A deep dive side event at the recent 3rd Clean Pacific Roundtable dug into the importance of including disaster waste management into the operations of National Disaster Management Offices to reduce disaster risk, according to an article on ReliefWeb.
Held as many of the participants were preparing for the upcoming cyclone season, the discussion focused on issues faced by Pacific islands in the aftermath of disaster events, and the changes in the type of wastes that those rebuilding had to address. As these islands and nations continue to develop economically, the wastes increasingly shift from natural materials to manufactured or processed ones, which can be more challenging to dispose of, and pose potentially greater health risks to residents.
Despite waste materials being a major concern during disaster response and recovery, in the form of debris blocking roads, and downed power lines, the handling and disposal of these by-products of disaster is rarely included in operational plans.
Source:
https://reliefweb.int/report/american-samoa/managing-disaster-waste-strengthen-country-resiliency
