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Role of media stressed in disaster mitigation
KATHMANDU, JAN 13 - Print and electronic media play a vital role in disseminating information related to disaster issues and, to some extent, help in its management. This view was expressed here today at a national workshop organised to mark the Earthquake Safety Day 2004.
The workshop on the role of mass media in disaster management was jointly organised by National News Agency (RSS), National Society for Earthquake Technology-Nepal (NSET), Action Aid Nepal (AAN) and Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC).
Emphasising the role of media in all the three phases- pre, post and during disaster phases, Mahesh Nakarmi of NSET remarked media was active only during the disaster phase, but very few stories, articles and programmes were presented during the pre and post disaster phase. He said, "Media gives enormous space, time and attention to Krishnabhir only during the monsoon seasons but now everybody seem to forget the Krishnabhir issue."
Dr Durga Nath Sharma, a noted personality in media, also emphasised on specific space allocation in the print media throughout the year in the form of news, articles, editorials, photographs and so on to cover disaster issues. As the Asian region, especially the South East Asia, is vulnerable to earthquake, he suggested that representatives of SAARC nations should prepared an agenda for disaster management.
Every year 20,000-30,000 families are affected only by floods and water-related disaster and half of them lose their earnings and resources, one way or the other.
Highlighting the notion ‘prevention is better than cure’, Man Bahadur Thapa of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) observed that it was wise to spend money to mitigate disaster than to spend it during catastrophe. He said, "Disasters can be minimised easily with one-third of the amount that is otherwise spent after the catastrophes leave their mark."
Buddhi Weerasinghe of ADPC said, "There should be precision in disaster reporting." He said a small error in media can have an adverse impact on the whole nation.
Separate groups of media personnel from print, electronic media, and media policy group discussed problems, solutions and recommendations relating to disaster management issues.
Lack of official information about disaster-related issues was considered to be a major problem and a central information-disseminating department was recommended to reduce ambiguity in disaster reporting, among others, at the workshop.Posted on: 2004-01-14 04:10
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