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DISASTER AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT

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VISIONIAS

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'#a$ is a Disas$er

Disaster is an undesirable occurrence resulting from forces that are largely outside human control stri!es "uic!ly with

little or no warning which causes or threatens serious disru#tion of life and #ro#erty including death and in$ury to a

large number of #eo#le and re"uires therefore mobilisation of efforts in e%cess of that which are normally #rovided

by statutory emergency services.

Deini$ion or Indian oicia p*rposes+ Disaster means a catastro#he misha# calamity or grave occurrence in any

area arising from natural or man&made causes or by accident or negligence which results in substantial loss of life or

human suffering or damage to and destruction of #ro#erty or damage to or degradation of environment and is of

such a nature or magnitude as to be beyond the co#ing ca#acity of the community of the affected area

Disas$er is assessed on $#e &asis o $#e oowin" ea$*res+

Disru#tion to normal #attern of life. Such disru#tion is usually severe and may also be sudden une%#ected

and wides#read.

'uman effects such as loss of life livelihood and #ro#erty in$ury hardshi# and adverse effects on health

(ffects on Social Structure such as destruction of or damage to infrastructure buildings communications and

other essential services.

)ommunity needs such as shelter food clothing medical assistance and social care.

AGGRAVATING ,ATORS O, DISASTERS

-over$!

All disaster studies show that the wealthy among the #o#ulation are less affected and also able to recover "uic!ly.

'owever #overty generally ma!es #eo#le more vulnerable to all the im#acts of disasters. It is only due to #overty

that #oor #eo#le are forced to live in more vulnerable areas such as flood #lains of rivers.

-op*a$ion Grow$#

If there are more #eo#le and structures where a disaster stri!es there will be more im#act. Increasing number of

#eo#le will com#ete for limited resources *e.g. em#loyment o##ortunities+ which can lead to crisis&inducedmigration. ,his aggravates the disasters in develo#ing countries.

Rapid r&anisa$ion

-a#id and un#lanned urbanisations ma!e the #oor #eo#le to live at unsafe #laces and with least resources at their

dis#osal. any of the landslides or flood disasters are closely lin!ed to ra#id and unchec!ed urbanisation which forces

low&income families to settle on the slo#es of stee# hillsides or ban!s of rivers.

Transi$ions in Socia -rac$ices

All societies are under a continual state of transition which is often disru#tive and uneven leaving ga#s in social

co#ing mechanisms and available technology. ,hese transitions include nomadic #o#ulation that become sedentary

rural #eo#le who move to urban areas and both rural and urban #eo#le who move from one economic level to

another.

Environmen$a De"rada$ion

any disasters are either caused or aggravated by environmental degradation. Deforestation leads to ra#id rain

runoff which contributes to soil erosion and flooding.

/ac0 o Awareness and Inorma$ion

/ac! of awareness and #ro#er information usually converts a ha0ard into a Disaster. ,his ignorance may not necessary

be due to #overty but due to a lac! of awareness of what measures can be ta!en to build safe structures on safe

locations.


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'ar and ivi S$rie

ar and civil strife are regarded as ha0ards that is e%treme events that #roduce disasters. ,he causal factors of war

and civil strife include com#etition for scarce resources religious to ethnic intolerance and ideological difference.

1E2 DISASTERS IN INDIA

Ear$#3*a0e

(arth"ua!es are considered to be one of the most dangerous and destructive natural ha0ards. ,he im#act of this

#henomenon is sudden with little or no warning ma!ing it $ust im#ossible to #redict it. ,herefore the best strategy is

to ma!e #re#arations against damages and colla#ses of building and other man&made structures About 53&43 of

total area of the country is vulnerable to seismic activity of varying damage #otential. ost of the vulnerable areas

are generally located in 'imalayan and sub&'imalayan regions e%tending from 6ashmir to Arunachal 7radesh 6utch

and in Andaman and 8icobar Islands.

Suggestions9 In our #resent state of !nowledge earth"ua!es can neither be #revented nor #redicted in terms of their

magnitude or #lace and time of occurrence. ,herefore the most effective measures of ris! reduction are #re&disaster

mitigation #re#aredness and #reventive measures for reducing the vulnerability of the built environment combined

with e%#editious and effective rescue and relief actions immediately after the occurrence of the earth"ua!e.

