Services: Strategic Planning; DRRM
Location: Penang, Malaysia
Year: 2019 – 2020
Client: PLANMalaysia Penang
Partner: Urban Scale Studio (lead planner)
The Penang Hill Special Area Plan includes a special section on disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM). The section is intended to provide decision makers, planners, responders and disaster risk management practitioners with an overview of the DRRM structure, policies and plans for Penang Hill.
A thorough DRRM framework forms the foundation for effective response, both at the national and local levels. Such a framework, especially if elaborated in a collective, participatory manner, enables interoperability of stakeholders at all levels. At the local and national level, a fully comprehensive DRRM framework consists of three sub-elements: the strategic framework, the legal framework and the response plans.
The strategic framework for DRRM for the Penang State and Penang Hill forms the overarching structure, including the authority and high-level designation of roles and responsibilities. This needs to be supported by corresponding legislation and further be spelled out in corresponding response plans.
The legal framework translates the strategic framework into a hierarchy of norms in the constitution as well as within national, sub-national, and local legislation, where applicable. It describes the structure of the national system for DRRM and foresees and further defines a corresponding hierarchy of response plans.
Response plans outline the actions to be taken in response to emergencies in accordance with strategic and, in most cases, legal frameworks. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) were prepared together with corresponding easy-to-use checklists and templates.
