UNITED NATIONS DISASTER ASSESSMENT AND COORDINATION

What is the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team?
It is an emergency response tool designed to support the authorities of an affected country, the United Nations Resident Coordinator, and the United Nations Disaster Management Team (UNDMT) in case of a disaster or other sudden onset emergency requiring immediate international humanitarian response. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) manages the UNDAC System from Geneva through the Field Coordination Support Section (FCSS) located within the Emergency Services Branch (ESB).

Who are its members?
Some 50 Governments worldwide and several United Nations agencies, the Red Cross Movement and other regional and international organisations provide disaster management experts to the UNDAC system. These experts are from different emergency response backgrounds and systems in their own countries or agencies. UNDAC Team members receive additional United Nations training and participate in yearly refresher courses to ensure that relevant skills are kept up to date.

How does it function?
In case of disaster, OCHA calls on the UNDAC experts and selects a team out of those available to carry out an immediate United Nations mission. OCHA is prepared to mobilise an UNDAC mission within the first 12-24 hours of a disaster. The UNDAC system reaches its members for the purpose of mobilisation through national 24 hour mobilising centres and UNDP offices around the world.

When is it mobilised?
- In case of a major sudden onset disaster requiring international assistance, OCHA has the United Nations mandate to provide support for the coordination of this assistance.

- If external search and rescue support is needed for the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) requires that OCHA immediately mobilise an UNDAC Team to support the arrival and orientation of rescue teams. INSARAG includes 60 United Nations member states that may provide search and rescue assistance to a country affected by a disaster.

Who initiates the mobilisation process?
A request for an UNDAC deployment can be made either by the United Nations Resident Coordinator or a Government of the affected country. OCHA may also spontaneously off emergency response tools in case of a major disaster.

What does the UNDAC Team do?
- International Coordination Support - The UNDAC Team is trained to manage a coordination centre to help with orientation, information exchange and/or strategic planning amongst international partners and for overall liaison between the international relief community and the governmental emergency authorities. To this end it establishes an on-site operations coordination centre (OSOCC).

- Information Management - It can help manage and disseminate information amongst international partners involved in relief activities and between the international partners and the national disaster management authorities. It contributes to the timely information the OCHA issues in its Situation Reports and on the Reliefweb.

- Assessment Activities - The UNDAC Team can make a rapid cross-sectoral assessment of the situation if needed beyond existing assessment efforts. It can also help the UNDMT coordinate the international agency assessment process.

- Resource Mobilisation - It can assist in mobilising resources for the emergency. The UNDAC Team is in liaison with OCHA so that the information completed at the field level is quickly disseminated to the international community and donors, thus facilitating funding decisions

How is the UNDAC Team financed?
The UNDC Team is entirely supported by voluntary donor contributions. In principle, Governments pay for the training and participation of their national experts. If a disaster prone developing country wishes to join the UNDAC System but cannot finance its participation, FCSS raises additional funds for selected experts.

Website www.reliefweb.int

UNITED NATIONS SUPPORT TO HURRICANE KATRINA DISASTER

Background
- On 29 August 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the United States Gulf Coast states of Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi with winds speeds of more that 220 km/hr. The storm's winds and rain led to widespread flooding, which caused extensive damage to infrastructure in Louisiana and Mississippi. Furthermore on 30 August, the protective levee system of New Orleans failed causing additional water from Lake Pontchartrain to flood great areas of the city. As of December 2005 in Louisiana, 650,000 persons are still displaced, 1,071 persons were killed, 6,000 persons are still listed as missing, and the economic loss is approx $37B US.

- In the wake of the disaster, the United Nations Secretary General offered full United Nations humanitarian assistance to the United States Government to support their affected communities. The offer was accepted on 3 September and the United Nations immediately put staff with emergency skills on standby, surveyed available relief supplies, and began deploying technical specialists into requested areas

- Between 4 and 22 September, the United Nations deployed 37 staff to operate in various United Nations Inter-Agency teams in five locations including:
1. The USAID/OFDA Hurricane Katrina Operations Centre in Arlington
2. FEMA Regional Coordination Centre in Atlanta
3. FEMA Baton Rouge Command Centre
4. Denton Command Centre
5. Little Rock United States Air Force Base

Summary of United Nations Assistance
In response to requests from United States authorities addressing the emergency, the main contributions from the United Nations included the deployment of logistical, liaison, field and technical support teams

United Nations Logistics Teams
Three United Nations Logistic Teams comprised WFP and UNICEF staff were deployed to support United States authorities in monitoring and establishing systems for receipt and delivery of internally donated relief supply. Teams supported operations on the USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7), at Little Rock Air Force Base, and in the USAID/OFDA Operations Centre in Arlington. Together with USAID/OFDA counterparts, logistics teams assisted field assessment teams to better identify immediate needs based on accurate stock reports of commodities supplied by the international community. In doing so an effective 'supply pull system' was established. Items received from the international community included, MREs, non-perishable food, generators, school supplies, shelter materials, emergency personnel, telecommunications equipment, and assorted relief commodities.

