Avaliação de algumas experiências de prevenção e mitigação de desastres na América Latina: atores e papéis

In the last twenty years," natural" disasters have killed and wounded thousands of people and have caused physical damage worth billions of dollars. These disasters had their origin not in extraordinary natural phenomena, but in the lack of plans and programs for preventing and mitigating humanitarian disasters. This paper analyses some successful Latin American experiences in preventing and mitigating such disasters.Os desastres de origem" natural" deixaram milhares de mortos e feridos e causaram danos materiais de bilhões de dólares, nos últimos 20 anos. Esses desastres tiveram origem não tanto em fenômenos naturais extraordinários, mas na falta de planos e programas de prevenção e mitigação de desastres. Neste trabalho, analisam-se algumas experiências de êxito em matéria de prevenção e mitigação de desastres em alguns países da América Latina.Los desastres de origen" natural" han provocado miles de muertos y heridos y daños materiales por miles de millones de dólares en los últimos veinte años. Essos desastres han sido originados no tanto por los fenómenos naturales extraordinarios sino más bien por la falta de planes y programas de prevención y mitigación de desastres. En este trabajo se analizan algunas experiencias exitosas en materia de prevención y mitigación de desastres en algunos países de América Latina

2010 EARTHQUAKES IN HAITI AND CHILE. A SYSTEMIC COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Why did a relatively mild earthquake of 7.0 degrees on the Richter scale in Haiti cause more than 200,000 dead?  And why did a very intense 8.8 Richter earthquake in Chile cause less than one thousand dead? In this paper, the socio-economic, demographic, legal, cultural, and natural causes of these differences are analyzed from a systemic standpoint. The objective of this paper is to contribute to the creation of a set of standards for Latin-American cities, to be better prepared in confronting the effects of disastrous events such as earthquakes. Some of the preliminary conclusions of this paper are that the lack of high construction standards in Haiti, together with poverty and uncontrolled demographic growth in Port au Prince made the city very vulnerable. Chilean cities, on the other hand, with a better socio-economic and cultural level, and very strict construction standards, survived the earthquake and its sequels better than in Haiti

D S V, Disasters, a Systemic Vision

Disasters are occurring with continually increasing frequency and magnitude. The Tsunami of December 2004 in Indonesia caused more than 280,000 deaths and material losses surpassing 5 billion dollars. Nevertheless, disasters could be prevented and mitigated through a systemic, holistic, and integrated approach such as that presented in this article. This approach consists in analyzing the inputs, outputs and feedback of the process which occurs when a set of extraordinary natural or man-made phenomena occurs, in response to which people are generally not prepared to react quickly and efficiently enough. This paper analyzes some of the most important factors that propitiate disasters and recommends preventative and mitigating measures. Elements analyzed include: civil protection plans, programs and committees; scientific research and technological development; education, training and awareness; early warning systems; evacuation drills; urban development plans; resistant buildings and infrastructure; medical emergency services; and others.. Keywords: Disaster prevention & mitigation; systemic approach; education, training & awareness; scientific research & technological development; civil protection & citizen participation; risk maps & urban development plans

THE A H1N1 INFLUENZA PANDEMIC. A SYSTEMIC ANALYSIS OF ITS GENESIS, EVOLUTION AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC, CULTURAL AND HEALTH CONSEQUENCES IN MEXICO

<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0cm; margin-right:0cm; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:ES-MX; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:70.85pt 3.0cm 70.85pt 3.0cm; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> In April 2009 a health emergency was declared in Mexico City, as a new influenza virus (AH1N1) began to spread. This new virus was similar to the Spanish Influenza virus which caused the death of more than 40 million persons in 1918-1919. The 2009 health  emergency declaration in Mexico imposed  the suspension of  activities in crowded areas such as schools, restaurants, sports and recreational areas, during several days, causing important economic loses and deep seated fears in many persons. This paper presents a systemic analysis of the genesis and evolution of this pandemic and proposes some preliminary conclusions and recommendations. This pandemic situation was not as grave as expected, but the alert flags continue to be raised, at the world level, because the spread a very dangerous influenza epidemic is feared by the World Health Organization specialists