Project Helps Colombian Community, Potential for Many More
July 27, 2010 - In the last decade, the frequency, severity and complexity of disasters have dramatically increased, affecting hundreds of millions of people and straining the capacity of humanitarian organizations around the world. Through the years, ITT has sought to help victims of these disasters and has responded with critical funding, water and sanitation equipment, and trained emergency responders to crises such as the earthquake in Haiti, flooding in Honduras and the tsunami in Southeast Asia, among others.
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| Local business leaders and residents of La Cangrejera receive response and disaster preparedness training that utilize simulations to demonstrate the overall impact flooding can have on the community. Photo Courtesy of Mercy Corps |
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While ITT has traditionally focused on the business of helping communities recover after a disaster, the company is now partnering with Mercy Corps to help communities address water-related risks before a disaster occurs.
Susan Romanski, director of disaster risk reduction at Mercy Corps, explains, "The key is to get the private sector to participate in risk reduction activities before an emergency occurs. This way, comprehensive plans are developed to mitigate risk. And if an emergency should occur, communities have already worked with local government and civil society to more effectively and efficiently respond to the crisis."
The risk reduction project led by Mercy Corps, is occurring in La Cangrejera, a small, northeastern Colombian community located between the Magdalena River and the Atlantic Coast, a community home to 1,200 families. Every fall, La Cangrejera is impacted by heavy rains and dangerous street floods that damage local businesses and displace families.
The ITT disaster risk reduction project, led by Mercy Corps, will help prevent rainy season destruction by installing rainwater drainage systems and will work with community members to develop early warning notification systems. Local business leaders and residents of La Cangrejera will also receive response and disaster preparedness training that utilize simulations to demonstrate the overall impact flooding can have on the community.
Ultimately, ITT's Colombia risk reduction project will help reduce the impact of future flooding in La Cangrejera and establish long-term solutions that empower the local community to better cope with future environmental disasters on their own.
In addition to the positive impact residents in La Cangreja will experience, results from this project will be used to develop best practices for future risk reduction projects in communities around the world, driving innovation to improve the speed, quality and effectiveness of emergency response and preparedness.