,oods

:loods occur when large volume of water from heavy rainfall and;or river s#ill is not able to drain off "uic!ly through

normal channels. India is the second most flood affected country where flood is a common natural disaster es#ecially

during the later #art of the monsoon #eriod. In India the most affected states due to floods are disha ? est


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Dro*"#$

Drought is wides#read in India. It is #rimarily a deficiency in rainfall but over e%#loitation of ground water aggravates

the situation. /arge eva#oration resulting from #oor water retention ca#acity of soil adds to the #roblem. It is also the

result of #oor water management strategy deforestation and indiscriminate industrial e%#loitation of water

resources. 'uman or social factors often aggravate the effects of drought. De#letion of forest overgra0ing soil

erosion e%tension of cultivation to marginal lands and lowering of water level etc. directly contribute to and

aggravate the ill effects of drought.

hen the monsoon rainfall deficit for the country as a whole is 13 below normal or worse and 23 or more area of

the country suffers from rail1 deficit it is rec!oned as a drought year for the country as a whole.

!cone

)yclones are characteri0ed by very strong winds torrential rains and associated floods which cause e%tensive damage

to human lives and #ro#erty in the coastal areas. India has a very long coastline of B51B !m a ma$or #ortion of which

is e%#osed to tro#ical cyclones arising in the


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Ts*nami

,sunamis are large waves generated by sudden movements of the ocean floor that dis#lace a large volume of water.

Although usually associated with earth"ua!es tsunamis can also be triggered by other #henomena li!e submarine or

terrestrial landslides volcanic eru#tions e%#losions or even bolide *e.g. asteroid meteor and comet+ im#acts.

,sunamis have the #otential to stri# beaches u#root #lantations and inundate large inland tracts and e%tensively

damage life and #ro#erty in coastal areas. ,he Indian coastal belt had not recorded many tsunamis in the #ast.

,he #henomenon of tsunami that usually occurs near seismically active s#ots in the 7acific >cean was uncommon in

India till it hit the east and west coast in December 233@. ,he waves damaged the life and #ro#erty in the coastal

areas of Andhra 7radesh ,amil 8adu 7ondicherry 6erala and Andaman and 8icobar Islands as never before.

Ind*s$ria Disas$er

Among the man&made disasters #robably the most devastating *after wars+ are industrial disasters. ,hese disasters

may be caused by chemical mechanical civil electrical or other #rocess failures in an industrial #lant due to accident

or negligence which may cause wides#read damage within and;or outside the #lant. ,he worst e%am#le globally was

the ethyl Isocyanate gas lea! in 1E@ from the =nion )arbide :actory in


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=nion inistries and State Fovernments in relation to disaster #re#aredness and relief and to obtain

information from the nodal officers on all these issues.

,he Armed :orces in view of their ability to organi0e action in adverse ground circumstances their s#eed of

o#erational res#onse and also the resources and ca#abilities at their dis#osal #lay a ma$or role in assisting the

civil administration.

T#e Disas$er Mana"emen$ Ac$4 5667

,his Act #rovides for the effective management of disaster and for matters connected there with or incidental

thereto. It #rovides institutional mechanisms for drawing u# and monitoring the im#lementation of the disaster

management. ,he Act also ensures measures by the various wings of the Fovernment for #revention and

mitigation of disasters and #rom#t res#onse to any disaster situation.

,he Act #rovides for setting u# of a 8ational Disaster anagement Authority *8DA+ under the )hairmanshi# of

the 7rime inister State Disaster anagement Authorities *SDAs+ under the )hairmanshi# of the )hief

inisters District Disaster anagement Authorities *DDAs+ under the )hairmanshi# of )ollectors;District

agistrates;De#uty )ommissioners. ,he Act further #rovides for the constitution of different (%ecutive

)ommittee at national and state levels. =nder its aegis the 8ational Institute of Disaster anagement *8ID+ for

ca#acity building and 8ational Disaster -es#onse :orce *8D-:+ for res#onse #ur#ose have been set u#. It also

mandates the concerned inistries and De#artments to draw u# their own #lans in accordance with the 8ational

7lan. ,he Act further contains the #rovisions for financial mechanisms such as creation of funds for res#onse

8ational Disaster itigation :und and similar funds at the state and district levels for the #ur#ose of disaster

management. ,he Act also #rovides s#ecific roles to local bodies in disaster management.

