Disaster Mitigation
“Disaster mitigation has implications which are quite different—and much further-reaching—than those of disaster relief…Mitigation aims to increase the self-reliance of people in hazard-prone environments, to demonstrate that they have the resources and organization to withstand the worst effects of the hazards to which they are vulnerable. In other words, disaster mitigation—in contrast to dependency creating relief—is empowering.” – Boyden and Davis (1984)
In Harm’s Way is founded on three guiding principles for disaster mitigation and relief:
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Listen to the Earth – Assessing Risk
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Listen to the People – Communicating Risk
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Help People Listen to the Earth – Reducing Risk
Listen to the Earth
On any given project, In Harm’s Way determines which areas are most at risk of tsunami disasters through a combination of compiling historical records and geological evidence of past earthquake and tsunami events. These data are used to construct seismic hazard and tsunami inundation maps that inform those in harm’s way what is likely to happen.
Listen to the People
In Harm’s Way provides specific natural hazards education to villagers who live in the communities where the organization is doing its forecasting research
Help People Listen to the Earth
All of the efforts we make will not make a difference if we do not collaboration with local community leaders and experts so they are able to be self-reliant and function independently to continue implementation projects and trainings after In Harm’s Way leaves. This empowers families and individuals to continue building resilience and protect themselves and their families.
A geologic hazard is an extreme natural event that poses a threat to life and property, for example, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, floods, landslides, and extreme weather.
The key to reversing these losses to nature is to accurately assess, communicate and reduce the risk of natural hazards.