ReliefWeb

Addis abeba ENA November 6/2019 National Disaster Risk Management Commission (NDRMC) has anchored on the paradigm shift from managing geohazard crisis to managing risks, as an ongoing program in the country.

This was stated today during a two-day international workshop on reducing and managing risk from geohazards to save lives and sustain growth in Ethiopia under the theme “From Geohazard to Action in Ethiopia.”

Geohazard is geological and environmental conditions which involve the risk of volcano, earthquake, flood, landslide or tsunami that can pose short-term and long-term threats.

In his opening remarks NDRM Deputy Commissioner, Damene Darota said “Ethiopia’s geographic location and its diverse ecology make it vulnerable to climate induced disasters mainly to drought and flood.”

He stressed that climate change will become so worse in the years to come and the future.

Recognizing that Ethiopia and its partners have agreed to work through humanitarian assistance as short-term and development as medium to long-term programs, Damene elaborated.

“While pursuing efforts to capacitate disaster risk reduction and management across the country in the context of our National Disaster Risk Management Policy and Strategy, we have embarked on its implementation tool,” the Deputy Commissioner pointed out.

Stating that disaster risk management has multi-sectoral and multi-hazard approach, he said that the commission has identified lead agencies that will be responsible in mitigating their respective hazards.

However, Damene stated that the ownership has not reached up to the level of the expected result.

Consequently the country is facing recurrence of drought and flood and to certain extent incidents of geohazard risks in the form of landslide, ground fissures and earthquakes.