:urther the enactment of Brd

and B@th

Amendments to the constitution and emergence of local self& government

both rural and urban as im#ortant tiers of governance the role of local authorities becomes very im#ortant. ,he

D Act 2335 also envisages s#ecific roles to be #layed by the local bodies in disaster management.


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Na$iona /eve Ins$i$*$ions

Na$iona Disas$er Mana"emen$ A*$#ori$! (NDMA)

Details of res#onsibilities are as follows9

/ay down #olicies on disaster management

A##rove the 8ational 7lan and #lans #re#ared by the inistries or De#artments of the Fovernmentof India in accordance with the 8ational 7lan

/ay down guidelines to be followed by the State Authorities in drawing u# the State 7lan

/ay down guidelines to be followed by the different inistries or De#artments of the Fovernment of

India for the #ur#ose of integrating the measures for #revention of disaster or the mitigation of its

effects in their develo#ment #lans and #ro$ects

)oordinate the enforcement and im#lementation of the #olicy and #lan for disaster management

-ecommend #rovision of funds for the #ur#ose of mitigation

7rovide such su##ort to other countries affected by ma$or disasters as may be determined by the

)entral Fovernment

,a!e other measures for the #revention of disaster or the mitigation or #re#aredness and ca#acity

building for dealing with the threatening disaster situation or disasters /ay down broad #olicies and guidelines for the functioning of the 8ational Institute of Disaster

anagement.

Na$iona E8ec*$ive ommi$$ee (NE)

A 8ational (%ecutive )ommittee is constituted under Section E of D Act 2335 to assist the 8ational Authority in the

#erformance of its functions. 8() consists of 'ome Secretary as its e%&officio )hair#erson with other Secretaries to

the Fovernment of India as members.

8() may as and when it considers necessary constitute one or more sub&committees for the efficient discharge of its

functions. 8() has been given the res#onsibility to act as the coordinating and monitoring body for disastermanagement to #re#are a 8ational 7lan monitor the im#lementation of 8ational 7olicy etc.

,he same authorities as above two are also established at state level *SDA and S()+ and while DDA at district

level.

Na$iona Ins$i$*$e o Disas$er Mana"emen$ (NIDM)

Disaster anagement Act 2335 entrusts the institute with numerous res#onsibilities9

to develo# training modules

underta!e research and documentation in disaster management

organise training #rogrammes

underta!e and organise study courses conferences lectures and seminars to #romote and institutionali0e

disaster management.

Na$iona Disas$er Response ,orce (NDR,)

,he 8ational Disaster -es#onse :orce *8D-:+ has been constituted under the D Act 2335 by u#&gradation;

conversion of ei"#$standard battalions of )entral 7ara ilitary :orces i.e. $wo &a$$aions eac#from


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the needs of disaster management so as to utilise the services of )ivil Defence volunteers effectively for enhancement

of #ublic #artici#ation in disaster management related activities in the country. ,he conce#t of )D over the years has

shifted from management of damage against conventional wea#ons to also include threat #erce#tions against nuclear

wea#ons biological and chemical warfare and environmental disasters.

-oic! and G*ideines

Na$iona -oic! on Disas$er Mana"emen$ (N-DM) 5669

,he #olicy envisages a safe and disaster resilient India by develo#ing a holistic #roactive multi&disaster

oriented and technology driven strategy through a culture of #revention mitigation #re#aredness and

res#onse.

,he #olicy covers all as#ects of disaster management including institutional and legal arrangements financial

arrangements disaster #revention mitigation and #re#aredness techno&legal regime res#onse relief and

rehabilitation reconstruction and recovery ca#acity develo#ment !nowledge management research and

develo#ment.

It focuses on the areas where action is needed and the institutional mechanism through which such action

can be channeli0ed.

,he 87D addresses the concerns of all the sections of the society including differently abled #ersons

women children and other disadvantaged grou#s in terms of granting relief and formulating measures for

rehabilitation of the #ersons affected by disasters.

It aims to bring in trans#arency and accountability in all as#ects of disaster management through involvement

of community community based organisations 7anchayati -a$ Institutions *7-Is+ local bodies and civil

society.

