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What if you are working in a community when disaster strikes it? What steps toward recovery can you take in such a situation? And what actions can be taken beforehand to minimize the damage from a large-scale, catastrophic event such as Typhoon Haiyan, which devastated large portions of the Philippines in early November 2013?

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 13 million people were affected by Typhoon Haiyan and four million were displaced. The typhoon damaged the main rice crop in areas that were affected, and disrupted planting of the secondary rice crop (www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/206856/icode/)).

The immediate need after such a disastrous event is for relief supplies, including food, water and shelter. In the case of Typhoon Haiyan, the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) also planned to provide farmers with rice, maize and vegetable seeds; tools; fertilizer and irrigation equipment.

After initial relief efforts, the process of rebuilding must begin, as relief shifts into development.

What factors should a local development worker be aware of when it comes to preparing for a disaster? And what interventions can be most helpful in the face of disaster?

--  Dawn Berkelaar, EDN #122

 



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  6. 2014-01-01 https://www.echocommunity.org/resources/71356f86-d90a-4032-9775-681c581fa715What if you are working in a community when disaster strikes it? What steps toward recovery can you take in such a situation? And what actions can be taken beforehand to minimize the damage from a large-scale,...
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  10. Trusted by more than 130,000 humanitarians and developed in collaboration with leading aid agencies and humanitarian experts, DisasterReady.org makes cutting-edge professional development resources available to relief and developmentworkers and volunteers - anywhere, anytime, at no cost....
  11. TANDEM stands for Tearfund’s Approach in Disasters E-learning modules. It is a set of mini-modules which can be completed online or offline on a range of critical issues for Tearfund and partner staff working in humanitarian disaster situations. They can be worked on at your own pace, on your own...
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  13. 2010-01-20 Seeds are critical for addressing the dual challenges of food insecurity and climate change. Farmers depend on quality seed of appropriate varieties to attain food security. However, in recent times, natural disasters, such as droughts, floods and hurricanes, and human-caused disasters, such as...
  14. Disaster risk is expressed as the likelihood of loss of life, injury or destruction and damage from a disaster in a given period of time. Disaster risk is widely recognized as the consequence of the interaction between a hazard and the characteristics that make people and places vulnerable and...
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  16. The International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction (IJDRR) is the journal for researchers, policymakers and practitioners across diverse disciplines: earth sciences and their implications; environmental sciences; engineering; urban studies; geography; and the social sciences. IJDRR publishes...
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  18. 1998-12-01 This book provides advice to relief workers considering a distribution of seeds and tools to refugees or displaced people. It covers preliminary assessment, project design, and implementation, including the choice of seeds and tools to distribute, and methods of distribution. It emphasizes the...
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  20. Abstract,Biological Agriculture and Horticulture, 2012 The attainment of the Millennium Development Goals is at severe risk owing to rising malnutrition and high child stunting and mortality rates, greater poverty, a large increase in the incidence of non-communicable diseases and lack of...
  21. 2019-11-20 Session :"Foodlife" is a word coined by Toshihiro Takami, founder of the Asian Rural Institute (ARI), to describe the inseparable relationship between food and life. This concept guides the Food, Education and Sustainable Table (FEAST) process in this rural leader training program on an organic...
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  30. When Disaster Strikes This guide presents a seven-step method for assessing the security of farmers' seed systems in situations of acute or chronic stress. It offers guidance to help practitioners determine what seed-related assistance is needed. The guide serves as a practical manual for donor...
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