Water and Disasters: Cases from the High Level Experts and Leaders Panel on Water and Disasters

Abstract

Water is life. But water is also a threat to life. During the past decade, the risks from water-related disasters are increasing and hamper sustainable development by causing political, social, and economic upheaval in many countries. Water-related disasters, such as floods, droughts, storm surges and tsunamis, account for 90% of all disasters in terms of number of people affected.The issue of "water and disasters" must be addressed if we hope to make sustainable development a reality. We must share our experiences and lessons learned, strengthen regional coordination and collaboration, and set common goals and targets in order to lay a foundation for weathering the water-related disasters to come, and make progress towards creating a better-prepared and more resilient society. All these elements should be translated into clear-cut messages and practical advice for decision makers to create effective policies and mechanisms that address water and disaster issues appropriately at all levels.The High Level Experts and Leaders Panel on Water and Disasters (HELP) was established to assist the international community, governments and stakeholders in mobilizing political will and resources. It will promote actions to raise awareness, ensure coordination and collaboration, establish common goals and targets, monitor progress, and take effective measures aimed at addressing the issues of water and disasters.During 2014, members of HELP solicited case studies on water and disasters. After review, these contributions comprise this special issue of Water Policy. The cases and the special issue were also done to provide input to discussion on this topic at the World Water Forum 7 in the Republic of South Korea.The special issue consists of 10 cases studies and concludes with a summary position paper of members of the HELP: 'Water-Related Disaster Risk Reduction: Time for Preventive Action: Position paper of the High Level Experts and Leaders Panel on Water and Disasters'.The special Issue begins with 'A Global Perspective on Flood Disasters' written by Dr Wolfgang Kron of the Munich Reinsurance Company (Kron, 2015). The article notes that various disasters in recent decades have confirmed that the risk from water-related events has been increasing significantly worldwide. The driving factors of this risk are the unabated increase in global population, the concentration of people in high-risk areas such as coasts, flood plains and hillsides, the rise in vulnerability of

Public health without water? Emergency water supply and minimum supply standards of hospitals in high-income countries using the example of Germany and Austria

“…One of the seven core global targets defined in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 is to 'substantially reduce disaster damage to critical infrastructure and disruption of basic services' as well as 'to promote the resilience of new and existing critical infrastructure, including water, transportation and telecommunications infrastructure, educational facilities, hospitals and other health facilities, to ensure that they remain safe, effective and operational during and after disasters in order to provide life-saving and essential services'. (UNDRR, 2015) This target is, worldwide, of particular relevance as the 21st century is characterized by major natural hazards (e.g., extreme weather events due to climate change) (Priscoli & Hiroki, 2015;Liu et al, 2016) and new security policy hazards (e.g., asymmetric conflicts, international terrorism, fundamentalism of various forms, and associated military conflicts) (Pescaroli & Alexander, 2016). Both types of hazards can potentially harm CI (BMI, 2009;Urlainis et al, 2014;Liu et al, 2016;Pescaroli & Alexander, 2016).…”