12/05/2014 14:12 Is Chile well prepared for disasters?

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A panel of Chilean and international researchers discussed the reasons behind the apparently
well-performance of the Chilean society and their institutions in recent disasters (organized by
the Chilean Society from University College London Union).
Is Chile well prepared for disasters? Is Chile well prepared for disasters?
In the last years, Chile has been seen as a good practice example for facing disasters,
especially regarding the quality of the building codes and how they have been rigorously
implemented. Nevertheless, researchers working on disasters, emergency and reconstruction
in Chile acknowledge that there is still space for improving processes and coordinating
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different approaches. For instance, what can be learnt from past experiences; and how to
promote disaster risk reduction plans and community resilience.
The Chilean State is proud of how international agencies, such as UNISDR refer to the way the
emergency management was conducted after the 8.2-earthquake that occurred the 1st of
April this year (UNISDR 2014): few fatalities, quick response and so on (CNN 2014). Could it
thus be asserted that Chile is well prepared for disasters? And if so, what are the underlying
reasons? Based on statements transmitted by national and international media after the last
8.2 Richter scale earthquake in Northern Chile, it seems that the answer is yes; Chile is well-
prepared for disasters. Nevertheless, this is an oversimplified answer because further aspects
need to be considered, of which the two following were discussed. One crucial aspect is to pay
more attention to the reconstruction process after the disaster, and the other is how a variety
of natural hazards (not only earthquakes), which trigger differentiated responses, are
managed. Moreover, it was also discussed the need to include not only hazards, but also
vulnerabilities and different capacities of people in the process of risk management; and the
role of the media and impacts of institutions (citizenship and empowerment).
For example, the reason why authorities and people believe Chile is well- prepared for
disasters is strongly influenced by an understanding of disasters as those triggered by
earthquakes, learned throughout its history, and which have particular characteristics such as
the high pressure exerted on the functioning and stability of the built environment. In that
sense, the construction sector, which includes construction companies, workers and
professionals but also a set of public policies, institutions and supervision, are critical to
define the level of impact (both social and physical) of an earthquake. Construction sector is
particularly tested for earthquake situations, which results in low levels of damaged and
collapsed buildings, and thus, low fatalities. This is because Chile has good building codes
that are updated after every earthquake, and codes are also supported by strict regulations
and supervision and low corruption in the construction sector.
Nevertheless, one should not be misled for this conclusion, because these successes cannot
be assumed to transfer automatically to other risks. Chile has well-established building codes,
emergency procedures and mechanisms for earthquakes, but what about other natural or
human-made hazards? And what happens next, after a disaster takes place? What happens in
the reconstruction phase?
It seems that Chile is well-prepared only for earthquakes, but shows uneven development and
preparedness to other disasters triggered by natural or human-made hazards, such as the
volcano eruption in Chaitn in May 2008 and the recent fires in Valparaso, which destroyed
more than 2,500 housing units and produced more than 11,000 affected and displaced
people. Several communities affected by the volcano eruption in Chaitn in 2008 are still
asking for support, claiming negligence and fighting against forgetfulness. It seems that
people especially the poorest and more vulnerable affected by the fires in Valparaiso and
by the 8.2-earthquake might potentially face similar struggles, especially in the reconstruction
phase. It was discussed that even though Chile seems to be prepared for earthquakes and
performs well in its preparedness and emergency management, problems arise in the long-
term reconstruction. For example, in 2013, several buildings in villages close to Iquique were
still in ruins after the 2005 earthquake, which were probably affected by the last earthquake of
April 1s, 2014.
Some of the ideas that came up from our panel is that Chilean authorities should consider
reconstruction processes as more than the mere construction of housing units within the
emergency response, which implies more than just providing shelter for the affected
population. As disasters can create the opportunity for improvement, reconstruction processes
are the arena where social conflicts can be solved or mitigated, and thus disaster risk
reduction strategies can be properly applied.
Disasters can also trigger learning processes, such as demonstrated with the building codes
that are updated after major earthquakes. In this sense, the creation of institutions is
important not only for dealing with the emergency phase, but also the reconstruction process
and the prevention measures before the next disaster. Chile has been witnessed of the
creation of a variety of institutions after disasters, such as the CORFO (Chilean Cooperation for
Production Development) after the 1960-earthquake in Valdivia, or the creation of the ONEMI
(National Office of Emergency of the Interior Ministry) after the 1965-earthquake in La Ligua.
Another concern that emerged in the discussion is the lack of attention paid to multiple
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hazards and disasters and their interactions. For example, tensions could arise between both
disasters (the earthquake in the north and the fire in Valparaiso) in regards to the attention
paid to the affected population. As happened with the Chaitn community after the
earthquake in 2010, people affected by the 8.2- earthquake could fall into oblivion as
consequence of the public, media and political attention paid to the Valparaiso fires.
