MAUSAM. 4lI, 4 (Octobe r 1997). 609-620

502.58: 65.012.2

Cyclones and disaster management

PHILIP STENCHION

Overseas Emu gency Management OfficerEmergency Management. Australia

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ABSTRACf. Disaster management needs to be a long-term. mu lti-sec tor responsibi lity whichinteracts with. and contributes significanLly to , national development It should be intimately concernedwith the root causes of community vulnerability lO hazards, and these root causes are inevitably thetargets of development programmes. Expert knowledge gained through studies of cyclones is not onlyrelevant to disaster management. but is an important component and crucial to its success. This articleout lines some of the disaster management strategies that all of us should be trying to implemen t sothat cyclones have less potential for harm. The article also show s the importance of cyclo ne relatedstudies. in the proper context. to each of these strategies.

Key words - Disaster, Cyclone. Development. Hazard. Vulnerability. Programme.

habitats. Disaster management is not abo ut respondingto serio us circumstances when they occ ur. Disas termanage ment instead must be viewed as a comprehensivesystem of coordina ted effons aimed at reducing theprobabili ty of ser ious circumstances occurring in tbe

first place, as well as effectively responding when theydo occur .

I. Introduction

Most readers of this journal are familiar withtropical cyloncs. No doubt you ' have more than apassing acq uittance with cyc lone frequency, loca tion.s,tracks, eye diameters. annular rings. pressure gradients,wind speeds, outer boundaries. wave interactions.shearing effects. and other associated subjects. Wheninvited to contribute to this issue. 1 realised that I was I am honoured by the invitation to contribute.not very familiar with these, Perhaps some of you arc specifi cal ly on disaster management, to this spec ialequally less familiar with the subjec t of disaster issue of "Mausam", Given the dimension s andmanagement. which is oflen associated exclus ively complexity of comp rehensive disaster management and(though incorrectly) with those actions taken after a us relationship to almost every fibre of a nation 'scyclone has had damaging effects on people and their being, this article is a superficial look at a deep and

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