Na$iona -an on Disas$er Mana"emen$

An institutional mechanism for #re#aration of the 8ational 7lan has been #ut in #lace which is under #re#aration in

three #arts namely9&

8ational -es#onse 7lan

8ational itigation 7lan and

8ational )a#acity


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used as an entry #oint for mainstreaming D-- in develo#ment #lans. Ste#s for ensuring the incor#oration of D-- into

various on&going #rogrammes;#lans are as follows9

Identification of !ey #rogramme;#ro$ects of Fovernment of India

Identification of entry #oints within the #rogramme for integration of D-- *structural non&structural and

other mitigation measures+ at various levels vi0. national state and district levels

)lose coordination with concerned de#artments such as State 7lanning )ommission and :inance De#artment

for #romoting D-- measures into develo#ment #lans and #olicies

Advocacy for allocation of dedicated budget for D-- within the de#artmental #lans

7re#aration of guidelines for integration of disaster ris! reduction measures into develo#ment #lans of

various de#artments at the district and sub&district levels.

Disaster anagement Act 2335 also #rovides for constitution of 8ational Disaster itigation :und.

Meas*res $a0en or -reven$ion and Mi$i"a$ion o :a;ards

-is! of destruction and casualties associated with different disasters can substantially be reduced by introduction of

#revention and mitigation measures. itigation is generally categorised into two main ty#es of activities i.e.

s$r*c$*ra and non


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7re#aredness and -es#onse

Ins$i$*$iona Arran"emen$s

:orecasting about climate change as a #re re"uisite for ta!ing #re#aredness measure to res#ond to the disaster is the

most im#ortant element of disaster management. Fovernment of India has designated the offices as given in the IS is

ca#able of detecting all earth"ua!e events of more than 4 agnitude occurring in the Indian >cean in less than 23

minutes of occurrence and first re#ort on the occurrence of an earth"ua!e in India and the Indian >cean region is sent

to 'A within 25&3 minutes indicating the location and magnitude of the earth"ua!e.

Geoo"ica S*rve! o India (GSI)

,he FSI was designated as nodal agency for coordinating geological studies landslides ha0ard 0onation monitoring

landslides avalanches studying the factors res#onsible and suggesting #recautionary and #reventive measure.


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Disas$er Mana"emen$ S*ppor$ (DMS) @ Indian Space Researc# Or"ani;a$ion (ISRO)

,he Disaster anagement Su##ort *DS+ 7rogramme of IS-> #rovides timely su##ort and services from aero&s#ace

systems both imaging and communications towards efficient management of disasters in the country. ,he DS

#rogramme addresses disasters such as flood cyclone drought forest fire landslide and (arth"ua!e. ,hese include

creation of digital data base for facilitating ha0ard 0onation damage assessment etc.

monitoring of ma$or natural disasters using satellite and aerial data

develo#ment of a##ro#riate techni"ues and tools for decision su##ort

establishing satellite based reliable communication networ!

de#loyment of emergency communication e"ui#ments and

-?D towards early warning of disasters.

-reparedness

An annual )onference of -elief )ommissioners Secretaries to the De#artment of Disaster anagement of

States and =,s is organi0ed before the onset of south west monsoon to review the status of #re#aredness for

ensuing onsoon and to discuss other disaster management related issues.

8ecessary guidelines in the form of chec!list for ta!ing necessary #re#aratory measures are issued to the

State for their guidance and a##ro#riate action. Instructions are also issued for creating reserves of essentialitems re"uired during rescue and relief #hase.

,rigger echanism has been develo#ed to activate the disaster res#onse system automatically after receiving

warning signals of a disaster ha##ening or li!ely to ha##en or on recei#t of information about the incident.

)risis anagement 7lan com#rises of two #arts & 7art&I deals with as#ects which are common to all

contingencies situations and 7art&II about the individual Standard >#erating 7rocedures *S>7s+ for dealing

with s#ecific crisis situation.

At the )entre under the )hairmanshi# of the )abinet Secretary the 8ational )risis anagement

)ommittee*8))+ has been constituted in the )abinet Secretariat. ,he 8)) gives direction to the )risis

anagement Frou# as deemed necessary.

)risis anagement Frou# *)F+;8ational (%ecutive )ommittee is a grou# under the )hairmanshi# of the

'ome Secretary com#rising the senior officers from the various ministries and other concerned de#artments.

