10-06-2017, 07:13 AM
Various disasters like earthquake, landslides, volcanic eruptions, fires, flood and cyclones are natural hazards that kill thousands of people and destroy billions of dollars of habitat and property each year.
With the tropical climate and unstable land forms, coupled with deforestation, unplanned growth proliferation non-engineered constructions which make the disaster-prone areas mere vulnerable, tardy communication, poor or no budgetary allocation for disaster prevention, developing countries suffer more or less chronically by natural disasters
India has been traditionally vulnerable to natural disasters on account of
its unique geo-climatic conditions. Floods, droughts, cyclones, earthquakes and
landslides have been a recurrent phenomena.
About 60% of the landmass is prone to earthquakes of various intensities; over 40 million hectares is prone to floods; about 8% of the total area is prone to cyclones and 68% of the area is susceptible to drought.
In the decade 1990-2000, an average of about 4344 people lost their lives and about 30 million people were affected by disasters every year. The loss in terms of private, community and public assets has been astronomical
India has been very vulnerable to natural hazards and calamities. The Bhuj
earthquake accounted for 13805 deaths, the super cyclone in Orissa accounted for
9885 deaths.
At the global level, there has been considerable concern over natural
disasters. Even as substantial scientific and material progress is made, the loss of
lives and property due to disasters has not decreased. In fact, the human toll and
economic losses have mounted.Over the past couple of years, the Government of India have brought about a paradigm shift in the approach to disaster management.
The steps being taken by the Government covers institutional mechanisms, disaster prevention strategy, early warning system, disaster mitigation, preparedness and response and human resource development.Let s see in detail about the role of government/non-government agencies in disaster management in further pages
Main types of Disasters
Drought:
Drought is the single most important weather- related natural disaster often aggravated by human action. Drought's beginning is subtle, its progress is insidious and its effects can be devastating. Drought may start any time, last indefinitely and attain many degrees of severity
drought is a frequent phenomenon over many parts of India. In India, thirty three percent of the area receives less than 750mm rainfall and is chronically drought-prone, and thirty five percent of the area with 750-1125mm rainfall is also subject to drought once in four to five years.
Thus, 68 percent of the total sown area covering about 142 million hectares are vulnerable to drought conditions. India has faced three major droughts in this century- 1904-1905,1965-66 and 1986-87. The 1987 drought had a lasting impact on one-third of the country.
Cyclone
The intense tropical storms are known in different part of the world by different names. In the Pacific ocean, they are called 'typhoons', in the Indian ocean they are called 'cyclones' and over North Atlantic, they are called 'hurricane'.
Among various natural calamaties, tropical cyclones are known to claim a higher share of deaths and distruction world over. Records show that about 80 tropical cyclones form over the globe every year. India has a vast coast line which is frequently affected by tropical cyclones causing heavy loss of human lives and property.
Cyclones occurs usually between April and May (called pre-monsoon cyclonic storms) and between October and December (called post-monsoon cyclonic storms). While cyclonic storms can't be prevented, the loss of lives and damage to the properties can be mitigated if prompt action is taken after receiving timely warnings.
Flood
India is the worst flood-affected country in the world after Bangladesh and accounts for one-fifth of the global death count due to floods. About 40 million hectares or nearly 1/8th of India's geographical area is flood-prone. An estimated 8 million hectares of land are affected annually. The cropped area affected annually ranges from 3.5 million ha during normal floods to 10 million ha during worst flood.
Earthquake
Earthquakes are caused by the abrupt release of strain that has built up in the earth's crust. Most zones of maximum earthquake intensity and frequency occur at the boundaries between the moving plates that form the crust of the earth.
Volcanic Eruption
Many times precursors of volcanic eruptions have been observed in various areas of volcanic activity. Ground deformations, changes in the compositions of gases emitting from volcanic vents, changes in the temperatures of fumaroles, hot springs and crater lakes as well as earth tremors are preceding volcanic eruptions. Thermal infrared remote sensing has been applied for volcanic hazard assessment.
Landslides
Aerial photographs and large-scale satellite images have been used to locate the areas with the incidence of landslide. Higher spatial resolution and stereo imaging capability of IRS -IC and -1D enable further refining the location and monitoring of landslides.
A number of studies have been carried out in India using satellite data and aerial photographs to develop appropriate methodologies for terrain classification and preparation of maps showing landslide hazards in the Garhwal Himalayan region, Nilagiri hills in south India and in Sikkim forest area. Such studies have been carried out using mostly aerial photographs because of their high resolution enabling contour mapping with intervals of better than 2m in height.
Role of Government functionaries in Disaster Management
Disaster management is a multidisciplinary activity involving a number of a number of Departments/agencies spanning across all sectors of development.
The Government of India is working with the State Governments to restructure the Departments of Relief & Rehabilitation into Departments of Disaster Management with an enhanced area of responsibility to include mitigation and preparedness apart from their present responsibilities of relief and rehabilitation.
The changeover has already happened in 11 States/UTs - Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan Tamil Nadu, Uttaranchal, Nagaland, Andaman & Nicobar Administration, Sikkim and Lakshadweep. The change is under process in other States.
Similarly, sub-divisional and Block/Taluka level Disaster Management
Committees are also being constituted. At the village level Disaster Management
Committees and Disaster Management Teams are being constituted.
