Disasters should teach us about the future we need to avoid

Writing this article from the Philippines amidst the suspension of public activities due to a storm named Pepito brings to mind thoughts on disaster response, particularly its relevance to the Tanzanian context, especially following the recent collapse of a business complex in Dar es Salaam.

So far this year, just to note, there have been 25 named storms and 37 tropical depressions in this part of the world, claiming over 1,000 lives.

When natural causes are not in play, such as earthquakes, etc., there is always someone who failed in their duties for an incident of a collapsing building like that of Kariakoo to happen. This could be in the standards of building: design, survey, capacity assessment, actual building, etc., or in the standards of usage, where the building is subjected to loads exceeding its intended limits.

While that discourse raises many questions, we will explore more about the trend of disaster preparedness and resilience as a wide variety of emergencies happen in the country. The lead question would be, are we learning from those situations? Is there growth from the mistakes of the past? Or, well put, is there evidence in our emergency rescue response that manifests advancement in emergency response and necessary preparedness?

The role of civilians has been ever the same: Taking risks with deep passion, seeking no fame and no reward, to save endangered persons in the water, rubbles, landslides, fires, etc. But the organised effort of the government, here with due respect, yet with honesty, has been judged from experience to be the same: slow, politicised with “all-will-be-fine” speeches, bureaucratic, and always without sufficient equipment.

While a merger of defence forces in such emergency operations is to be a huge boost, without proper equipment and expertise in such matters, layman’s knowledge and physical strength alone will do no good. Some security personnel were seen in several instances amidst such desperate situations wearing heavy machine guns, which in essence lack relevance in that context.

It happened, for example, in December last year, when people’s homes were swept by a landslide in Hanang, which displaced more than 5,000 people and claimed about 65 lives, leaving over a hundred injured. Police officers had guns in that operation, which were practically not the needed equipment. That aside, maybe our rescue teams need to be equipped with more and more hands-on expertise, if possible, from abroad, where rescue operations happen often because of natural disasters (mostly in Asian countries).

While it may not be said in the media, people complain about the delay in response from the government when such disasters happen. Why are there delays (especially in the day) when response teams should be on standby? The answer will most likely be bureaucracy, where every decision takes a whole long chain of command and instruction.

Emergency rescue response should be managed separately in such a way that the emergency teams first are not under the direction of political leaders, most of whom lack expertise in such matters, and secondly, they are free to respond as soon as possible to assess the situations and risks and begin the operations. The presence of these important departments financed by the taxpayers' money needs to be seen when disasters happen.

Civilian rescuers need the direction of trained rescuers for the safety of everyone, those being rescued and the people of good will risking their lives to save others.

Nonetheless, while updating the people about what is happening is important, these unfortunate incidents should not be politicised and taken as opportunities to give long speeches. Speeches in such disaster scenarios divert the attention of people from finding ways to assist in the rescue operations to standing idle listening to whoever is giving the speech.

As a flourishing nation with over 60 years of independence, a stronger and empowered emergency rescue response body should be one of our pride. This means the teams should be equipped with experts in safety and health and the necessary equipment.

If one collapsed building can put the whole city at a standstill, what will happen if, for example, we have a destructive storm and there are thousands of people to be rescued from collapsed buildings and flooded homes?

It is time we take seriously the lessons of history so that we can better shape the future we want as a nation. Having in place better ways of rescuing lives is a plausible development. On the other hand, it is time for the bureau responsible for construction standards to strictly study the buildings at risk of collapse leading to loss of lives and destruction of property and demolish those buildings. With corruption in such important tasks, many lives will be lost and there will be no change.

The government needs to also take into consideration the public outcry of delay in response, which has become normalised whenever there are emergencies. Disasters can claim anyone’s life; it is important that those responsible act with empathy and a future-oriented mindset to protect everyone.

Shimbo Pastory is a Tanzanian advocate for positive social transformation. He is a student of Ateneo de Manila University, Manila, the Philippines. Contact: [email protected]. Website: www.shimbopastory.com