)FGs function is to review contingency #lans every year formulated by the )entral inistries; De#artmentsand the measures re"uired for dealing with a natural disasterC co&ordinate the activities of the )entral

inistries and the State Fovernments in relation to disaster #re#aredness and reliefC and to obtain

information from the nodal officers on measures relating to the above.

Recover!4 Recons$r*c$ion and Re#a&ii$a$ion


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Assessmen$

,he first ste# after stabili0ing the situation by #roviding sufficient relief is to assess the damage. A meticulously

e%ecuted assessment e%ercise would #rovide an ideal base for the rehabilitation efforts. ,his e%ercise is best carried

out through multi&disci#linary teams which go into all as#ects of damage *social economic #sychological+ in

#artici#ation with the local community.


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apaci$! Deveopmen$

(ffective disaster management re"uires trained man#ower to deal with com#le% situations effectively and s#eedily to

reduce the im#act of disaster on human life and #ro#erty. =8D7 describes ca#acity buildingG as the creation of an

enabling environment with a##ro#riate #olicy and legal framewor!s institutional develo#ment including community

#artici#ation *of women in #articular+ human resource develo#ment and strengthening of managerial systems. It

adds that ca#acity building is a long&term continuing #rocess in which all sta!eholders #artici#ate

Capacity building is much more than training and includes the following

'uman resource develo#ment9 the #rocess of e"ui##ing individuals with the understanding s!ills and access

to information !nowledge and training that enables them to #erform effectively

>rganisational develo#ment9 the elaboration of management structures #rocesses and #rocedures not only

within organisations but also the management of relationshi#s between the different organisations and

sectors *#ublic #rivate and community+

Institutional and legal framewor! develo#ment9 ma!ing legal and regulatory changes to enable organisations

institutions and agencies at all levels and in all sectors to enhance their ca#acities.

Following are considered as vital components of the capacity development

Trainin"+ It is a learning #rocess that involves the ac"uisition of !nowledge shar#ening of s!ills conce#ts rules or

change of attitude and behaviour to enhance the #erformance of individuals associated with different de#artments

and institutions.

Ed*ca$ion+ Amidst changes of the #ast decades in school education sector the most discussed to#ic of national

im#ortance is #lanning for more conte%tual #ractical and a##lication oriented curriculum for students at different

levels of schooling.

Researc#9 -esearch is an organised and systematic way of finding answers to "uestions. Systematic because there are

certain things in the research #rocess which are always done in order to get most accurate result.

Awareness+ Awareness is generally defined as !nowledge created through interaction between an agent and itsenvironment. It cannot be sim#ly referred to as J!nowing what is going on.K ,his conce#t of awareness involves state

of !nowledge as well as dynamic #rocesses of #erce#tion and action.

,he 8ational 7olicy on Disaster anagement *87D+ describes its a##roach to ca#acity develo#ment. A strategic

a##roach to ca#acity develo#ment can be addressed effectively only with the active and enthusiastic #artici#ation of

the sta!eholders. ,his #rocess com#rises of awareness generation education training research and develo#ment

*-?D+ etc. It further addresses to #ut in #lace an a##ro#riate institutional framewor! management systems and

allocation of resources for efficient #revention and handling of disasters. ,he a##roach to ca#acity develo#ment

includes&

According #riority to training for develo#ing community based D systems for their s#ecific needs in view of

the regional diversities and multi&ha0ard vulnerabilities )once#tualisation of community based D systems at the national level through a consultative #rocess

involving the States and other sta!eholders with the state and local level authorities in charge of

im#lementation

Identification of !nowledge&based institutions with #roven #erformance

7romotion of International and -egional coo#eration

Ado#tion of traditional and global best #ractices and technologies

/aying em#hasis on table&to# e%ercises simulations moc! drills and develo#ment of s!ills to test the #lans

)a#acity analysis of different disaster res#onder grou#s at State District and local levels.

87D has further elaborated on national #riorities institutional ca#acity develo#ment training of communities

#rofessional technical education D education in schools training of artisans training of other grou#s and licensing

and certification.


