Disaster prevention work essential

cctv.com 01-13-2005 11:52

The terrible death toll and the ensuing chaos in the aftermath of the tsunami in Asia and Africa has highlighted the importance of disaster preparedness, and risk measures. That's the message from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

The Federation's Head of Disaster Preparedness and Response, Evan Von Oelreich, says she will be raising this crucial issue at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction, which begins in the Japanese city of Kobe next week.

Evan Von Oelreich, International Red Cross, said, "In Kobe we will first of all recommend that people don't look only at external early warning systems but that they see that it is very much about reaching the vulnerable community as well, so it is about putting a system in place where you can work with volunteers who are trained beforehand, who can alert the local populations, who can be part of the first aid and rescue and assess afterwards. So look at the whole chain, from the high-tech to the low tech, that is our first recommendation.

She says the other very important thing is to look into how the international disaster response laws, principles and regulations can help to get aid to the people much faster. She says international frameworks and national legislation need to be used more effectively.

According to International Red Cross, thousands of lives and billions of dollars could be saved every year if a fraction of the funds pumped into the aftermath of disasters was spent on minimizing the effects of natural hazards on vulnerable people.

Editor:Chen Zhuo  Source:CCTV.com