No abstract

Natural disasters have the potential to trigger technological accidents with the accompanying release of contaminating substances in the environment. Such incidents are expected to increase as the effects of climate change become more pronounced in an increasingly urbanized landscape. The Flash Environmental Assessment Tool (FEAT) has been developed at the request of the Joint Environment Unit (JEU) of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in order to allow disaster responders, including assessment and coordination teams, to identify and prioritize locations with an evident risk of technological accidents and corresponding chemical releases. The evaluations from use of FEAT in disaster response, simulations, trainings and for hazard mapping provide evidence that the tool is considered useful, easy to use, and widely applicable both in disaster preparedness and response in developing countries, As such, FEAT can be first step in embarking on an inclusive disaster risk reduction programme, and should be followed by identified priority actions such as conduction of detailed risk assessments at the local level, creation of industrial hazard maps, regulation and enforcement of land-use in the vicinity of industrial facilities, and training disaster managers and adjacent communities on chemical accident response.