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apaci$! deveopmen$ in India+A realistic 8ational )a#acity Develo#ment 7rogramme commensurate with the

intensity and e%tent of the ha0ard in India needs to be evolved and im#lemented !ee#ing in view the available

resources. ,his #rogramme of resource enhancement should encom#ass all institutions organi0ations and

individuals that have a role in any #art of the disaster management cycle.

apaci$! "aps in disas$er mana"emen$+,o mitigate the im#act of disasters there is a need to wor! collectively

through multidimensional channels combining the efforts resources and e%#ertise of the government non&

governmental organisations and civil societies. anaging such incidents holistically is a highly s#ecialised and

s!illed $ob which cannot be a##roached in an ad hoc manner. Disaster anagement com#rises of multi sectoral

issues and accordingly calls for all sectors that #lay #ivotal role in managing e%igencies to develo# their human

resource ca#acity accordingly. ,here seems to e%ist a wide ga# in the !nowledge s!ill and attitude of the disaster

managers for efficiently managing emergency situations #articularly at local and state level where according to

one study made by 8ID )a#acity&-is! ratio is remar!ably low. ,o bridge this ga# it is im#ortant to have s#ecific

ca#acity develo#ment #lans and strategies.

Tar"e$ "ro*p+In the field of ca#acity develo#ment #riority is to be given to training of D officials functionaries

trainers and elected re#resentatives and community re#resentatives. Due im#ortance re"uires to be given to D

training and orientation of #rofessionals li!e doctors engineers and architects a#art from those engaged in

res#onse and relief. )a#acity Develo#ment re"uire to be included in curricula of educational institutions at all

levels of schooling and should include #ractical instructions as well.

-eali0ing the im#ortance of )a#acity Develo#ment of sta!eholders in Disaster anagement 8ID has been

given the tas! of #re#aring 8ational 'uman -esource and )a#acity Develo#ment #lan which is at the advanced

stage of its formulation. ,he first draft has been #re#ared and #resented before the 'A. 8ID is finali0ing the

#lan after holding the discussion with 'A on its first draft.

,inancia Arran"emen$s

:inancial assistance in the wa!e of natural calamities is #rovided in accordance with the schemes of relief funds.

,hese schemes are based on the recommendations of the successive :inance )ommissions. ,he #resent scheme

of State Disaster -es#onse :und *SD-:+ and 8ational Disaster -es#onse :und *8D-:+ are based on the

recommendations of the 1th :inance )ommission.

S$a$e Disas$er Response ,*nd9 Disaster anagement Act 2335 #rovides for constitution of State Disaster

-es#onse :und *SD-:+ by the state Fovernments. ,he inistry of 'ome Affairs has issued the guidelines to the

state for o#eration of SD-:. Allocations to the State -elief :unds have been made based on the

recommendations of the successive :inance )ommissions.

Na$iona Disas$er Response ,*nd (NDR,)

D Act 2335 #rovides for constitution of 8D-: for meeting any threatening disaster management situation or

disaster. Accordingly D Division issued notification for the constitution of 8D-:. ,he :inance inistry has alsoissued guidelines to the state for o#eration of 8D-:. ,he Fovernment of India raised this :und by levying the

J8ational )alamity )ontingency DutyK on im#orted #etrol and #roducts crude oil motor cars im#orted multi

utility vehicles two wheelers mobile #hones #an masala and certain s#ecific tobacco #roducts.

Addi$iona ,inancia Assis$ance+ >ver and above the #rovisions of the SD-: funding is #rovided from the 8D-: in

the wa!e of calamities of severe nature.

Disas$er Response Reserve

In the conte%t of disaster relief the 1th :inance )ommission has observed that #rocurement of relief materials

on short notice is often associated with #remium in #ricing and could adversely im#act "uality. ,he )ommission

also felt that a national inventory of e"ui#ment and material should be maintained for #roviding immediaterelief. It is advisable to !ee# an inventory of items such as life&saving e"ui#ment and tents etc. with the 8D-:.

