This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 000012 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR SA/FO AMBASSADOR QUINN, SA/A, EUR/RPM, EUR/ACE 
DEPT PASS FEMA 
NSC FOR AHARRIMAN, KAMEND 
REL NATO/AUS/NZ/ISAF 
USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID PGOV SENV AF
SUBJECT: PRT/TARIN KOWT:  URUZGAN PREPARES FOR SPRING 
FLOODS WITH PRT ASSISTANCE 
 
 
¶1. (U) Summary:  PRT Tarin Kowt is helping Uruzgan 
Province plan and prepare to avert a replay of last 
year,s devastating spring floods that left hundreds 
dead and thousands homeless.  Along with a number of 
concrete local projects, the PRT has focused on 
building the local administration,s response 
capability including arranging for an Army Corps of 
Engineers flood mitigation specialist to travel to 
Afghanistan and conduct emergency management training. 
The training was well attended by Uruzgan government, 
police, military, and non-governmental officials.  The 
event consisted of briefings on flood forecasting and 
the emergency management phases of preparation, 
response, and recovery.  These briefings were followed 
by a map exercise in which Afghan officials planned 
together how best to prepare for and cope with a flood 
in a notional river valley community.  The PRT will 
build on provincial level training with similar 
training at the district level in the coming months. 
Finally, the PRT facilitated the instructor and local 
officials visiting several potential flood sites. 
Short trainings focused on flood response could be 
useful at other PRTs prior to the onset of spring 
snow-melt and rains.  End Summary. 
 
Background 
---------- 
 
¶2.  (U) Like much of the country in the spring of 
2005, Uruzgan suffered severely from flooding as a 
result of snow fall followed by heavy rainfall. 
Nearly 90 villages spread across all five districts of 
the province were damaged by flood waters causing over 
200 fatalities and directly affecting almost 11,000 
people.  Moreover, in this remote province with few 
social or relief services, the ripple effect of these 
floods extended far beyond just the official numbers 
as victims of the disaster were forced to rely on 
already hard-pressed family and tribal ties.  Despite 
the unpredictable timing and force of the flooding, 
much of the calamity might have been averted or 
mitigated.  During the previous seven years of 
drought, many villagers had moved their homes into 
flood plains or even down into riverbeds for better 
access to water.  Furthermore, irrigation canals and 
culverts had become clogged with silt and other 
blockage. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) This winter, the PRT,s Civil Affairs Team 
and USAID Representative have worked to assist the 
provincial administration prepare for spring floods. 
Using a mixture of funding from the Army,s Commander,s 
Emergency Relief Program (CERP) and from USAID,s Quick 
Impact Program (QIP) and Cash for Work Programs, the 
PRT has supported a medley of projects including pre- 
positioning relief supplies in strategic locations, 
paying villagers to repair canals and karezs 
(underground canal systems), developing local industry 
to build gabion rock cages to shore up embankments, 
and repairing and reinforcing local roads and 
crossings. These tangible measures of assistance 
aside, the PRT,s main focus has been capacity-building 
within the local administration and pressing them to 
plan and prepare their own institutions for disaster 
response.  (Comment: Response from the provincial 
government has been mixed, but two key ministries, 
Irrigation and Reconstruction and Rural Development 
(MRRD), have reacted positively and have begun working 
proactively.) 
 
Emergency Management Training 
----------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (U) At the heart of the PRT,s efforts at capacity 
building was a three-day training seminar on emergency 
management conducted by Mr. Gary Brown of the Army 
Corps of Engineers.  A specialist in flood mitigation 
working out of a Corps Lab in Vicksburg, Mississippi, 
Mr. Brown worked for a month in post-Katrina New 
Orleans and was thus well-qualified to advise and 
train others on the effects of massive flooding and 
the critical importance of effective planning, 
preparation, and response. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The training was well attended by Uruzgan 
officials representing the Provincial Ministries of 
Irrigation, Health, Education, RRD, the Afghan 
National and Highway Police, the Afghan National Army, 
and the Red Crescent Society.  The first morning 
consisted of two briefings. The first concentrated on 
the causes of flooding and flood forecasting and the 
second explained the basic emergency management phases 
of preparation, response, and recovery.  Several 
Afghan participants asked questions about Hurricane 
Katrina and Mr. Brown responded candidly and used the 
questions and his answers to reinforce the importance 
of planning and preparation.  (Comment: The Afghan 
officials present appeared genuinely impressed with 
Mr. Brown,s frank appraisal and his actual experience 
working in the aftermath of Katrina.) 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The second day focused on the 
responsibilities of each organization followed by a 
map exercise in which Afghan officials planned 
together how best to prepare and cope with a flood in 
a notional valley community.  Using a map and 
miniature buildings and terrain elements, the Afghan 
officials led by Mr. Brown discussed where to build 
gabion walls and culverts, and how to preposition 
supplies, designate evacuation sites, and respond to a 
flood.  (Comment: Although rudimentary, the map 
exercise allowed participants to explore the 
relatively unfamiliar process of inter-agency planning 
and coordination.) 
 
¶7.  (U) On the final day, the Civil Affairs Team and 
Mr. Brown accompanied  by the Provincial Ministers of 
Irrigation and RRD traveled along the banks of the 
Tarin River, a major waterway running east to west 
across the breadth of Uruzgan.  Mr. Brown observed 
several potential flood sites and made practical 
suggestions for flood mitigation and the placement of 
gabion embankments. 
 
¶8.  (U) Building on this provincial level emergency 
training conducted by Mr. Brown, the PRT will assist 
Provincial Ministries in organizing training at the 
district level.  These trainings will be implemented 
in the next few months prior to the beginning of 
spring.  District training is aimed at not only 
building local capacity to respond to flooding but 
also to develop linkages and relationships between key 
figures in the provincial and district 
administrations. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) The training provided by Mr. Brown in just a 
three day seminar was effective, and his obvious 
expertise conferred creditability upon the efforts of 
the PRT.  Providing more flood mitigation trainings 
through the Corps of Engineers or Federal Emergency 
Management Agency at other U.S. PRTs before March 
could be a valuable means of supporting U.S. policy in 
the region.  Additionally, ISAF PRTs could implement 
similar training seminars by accessing NATO,s Euro- 
Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Center, which 
has considerable experience in Europe responding to 
floods and other natural disasters.  In either case, 
building GOA capacity in emergency management will not 
only save lives and property but likely will increase 
pro-government sentiment by showing tangible evidence 
of the GOA,s growing ability to provide for its 
citizens. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) The success of this particular emergency 
management training seminar emphasizes the continued 
value of on-the-ground civilian expertise at PRTs. 
While having large numbers of permanent party U.S. 
officials at PRTs is impractical, utilizing short-term 
visits and events such as this event can act as a 
reasonable substitute.  Accessing the considerable 
human capital of the Federal and State governments, 
for periods as short as even a week, provides 
significant added value to the PRT,s missions of 
improving local governance capacity and facilitating 
reconstruction and economic development.  End comment. 
NEUMANN