In Madagascar, hurricane simulation transforms into real-life disaster response

In Madagascar, hurricane simulation transforms into real-life disaster response

A recent hurricane simulation exercise to test Madagascar’s emergency preparedness quickly turned into a real-life disaster response scenario as a tropical cyclone hit the island.

Researchers at Columbia Climate Institute National Disaster Prevention Center (NCDP) has spent months preparing to run tropical cyclone simulations to test how well Madagascar’s newly developed customs clearance procedures work in an emergency.This exercise is related to Global Trade Facilitation Allianceand integrated into the work in progress World Customs Organization COVID-19 project, funded by the Japanese government.

But as the simulation date approached, Tropical Cyclone Battersea slammed into the island as a Category 4 hurricane.

accustomed to Cope with the unexpected, NCDP’s disaster experts and their partners quickly adapted and repurposed workshops to address more pressing needs identified by Madagascar’s National Office for Risk and Disaster Management (National Risk and Disaster Management Agency, or BNGRC) and customs agencies (Duan Madagascar).In doing so, they have helped support several government agencies as they prepare and process Battersea’s influence.

delayed aid

Madagascar is currently experiencing a severe famine caused by its worst drought in 40 years.This BBC report In December, some 1.3 million people struggled to find food, and 28,000 faced hunger.

“Every day children die from malnutrition,” says Antonia Samuelan NCDP staff member who, together with the NCDP Director, facilitated the work in Madagascar Jeffrey Schlegelmilch“A lot of aid groups deliver food, but sometimes the customs clearance process can take a long time. Emergency management mentioned a few instances where food spoiled while waiting for customs clearance in ports, when you have so many malnourished and starving people , that’s bad.”

With the arrival of COVID-19 medical supplies, being able to quickly deliver humanitarian aid across borders has become even more important. That’s why Madagascar Customs has started working with the BNGRC and the World Customs Organization to develop practical guidelines for post-disaster humanitarian clearance. As these guidelines were developed, they needed to be tested in real-world settings, which led to contacting the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation and the NCDP for assistance.

Together, they developed a plan to test customs procedures in a fictitious disaster scenario and find ways to safely improve the flow of humanitarian aid into the country.

change of plan

The original plan was to run the scenario — a simulated hurricane — on February 11. But the situation became more urgent as Tropical Cyclone Bazilai intensified and took aim at Madagascar.

Based on input from Customs and the BNGRC, researchers held a pre-landing workshop on February 4 to review practical guidance on customs clearance procedures, discuss how they can help in dealing with Batsirai, and make stakeholders more familiar and more likely to use them they. An after-action workshop will then be held on February 11 after the storm to discuss findings, recommendations and improvement plans, and to integrate new lessons into the initial response.

Fortunately, “we already have a structure in place to discuss how customs guidelines work in the event of a disruptive event — in this case, a cyclone,” Schlegelmilch explained. “So it doesn’t require major changes to the approach.”

Often, when the NDCP runs a disaster simulation, the fictional scenario provides an experiment or petri dish that allows researchers to assess procedures and readiness. In this case, Schlegelmilch said: “We didn’t need a petri dish because a real-life hurricane was coming, so we adjusted our goals, discussion questions and evaluation criteria. But we’re still testing the same thing: the usefulness of customs guidelines. sex.”

But last-minute changes to plans do require some flexibility and adaptability. Coordinators for scheduled coordination exercises did not have vacancies on earlier dates. So, the day before the first workshop, a hurricane hit them, and Schlegelmilch asked Samur to facilitate the day. “It was probably the most stressful I’ve been leading the workshop — we didn’t want to miss anything,” said Samur, who speaks French but is not fluent. With the help of strategically onboarded local partners, event translators and Google Translate, she weathered the storm and even received some compliments from attendees (after warning tolerant audiences of language barriers).

The planned change will also require a massive pivot in event logistics coordinated by the Global Trade Facilitation Alliance’s team. Facilities, translators, invitations, documentation and everything needed to make this happen have been adjusted to fit the revised approach. Logistical processes that would normally take weeks to coordinate were shifted in just a few days.

storm is coming

When Batsirai approached, a colleague who supported the project, Andrew Cruzkiewicz At the International Institute for Climate and Society in Colombia, the team keeps track of storm tracks, risks to watch and whether they should evacuate.

The workshop was the most attended, attracting 30 delegates from aid organisations such as the World Food Programme, the Red Cross and UNICEF, as well as various government agencies including international affairs, health, customs and emergency management. Private sector logistics partners were also in attendance.

“The fact that we had a room full of people who had to respond the day before the cyclone arrived — that tells us it’s a very important issue,” Samuel said.

While Batsirai’s imminent arrival limits the opportunity to make significant changes, Samur believes it’s important that they are able to bring all these important stakeholders to the negotiating table. “It’s great to see the issues resolved because they’re just in the same room being able to talk through these procedures,” she said.

“What we provide is information to help those processes and help improve them,” Schlegelmilch added. “In some ways, it’s just a matter of people being more aware of their existence and you’ll see the benefit right away.”

Jeffrey Schlegelmilch, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, posed a question at a workshop held after the hurricane struck.Photo: Lindra Lambellomanana

potential solutions

Participants in the pre-landing and post-action workshops discussed what worked and what didn’t, and suggested various solutions that might help humanitarian aid get through customs in a timely manner. These include:

• Develop expedited clearance procedures for use in emergency situations, such as pre-clearance;
• Clearly explain to aid organisations what the procedure is and what documents are required for quick clearance;
• Create a committee to quickly clean up the stock, rather than requiring individual approval from each government agency.

These and other recommendations were compiled in a report by the NCDP and the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation and shared with the Madagascar government. Ultimately, it is up to Customs and the government to decide how to respond and what advice to take.

“We’re not feeding 10,000 people or building shelters or anything like that,” Schlegelmilch said. “We focus on the most mundane and boring administrative processes. Yet it is the gateway to all aid, and all aid in photos and newsreels. So I believe this work will have a very big impact.”