,he )ommission has accordingly recommended an initial grant of 253 crores in the form of a revolving fund to be


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#rovided to the 8D-: for this #ur#ose. henever these items are used for res#onding to a calamity the cost *or

rent for those items that can be reused+ should be boo!ed to the overall cost of relief o#erations incurred by the

state government and the inventory re#lenished on a regular basis. A #ro#osal to constitute this fund along with

guidelines for its o#erations is under consideration of the government.

apaci$! B*idin" Gran$

>n the recommendation of the 1th :inance )ommission 525 crore has been allocated to the states for ta!ing u#

activities for building ca#acity in the administrative machinery. ,he guidelines #rovide for #re#aration of an

action #lan for the entire #eriod of 2313&15 as well as action #lans for each financial year. ,hese #lans would inter

alia include items for training and ca#acity building of sta!eholders and functionaries in states #re#aration of

disaster management #lans based on ha0ard ris! and vulnerability analysis and setting u# and strengthening of

emergency o#erations centres in states.

Environmen$a Reie ,*nd

In e%ercise of the #owers conferred by 7ublic /iability Insurance Act 11 the )entral Fovernment has

established the (nvironment -elief :und Scheme in 233E.

In$erna$iona oopera$ion

:!o"o ,ramewor0 o Ac$ion 5667


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SAAR Disas$er Mana"emen$ en$re (SDM)

SAA-) Disaster anagement )entre *SD)+ was set u# in >ctober 2334 at the #remises of 8ational Institute of

Disaster anagement in 8ew Delhi.

,he )entre has the mandate to serve all eight ember )ountries of South Asia Association of -egional )oo#eration

*SAA-)+ & by #roviding #olicy advice and facilitating ca#acity building services including strategic learning research

training system develo#ment and e%change of information for effective disaster ris! reduction *D--+ and

management in South Asia. ,he )entre has develo#ed its networ! with various organisations and institutions in the

South Asian countries for research documentation training and ca#acity building. and to #romote better coo#eration

and understanding amongst the countries for holistic management of disasters.

T#e 'a! ,orward

Recen$ Ini$ia$ives+,he 11th five year #lan document of Fovernment of India gave im#etus to mainstreaming disaster

ris! reduction as one of the #riority #rogrammes in the develo#ment #lanning #rocess and disaster management.

J


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1B www.visionias.in Vision IAS

Ear! 'arnin" S!s$ems and omm*nica$ion and onnec$ivi$! *p$o $#e /as$ Mie

(arly warning systems vary for the different ty#es of disasters. Due to recent un#recedented devastation unleashed

by tsunami often early warning gets lin!ed with tsunami only mas!ing the im#ortance of early warning against other

forms of disasters. 'a0ard& s#ecific efficient early warning systemsG is the need of the hour and it has to be #ut in

#lace #ermanently so that useful information flows throughout the year and is easily understood by the local

community. ,here is sco#e for im#rovement in flood cyclone and storm surge warnings. Such #ro$ects need further

encouragement and newer #ro$ects should be accorded high #riority. (ven with the best of early warning systems the

im#act may still be catastro#hic if early warning signals are not #ro#erly inter#reted and communities are not

educated and trained to res#ond to the early warning signals in real time. ,herefore the technology to early warning

on the one hand and community res#onse to early warning to the other are urgently re"uired. ,his needs to be

cou#led with the 8ational (mergency )ommunication 7lan to ensure real time dissemination of early warnings and

information to the at ris!G community and the local authorities.

Emer"enc! Opera$ions en$res (EOs)

(>)s in the country could #lay a critical role in coordinating emergency activities as well as in #roviding information to

various sta!eholders. (ffective functioning of these (>)s during emergencies continues to be a ma$or challenge.

JState of the artK (>)s at state and district levels with access to satellite based imageries need to be #lanned and

established.

Mi$i"a$ion -ans and Mains$reamin" Disas$er Mana"emen$ in$o $#e Deveopmen$ -annin" -rocess

,hree committees constituted by Fovernment of India are wor!ing towards #re#aring the 8ational -es#onse 7lan

8ational 'uman -esource and )a#acity Develo#ment 7lan and 8ational itigation 7lan in res#ective ministries that

have been designated as nodal agencies for various disasters. ,he draft 8ational -es#onse 7lan and 8ational 'uman

-esource and )a#acity Develo#ment 7lan are ready. )ertain rectifications and modifications are underway before it is

#resented to the 8ational (%ecutive )ommittee for its finalisation.

It is e%#ected that 8ational -es#onse 7lan will be #ut in #lace once it is ado#ted by Fovernment of India. It will #ave

the way for institutionalising the res#onse #lan in three tiers as envisaged in the Disaster anagement Act.

