Keetmashoop
//Kharas Regional Governor Lucia Basson has called on authorities to work towards strategies to reduce the impact of natural disasters threatening the region.
Speaking during the opening of a recent three-day workshop on disaster risk management and development of the //Kharas multi-hazard contingency plan, Basson said it is important to strive towards reduction of the impact of natural disasters on communities.
While acknowledging that there is no way of totally getting rid of natural hazards, she added that these hazards only become disasters when people are affected.
“Hazards only become disasters when people’s lives and livelihoods are swept away,” she said adding that it is therefore up to people to mitigate the ravaging effects of these natural disasters.
She said people can and must reduce the impacts of disasters by building sustainable communities that have long-term capacity to live with risks.
Basson said it is important that leaders do hazard mapping in their respective communities to identify the specific hazards they face, adding that there are activities that can be undertaken as part of risk reduction and disaster risk management.
She emphasised that disaster risk management is a continuous cycle of activities, which includes disaster prevention, preparedness, response and recovery and this should be the ideal holistic approach to disaster risk management, as opposed to a response-focused approach.
Chief administration officer from the Office of the Prime Minister Disaster Risk Management Planning and Operation Division, Hima Kaluwa, told New Era that the main aim of the workshop is to train the //Kharas Regional Council on the legal framework on disaster management and to facilitate the development of the multi-hazard disaster plan of the region.
The workshop attended by members of the regional council and various town and village councils concluded last week on Thursday.