United Nations Field Teams
Two United Nations Inter-Agency Field Teams composed of staff from OCHA/UNDAC, WFP, UNICEF, WHO, UNHCR members were deployed to Denton Texas and Baton Rouge Louisiana. Teams worked with USAID/OFDA and FEMA officials and met with state and country emergency management officials participating in the relief and recovery operation. In addition, they met with the American Red Cross and international NGOs to advise on assessments in the affected areas in disaster recovery centres/shelters. The team based in Denton completed assessments in the larger disaster recovery centres/shelters in Austin, St Antonio, and Huston and areas of Arkansas that were relying on support from neighbouring communities. The team based in Baton Rouge worked with local officials and visited most of the affected areas in New Orleans, Gulfport and Bay of St Louis.

Technical Advisors
United Nations Agencies offered technical advice and mobilised experts to support specific activities in various sectors. Technical experts primarily provided consultative support to the front line response and to the different US authorities and departments to which they were dispatched.

Health - WHO/PAHO experts supported the CDC in surveillance activities and HHS in health sector recovery planning as well as coordination of international assistance in health. Additional experts contributed to assessments of recovery centres/shelters with a special emphasis on environmental health issues. WHO/PAHO also produced public service announcements for Spanish speaking constituencies in the affected area, and technical materials for rapid evaluation of needs and management of dead bodies.

Displaced Persons Register - UNHCR deployed the Head of its Population Data Unit from its Geneva Headquarters to work with the CDC and HHS authorities in. preparing a survey for residents in recovery centres/shelters on migration behaviour and mental health, and evaluating registration and counting procedures in shelters with a view to improving population statistics.

Information Management - At the request of the NGO community, OCHA deployed an advisor to the Office of the Governor of Louisiana to provide consultative services on the establishment and development of an information management system similar to that of a United Nations Humanitarian Information Centre (HIC). The HIC advisor helped local officials assess how all the humanitarian information available to service providers and affected populations could be streamlined into a single information system.

Emergency Supplies
UNICEF contributed two planeloads of approximately 740 recreation kits and almost 1,000 schools in box sets for over 60,000 school children. These supply were distributed to small groups of displaced populations in close coordination with the Department of Education (DOE) officials and NGO partners to ensure the creation of safe spaces for children in the displaced shelters.

Lessons Learned and/or observations
- The United Nations contribution to the response was most valuable in providing technical, liaison, and advisory services, particularly in logistics, registration, information management, health and coordination of international assistance.

- Coordination between multiple federal agencies (FEMA, CDC, HSS and DOD etc) and between federal and state (as well as inter-state) and county agencies was complex with numerous plays and varying roles and responsibilities. However, rather that resulting in gaps that the United Nations could fill, the complex management structure was more likely to result in duplication which resulted in the United Nations needing to be cautious in how it could best intervene.

- Establishing a United Nations Inter-Agency Liaison Team in Washington D.C. facilitated strong agency cooperation and worked as an integrated team that drew upon the talents of the operational agencies. The United Nations effort was also enhanced by a single report and coordination structure.

- Throughout the operation, it was helpful for United Nations staff to have strong collaboration with USAID/OFDA. As the operation progressed, links were developed with FEMA and local officials that improved response. These relationships helped identify gaps where United Nations agencies could provide support and promoted information flow between federal, state and local authorities with regard to available international assistance.

- It was felt that the United Nations deployment of an expert on registration and survey techniques, and as advisor on information management systems played a valuable role operational and building future relationships with relevant United States counterparts.

- The United Nations, together with USAID/OFDA, was able to establish a 'pull system' for internationally donated relief supplies, thus facilitating prompt distribution of goods based on specific requests. This system was instrumental in reducing the risk of over supply and ensuring that needs identified by the field teams were met whenever possible. Logistics teams also helped establish a system for track international donations to the point of distribution.

- The United Nations was able to offer concrete technical advice and lend information products that have been developed in other emergencies to facilitate Louisiana authorities' ability to establish a Centralised Humanitarian Information System (CHIS). The CHIS expedited the consolidation and management of information about services and logistics for all evacuees and is available to humanitarian service providers to assist them in their work.

- It was extremely helpful to be able to call on WFP already established relationship with Citigroup, which generously provided support for working space and accommodation in Baton Rouge.