Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-03-13-Speech-1-144"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20060313.20.1-144"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
". – Mr President, the tragic South Asian tsunami heightened public awareness, for the first time, of the possibility of similar extreme events threatening our homes and livelihoods. Although on a lesser scale, just weeks later, a major storm in Carlisle – a town in my constituency – coupled with hurricane winds and high tides produced exceptional rainfall, leading to the overtoppling of defences and flooding of 3 000 homes and hundreds of businesses, drowning two elderly ladies in their beds and forcing thousands of people from their homes, some for many months.
I felt the devastation in Carlisle as deeply as I felt the aftermath of the tsunami and the earthquake in South Asia some months later. The EU suffered personal tragedies in all cases, as our holiday-makers in Sri Lanka and Thailand were washed away and our friends and families in Pakistan and Kashmir were lost in the rubble.
The positive side of all this was the strengthening of our collective belief in the force of community across the globe, with the outpouring of aid and goodwill from governments and individuals alike. In that adversity we saw the best of human nature. Yet even the best suffer fatigue and it became clear in November, as the Kashmiris faced a second wave of deaths from disease and exposure, that the donor community cannot be relied upon to respond decisively where political will is lacking.
The EU's Rapid Response and Preparedness Instrument must fill this void and work closely with the UN system to take advantage of our pooled resources and see to it that when our friends need us we come to their aid. Given the impact of climate change, we must accept that extreme events will continue, and with increasing frequency.
In Carlisle we have a new strategy for flood management – making space for water, undertaking integrated urban drainage pilot schemes to investigate how the threat of floods can be better managed. Prevention is crucial and environmental concerns such as the sound management of natural resources like forests and wetlands are key tools in the evasion of disasters, lessening their impact on people, homes and livelihoods.
Whatever prevention strategies are put in place and however much is invested, it is unrealistic to think that these disasters can be eliminated. We must learn from them. Large sums need to be invested in warning mechanisms, risk maps and public awareness campaigns to ensure our citizens are aware of the risks.
We must ensure that prevention, detention and warning mechanisms for natural hazards in Europe and across the globe are robust and put our citizens – from Carlisle to Kashmir – in the best position to prevent, prepare for and respond to disasters.
In this report Parliament has significantly improved the Commission's proposal and it is one that I can fully recommend to this House."@en1
|
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples