Disaster Preparedness in New Zealand and Cambodia: A Conversation with Dr Chanrith Ngin

Developing expertise in disaster preparedness across the Asia Pacific

Dr Chanrith Ngin has learned that how people think about and react to disasters depends a lot on where they live. The concept of ‘disaster preparedness’ is about how communities and governments take action to anticipate, respond to or recover from disasters, and there are some big differences in approach between countries such as Cambodia and New Zealand.

Chanrith (n photo) has lived in multiple countries throughout the Asia-Pacific studying and working in academia. Through applied research, field work and personal experience, he has developed expertise in disaster preparedness, in particular from community and international development points of view.

Chanrith's experience includes research on how Southeast Asian immigrant communities prepare for and respond to disasters, conducted at the School of Social Sciences at the University of Auckland, as well as research on climate change impacts and disaster recovery at the Royal University of Phnom Penh in Cambodia.

How people prepare for and respond to disasters varies among communities, cultures and countries

So what are some of the differences in disaster preparedness between New Zealand and Asian countries? In Cambodia, Chanrith explains, disasters are an expected seasonal event that people know how to cope with and adapt to. “For example, in the flood-prone communities where I worked, villagers lived with disasters. Every year they expected floods and droughts and knew how to deal with them. They knew when and how to stock food and other necessary stuff, to take cattle to a safe hill, to grow different climate resilient crops, to prevent from snake bites, etc.”

 Similarly, in Japan, where Chanrith studied international development at Nagoya University, people commonly talked about earthquakes and tsunamis. “I experienced several mild earthquakes during my time there. We learned and knew what to do during and after an earthquake, at home, during class, while walking, etc. So, how to act, what to stock and what to take during an event.”

 By contrast, in more recent research Chanrith is doing at the University of Auckland as part of the government’s National Science Challenge programme, he found that people among Southeast Asian immigrant communities in Auckland did not think about or foresee disasters, and believed Auckland and New Zealand are quite safe. For this reason, they tended not to prepare much at home for disasters. Chanrith also sees this as indicative of the way New Zealanders more generally perceive disasters, as compared to people in other places he has investigated.

Sunset at Mekong River in Kratie Province (Chanrith's former research site). Image Credits - Chanrith Ngin

Warning systems for disasters are strong in New Zealand but not in Cambodia

While Cambodians may anticipate disasters as a way of life, people in rural areas there are not well informed about disasters, Chanrith says. “In Cambodia, many people depend on their knowledge, friends or fellow villagers to predict if a storm is coming and what to do about it. Government resources for rescue and recovery are limited. Oftentimes NGOs play a crucial role in education, training and recovery support.”

By contrast, in New Zealand institutions and support systems are strong, from warning to rescue and recovery. Since Chanrith moved to New Zealand in 2017, he has experienced a few storms here. “New Zealanders are lucky to have diverse forms of warning from various agencies, ranging from weather forecast on TV and radio, phone alerts to Facebook notifications. Response teams are fast and efficient. Recovery support is well funded. Education and awareness raising about disaster preparedness is widely provided by various agencies,” he points out.

Participants from the immigrant communities he studied in Auckland often rely on their religious institutions such as temples where they gather, share information and help each other with food and spiritual support. Similarly, social media, for example Facebook groups managed by temples, plays a crucial role in disseminating information and keeping members informed during a disaster event.

Disaster preparedness is also about human-caused disasters

Disasters are not only about the occurrence of natural events. Human-made or institution-induced disasters are dimensions to disaster preparedness often neglected by people or overlooked in policy development, Chanrith says. “Here in New Zealand we experienced the 2019 Christchurch terrorist attack which shocked everyone, and yet we were not prepared for that.”

This form of human-caused disaster in New Zealand worries Chanrith. “We have seen an increase in race and faith related incidents including physical attacks and online hate, our social cohesion is declining while our population is becoming more diverse, and our economy is becoming more difficult.” In Cambodia, he has observed the emergence of online scammers who swindle people out of their savings or even their life. “This is also a modern disaster that many people are not prepared for,” he says.

What New Zealand could learn on disaster preparedness

Cambodia might not be the first country that comes to mind for New Zealanders looking into ways to improve planning for disasters. Yet from his experience, Chanrith is of the view that New Zealand could learn from Cambodia in terms of how to meaningfully include local and indigenous communities in design and planning for disaster preparedness.

In New Zealand, Chanrith has observed the way in which iwi, marae and other community organisations play numerous critical roles in disaster preparedness, management and recovery. “These communities have great knowledge and practices about disasters because they know their places, have long lived through a multitude of disasters, and have survived and become resilient. They know how to help themselves and others. They just need sufficient resources like direct funding to do it.” In his view, closer collaboration and enough funding support from government could go a long way to improving our disaster preparedness here.

Areas for further work on disaster preparedness in New Zealand and Cambodia

In Cambodia, Chanrith would recommend further research into how people can build on their experience of disasters and adapt their knowledge and practices to climate change and impacts from development projects, such as hydropower dams.

Here in Aotearoa, Chanrith has seen a lot of scientific work focusing on technical aspects like modelling, governance and community engagement in nature related disasters. “While this is critical I would like to see more work on how to prevent and prepare for human and institution-induced disasters like race and faith-based violence. This would require interdisciplinary research into various economic, political, social and cultural tenets of the issue, and of course how community engagement would play out in prevention and preparedness.”

-Asia Media Centre

Banner Image - People on a ferry crossing Mekong River in Kratie Province. Image Credits - Chanrith Ngin