Similarly the )a#acity Develo#ment 7lan once it is a##roved and ado#ted will #rovide the roadma# for underta!ingthe ca#acity building of #ersons engaged in different facets of disaster management and enhancing the ca#acities

both at the individual and organi0ational levels.

S$ren"$#enin" $#e -reparedness -#ase

Urban Planning and Zoning


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1E www.visionias.in Vision IAS

level. (ncouraging such good #ractices in other flood #rone #arts of the country would go a long way to reduce the

ris! in such area.

Promoting development of new financial tools9 ,here is need to wor! for the develo#ment of new financial tools

such as catastro#hic ris! financing ris! insurance catastro#hic bonds microfinance etc. -is! transfer and ris!

insurance mechanisms would be needed for infrastructure cro#s and other assets. a!ing ris! insurance mandatory

at least in highly ha0ard #rone states in the country needs to be encouraged. Insurance distributes disaster ris! among

the broader society and ma!es great sense when ris! has been reduced to some acce#table level. *See the


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"oads and #nfrastructure: Standards are generally set to #rotect roads railways #ower and communication

infrastructure from being damaged or destroyed by a 13 or 23 or 53 year flood level. Any new infrastructure #ro$ect

should conduct a disaster im#act analysis and ensure that construction does not im#ede water flow and cause dee#er

or #rolonged floods. Designing the roads to the higher standards re"uires factoring of not only the vulnerability of the

roads to floods but also their contribution to ha0ard.

$ogging activities: ,hese activities in the hilly areas destabilise slo#es cause landslides and increase mudflow and

silting in the nearby rivers. ,he revenue generated by logging is far lesser than the losses incurred due to the serious

#roblems of landslides silting and ecological disturbance caused. ,here should be a #lan for afforestation in the

logging area before or $ust after the logging.

Design and construction of critical infrastructure and lifeline facilities %&ospitals' sc&ools etc():It has been observed

in the #ast disasters that schools and hos#itals are badly affected. ,herefore construction of all new schools and

hos#ital needs to be brought under the regime of disaster resistant technology. edical 7re#aredness for recovery of

affected #erson in any !ind of disaster is of #aramount im#ortance. ,here e%its huge ga# between demand and su##ly

of medical care #articularly in the area of trauma care. ,his needs to be strengthened and ca#acity augmented at

every level from #rimary to referral level. ,he ca#acity of doctors and 7aramedical staff also needs to be strengthened

and to be geared to meet the challenges of #ost&disaster recovery.

apaci$! B*idin" -an

In addition to develo#ment of 8ational 'uman -esource 7lan a training calendar of Disaster anagement

institutes and agencies at the international national and sub&national levels needs to be com#iled and

#ublicised so that the sta!eholders could avail of the o##ortunities to build ca#acities.

)oncerted efforts are re"uired to wor! closely with =8 agencies bilateral agencies and 8F>s for D--.


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s#atial and socio&economic im#acts. ,his is li!ely to further degrade the resilience and co#ing ca#acities of #oor and

vulnerable communities who ma!e u# from a "uarter to half of the #o#ulation of most Indian cities Vulnerability has

ty#ically contributed more to overall ris! in India than ha0ard e%#osure. ,he efforts for integrating climate change and

D-- measures needs to be further strengthened and institutionalised and community be sensitised to ta!e u# such

ada#tive measures which reduces their vulnerability.

onc*sion

,he above mentioned initiatives are only an indicative list of actions re"uiring attention. (very sta!eholder involved

needs to contribute his bit in order to ensure that the increasing ha0ards and ris!s and the vulnerabilities get

addressed in a #lanned and systematic manner thereby increasing the co#ing ca#acities of the communities at large

and ma!ing them resilient to the im#acts of disasters. ,he Fovernment is committed to structure and convert these

re"uirements into actionable format to #lace them on a roadma# and source the funding for their im#lementation.

Reerences+

1. 8)(-, India 7hysical

2. IF8>= 9 7A&31E Disaster anagement

. 2nd A-) -(7>-, *)risis anagement +

@. Disaster anagement in India & inistry of 'ome Affairs 9 htt#9;;www.ndmindia.nic.in;

5. htt#9;;www.und#.org;content;dam;india;docs;disasterOmanagementOinOindia.#df

op!ri"#$ % &! Vision IAS

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