity topresent new and innovative Early warningprojects and to discuss natural hazards andrisks around the world and how their impactscan be minimised through the implementation ofpeople-centred Early Warning . The presentdocument Developing Early Warning Systems: A Checklist was developed as a conferenceoutcome, to both inform and draw upon thediscussions and practical examples raisedduring the conference, and to support theimplementationoftheearlywarningcompon ents of the Hyogo Framework Checklist , whichis structured around thefour key elements of effective Early warningsystems,aims to be a simplelist of the mainelements and actions that national governmentsor community organizations can refer to whendeveloping or evaluating Early Warning systems,or simply checking that crucial procedures arein notintended to be acomprehensive design manual, but instead apractical.

3 Non-technicalreference tool to ensurethat the major elements of a good Early warningsystem arein Checklist was initiated by the secretariat ofthe Third International Conference on EarlyWarning with the financial support of theGovernment of Germany. The project wasundertaken by consultant Alison Wiltshire,based atthe ISDR Platform for the Promotion ofEarly Warning (PPEW) in Bonn. In addition toinformation gathered during the two and a halfdays of the conference, significant substantiveinput was received from organizations andindividuals involved in Early Warning anddisaster risk reduction, in the United Nationsinternational system and and thanks are extended to allcontributors to this collective exercise, includingthe participants and project presenters of theThirdInternationalConferenceonEarlyWa rning who openly shared their views,concerns and practical experiences on how wecan achieve effective Early Warning systemswhich place people at their core.

4 Countries that develop policy legislativeand institutional frameworks for disasterrisk reduction and that are able todevelop and track progress throughspecific and measurable indicators havegreater capacity to manage risks and toachievewidespreadconsensusfor,engageme nt in, and compliance withdisaster risk reduction measures acrossall sectors of society. Hyogo Framework for Action2005-2015:Building the Resilience of Nations andCommunities to Disasters, Paragraph S INSIDEThis documentaims topresenta short, simplechecklist ofbasicelements, actions and goodpracticesassociatedwitheffectiveearl ywarning systems. It is intended to be anon-technical reference tool ratherthan anextensive how to list for thedesign of earlywarning to Use the ChecklistThe document is broken into two inter-relatedparts that should be read in order.

5 The firstsection provides useful background informationand overarching issues important to earlywarning. The second part is aseries ofpractical checklistsof actionsand initiativesthat should be considered when developingorevaluatingearly Warning elements of Early Warning , cross-cutting issues andactors involved inearly warningA brief sectionon the four elements of earlywarning: risk knowledge; technical monitoringand Warning service; communication anddissemination of warnings ; and communityresponse capability is included to emphasizethe major components that comprise aneffective people-centred Early Warning system ,and why each is addition to the four elements, a number ofcross cutting issues that are critical to thedevelopment and sustainability of effectiveearly Warning systems have been includeeffectivegovernanceandinstitution alarrangements,amulti-hazardapproachto Early Warning , involvement of localcommunities and consideration of genderperspective and cultural explanation ofthemainactors involved inearly Warning activities, and their roles andresponsibilities.

6 Is included to provide somecontextand further backgroundto the list ofkey actors presentedat the beginning ofeachof the Checklist of practical actions to assistin Developing , evaluatingor refining anearly Warning systemFor ease of use and practicality, an individualchecklist has been developed for each of thefour elements of Early Warning . An additionalchecklist hasalsobeen prepared on the cross-cutting issue of governance and institutionalarrangements due totheimportanceof thisissueto the sustainabilityand cohesivenessofeffective Early Warning of the checklists is grouped underaseries ofmajorthemes and includes a simplelist of actions or steps that, if followed, willprovide a solid basis upon which to build orassessan Early Warning system .

7 Much has been learnt from the creativedisaster prevention efforts of poorcommunities in Developing policy is too important to belef t to governments and internationalagencies alone. To succeed, it must alsoengage civil society, the private sectorand the media. Kofi AnnanUN Secretary-GeneralInternational Decade for Natural DisasterReduction (IDNDR) Programme ForumGeneva, July 19992 FourElements of People-centred Early WarningSystemsSource: UN/ISDR Platform for the Promotion of Early WarningPEOPLE-CENTRED Early Warning SYSTEMS1. The Key ElementsThe objective of people-centred Early warningsystemsistoempowerindividualsandc ommunities threatened by hazards to act insufficient time and in an appropriate manner toreduce the possibility of personal injury, loss complete and effective Early Warning systemcomprises four inter-related elements, spanningknowledgeofhazardsandvulnerabili tiesthrough to preparedness andcapacity torespond.

8 Best practice Early Warning systemsalso have strong inter-linkagesand effectivecommunication channelsbetween all of KnowledgeRisks arise from the combinationofhazardsand vulnerabilities ata particular and analysis of data and shouldconsiderthe dynamicnatureof hazards andvulnerabilities that arise from processes such asurbanization,ruralland-usechange,envir onmental degradation and climate assessments and maps help to motivatepeople, prioritise Early Warning system needsand guide preparationsfor disaster preventionand and Warning ServiceWarning services lie at the core of the sound scientific basis forpredicting and forecastinghazardsandareliableforecastin g and warningsystemthatoperates24 hours a day. Continuous monitoringof hazard parameters and precursors isessentialto generate accuratewarnings in atimely fas hion.

9 Warning services fordifferenthazards should be coordinated where possibleto gainthe benefit of shared institutional,procedural and and CommunicationWarnings mustreachthose at risk. Clearmessages containing simple, useful informationare critical toenable proper responses that willhelp safeguard lives and livelihoods. Regional,national and community level communicationsystemsmust be pre-identified andappropriateauthoritative voicesestablished. The use ofmultiple communication channels is necessaryto ensureas many people as possible arewarned, toavoid failure of any one channel, andtoreinforce the Warning CapabilityIt is essential that communities understand theirri sks; respect the Warning service and knowhow to and preparednessprogrammesplay a key role.

10 It isalsoessentialthat disaster management plans are in place,well practiced and bewell informed onoptions for safebehaviour,availableescaperoutes, andhowbestto avoid damage and loss to Cross-cutting IssuesThere are arangeof overarchingissues thatshould be taken into account when governance and institutionalarrangementssupportthesucce ssfuldevelopment and sustainability ofsoundearlywarning systems. They are thefoundationsupon which the previously outlined fourelementsofearlywarningarebuilt,stren gthened and governance is encouraged by robust legaland regulatory frameworks and supported bylong-termpolitical commitment arrangements should encouragelocal decision-making and participation whichare supported by broader administrative andresource capabilities at the national or and horizontalcommunication andcoordinationbetweenearlywarningstakeh olders should also be Multi-Hazard ApproachWhere possible, Early Warning systems shouldlink allhazard-based ofscale.