This uneven development in response, emergency management and disaster impacts, which
manifests itself e.g. in insufficient coordinating capacities among actors at different policy
levels and/or for different disasters, reveals that Chile lacks a comprehensive strategy for
disaster risk reduction (UNESCO et al 2012). For instance, risk assessments are mandatory for
any master plan in Chile, however, risk assessment is in reality a hazards mapping, in other
words, just an identification of threats in a map. Risk assessments in Chile rarely meet other
crucial aspects within the production of risk such as vulnerability, inequality and coping
capacities.
From the past experiences, it can be said that plans for reconstruction in Chile, as well as
disaster risk reduction strategies, are systematically defined by experts, neglecting almost
completely the input from the affected population. Another topic for discussion was the need
for improving public policies to face disasters in a country with different hazards such as
volcano eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, fires and droughts. What are the roles of
the State, the third sector and the civil society when an emergency affects the country? The
identification of the root causes of vulnerability, the definition of plans to reduce risks, and
participatory plans of reconstruction should be generally included in the political agenda and
not only receive attention when disasters strike. In general, government approaches have clear
top-down focus for emergencies, however it is necessary to open the debate and analysis to a
more bottom-up understanding of disasters.
In academia, there is a high interest in research on disasters, and it was mentioned in the
debate that two centres were created, one at the Pontificia Universidad Catlica de Chile
(Centro de Investigacin para la Gestin Integrada de Desastres Naturales CIGIDEN) and
other at the Universidad de Chile (Centro de Investigacin en Vulnerabilidades y Desastres
Socionaturales CIVDES). Nevertheless, in general there is still a focus and interest in
emergency and post disaster management rather than tackling the root causes of disasters in
Chile (socio-economic, political and cultural ones). Thus, paying more attention to
prevention, preparedness and disaster risk reduction, as well as creating more synergies
between these research centres and focusing on the production of effective public policies is
considered crucial.
More about the roundtable More about the roundtable
Date: Monday 14th April at 3PM GTM
Video: on-air debate from London, Berlin and Santiago (See Video)
Full report: 2014-Report Roundtable Disasters
A panel of Chilean and international researchers met to discuss the reasons of the proclaimed
well-performance of the Chilean society and their institutions in recent disasters. The
discussion centred on the case of the 8.2-Richter-scale earthquake in Northern Chile on 1st
April this year, and the fires that blazed part of Valparaiso one of the largest city in Chile
just two days before this roundtable took place.
The idea of a roundtable was originally constructed over the discussion and insights that
emerged during the session titled Disasters, Emergency and Reconstruction as part of the
ChileGlobal Seminars UK. This particular session took place on 14th November 2013 and
included presentations and interactions of some participants of the roundtable.
Participant descriptions: Participant descriptions:
Juan Sebastian Lama Juan Sebastian Lama is an Chilean architect that holds an MA in sociology, both from
Pontificia Universidad Catlica de Chile and a MSc in Cities at the London School of Economics
(LSE). He specialises in combining urban design and social sciences for addressing urban
conflicts.
Daniel Lorenz Daniel Lorenz studied Peace and Development Research at the University of Gothenburg in
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Sweden, Philosophy, Sociology and Political Sciences at the University of Kiel in Germany and
holds a MA from the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Kiel.
Julia Wesely Julia Wesely holds a BSc in Environment and Natural Resource Management from the
University of Applied Life Sciences in Vienna and a MSc in Ecosystems, Governance and
Globalisation from Stockholm University. In her PhD, she currently explores how different
definitions and measurements of risk, vulnerability and poverty relate to local coping
mechanisms of urban dwellers.
Bernadette Devilat Bernadette Devilat is a Chilean architect and MArch from the Pontifical Catholic University
of Chile, and current PhD candidate at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. Her research
focuses on generate new architectural and design alternatives to address the re- construction
in heritage villages affected by earthquakes in Chile, having into account the sense of
sustainability that used to characterize them.
Vicente Sandoval Vicente Sandoval is a Chilean planner, PhD candidate in Development Planning at the
Bartlett Development Planning Unit (DPU), University College London, and holds a MSc in
Urban Management from the Technische Universitt Berlin in Germany. Vicente specialises on
the causation of disasters and vulnerability production.
Rodrigo Caimanque Rodrigo Caimanque is an architect from Universidad de Chile and holds a MSc Spatial
Planning at University College London. Currently, his PhD research at Development Planning
Unit (UCL) is focused on the multi-scalar features of governance, linking urban politics and
cities political economy, as explanation of urban regeneration schemes.

References References
UNISDR. (2014). UNISDR praises Chilean response to earthquake and tsunami [press release]
available at http://www.unisdr.org/archive/37040 !
CNN. (2014). Experts: Strict building codes saved lives in powerful Chile earthquake press
release] available at http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/02/world/americas/chile- earthquake/!
UNESCO, PNUD, Cruz Roja Chilena, ONEMI Chile, & EU DG ECHO. (2012). Anlisis de Riesgos
de Desastres en Chile: VII Plan de Accin DIPECHO en Sudamrica 2011-2012. Santiago de
Chile.
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