Citation

Al-Nammari F, Alzaghal M. Int. J. Disaster Risk Reduct. 2015; 12: 34-41.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.ijdrr.2014.11.005

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Disasters remain one of the main challenges facing nations of the developing world, as they not only cause high mortality and suffering, but also damage local economies that are in process of formation and thwart development achievements. The Hyogo Framework for Action emphasized the significance of making disaster risk reduction a national and a local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation. However, local governments may not have the capacity yet to address this need.

Therefore, this inquiry investigates the current status of disaster risk reduction in a local Jordanian municipality to understand the current limitations facing this approach. Such an investigation will help in understanding the challenges facing local governments in non-capital cities of the region. The study provides several recommendations for initiating disaster risk reduction on the local level, stressing that the political culture and governance style in the region creates many obstacles. Further, the limited capability of local governments, the serious social and economic problems, and misleading natural disaster cognition create handicaps should the approach be implemented. The legal opaqueness in identification of jurisdictions and responsibilities compounded by the status quo of high dependency on the central government, in addition to fixation on a para-military approach to disaster management calls for reassessment of disaster management policies and related laws in Jordan.