Disaster imagination webinar promoting a safer Dhaka

Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) and RTI International organized a disaster imagination webinar on 3 June, promoting a safer Dhaka.

The webinar took place under the auspices of the Urban Resilience Project funded by the World Bank, read a press release.

The philosophical underpinning of the workshop was, "If you cannot think it, you cannot prepare for it," which is also the core philosophy in the disaster imagination methodology.

The workshop used a disaster imagination tool developed by Professor Meguro at the University of Tokyo, a leading hub of innovation around disaster risk reduction and management.

The workshop was attended by a panel of national and international opinion leaders in the field of urban resilience.

Participants were led through realistic disaster scenarios in the workshop to personally visualize, plan, prepare, and support active recovery and response. In different breakout rooms, participants were engaged in disaster scenario exercises and trainers facilitated discussions.

This workshop helped participants understand how to assess their status just after an earthquake event and allowed them to decide on steps going forward.

The webinar also discussed whether predicting and staying safe from natural calamities is possible, and how to set up alternate communication channels when existing communication networks go down in a disaster.

During the workshop, Abdul Latif Helaly, project director for the Urban Resilience Project: Rajuk Component, said, "To achieve effective disaster preparedness, capacity building at all levels is necessary."

Swarna Kazi, task team leader from The World Bank, Dr Kimiro Meguro, team leader of RTI S6, Dr Kit Miyamoto, and Sabine Kast from Miyamoto International, managing directors, and other officials from various NGOs and garment industries, were present in the workshop.