Each village in multi-hazard prone district will have a Disaster Management Plan. The process of drafting the plans at all levels has already begun. The Disaster Management
Committee which draws up the plans consists of elected representatives at the
village level, local authorities; Government functionaries including
doctors/paramedics of primary health centres located in the village, primary school
teachers etc.
The plan encompasses prevention, mitigation and preparedness
measures. The Disaster Management Teams at the village level will consist of
members of youth organisations like Nehru Yuvak Kendra and other nongovernmental
organisations as well as able bodied volunteers from the village.
The teams are provided basic training in evacuation, evacuation, search and
rescue, first aid trauma counseling etc. The Disaster Management Committee will
review the disaster management plan at least once in a year.
It would also generate awareness among the people in the village about dos and don ts for specific hazards depending on the vulnerability of the village. A large number of
village level Disaster Management Committees and Disaster Management Teams
have already been constituted.
Responsibilities of Authority
When a disaster strikes, the Authority will coordinate
disaster management activities. The Authority will be responsible for:-
Providing necessary support and assistance to State Governments by way of
resource data, macro-management of emergency response, specialized
emergency response teams, sharing of disaster related data base etc.
Coordinating/mandating Government s policies for disaster
reduction/mitigation
Ensuring adequate preparedness at all levels
Coordinating response to a disaster when it strikes
Assisting the Provincial Government in coordinating post disaster relief and
rehabilitation
Coordinating resources of all National Government Department/agencies
involved.
Monitor and introduce a culture of building requisite features of disaster
mitigation in all development plans and programmes.
Any other issues of work, which may be entrusted to it by the Government.
Policy on disaster management
The broad features of the draft national policy on disaster management are
enunciated below:-
i) A holistic and pro-active approach towards prevention, mitigation and
preparedness will be adopted for disaster management.
ii) Each Ministry/Department of the Central/State Government will set
apart an appropriate quantum of funds under the Plan for specific
schemes/projects addressing vulnerability reduction and preparedness.
ii) Where there is a shelf of projects, projects addressing mitigation will be
given priority. Mitigation measures shall be built into the on-going
schemes/programmes
iv) Each project in a hazard prone area will have mitigation as an essential
term of reference. The project report will include a statement as to how
the project addresses vulnerability reduction.
v) Community involvement and awareness generation, particularly that of
the vulnerable segments of population and women has been emphasized
as necessary for sustainable disaster risk reduction. This is a critical
component of the policy since communities are the first responders to
disasters and, therefore, unless they are empowered and made capable
of managing disasters, any amount of external support cannot lead to
optimal results.
vi) There will be close interaction with the corporate sector, nongovernmental
organisations and the media in the national efforts for
disaster prevention/vulnerability reduction.
vii) Institutional structures/appropriate chain of command will be built up
and appropriate training imparted to disaster managers at various levels
to ensure coordinated and quick response at all levels; and development
of inter-State arrangements for sharing of resources during emergencies.
vii) A culture of planning and preparedness is to be inculcated at all levels
for capacity building measures.
ix) Standard operating procedures and disaster management plans at state
and district levels as well as by relevant central government departments
for handling specific disasters will be laid down.
x) Construction designs must correspond to the requirements as laid down
in relevant Indian Standards.
xi) All lifeline buildings in seismic zones II, IV & V hospitals, railway
stations, airports/airport control towers, fire station buildings, bus stands
Disaster Management in India - A Status Report 12
major administrative centres will need to be evaluated and, if necessary,
retro-fitted.
xii) The existing relief codes in the States will be revised to develop them
into disaster management codes/manuals for institutionalizing the
planning process with particular attention to mitigation and
preparedness.
xii) To promote international cooperation in the area of disaster response,
preparedness, and mitigation in tune with national strategic goals and
objectives.
Mitigation measures
To cope up with the government s policy, mitigation measures are being taken for various hazardous disasters.
Principal Secretary of ministry of home affairs explans about the steps being taken by National Disaster Management Division.
He said that, In order to respond effectively to
floods, Ministry of Home Affairs have initiated National Disaster Risk
Management Programme in all the flood-prone States. Assistance is being
provided to the States to draw up disaster management plans at the State, District,
Block/Taluka and Village levels. Awareness generation campaigns to sensitize
the all the stakeholders on the need for flood preparedness and mitigation
measures.
A comprehensive programme has been taken up for earthquake risk mitigation. Although, the BIS (Bureau of Indian Standard) has laid down the standards for construction in the seismic zones, these were not being followed.
The building construction in urban and suburban areas is regulated by the Town
and Country Planning Acts and Building Regulations. In many cases, the Building
regulations do not incorporate the BIS codes.
Even where they do, the lack of knowledge regarding seismically safe construction among the architects and engineers as well as lack of awareness regarding their vulnerability among the population led to most of the construction in the urban/sub-urban areas being without reference to BIS standards.
In the rural areas, the bulk of the housing is non-engineered construction. The mode of construction in the rural areas has also changed from mud and thatch to brick and concrete construction thereby increasing the vulnerability.
The increasing population has led to settlements in vulnerable areas close to the river bed areas which are prone to liquefaction. The Government have moved to address these issues.
The States have been advised to constitute Hazard Safety Cells (HSC) headed by the Chief Engineer, State PWD with necessary engineering staff so as to establish mechanism for proper implementation of the building codes in all future Govt. constructions, and to ensures the safety of buildings and structures from various hazards.
The HSCs will also be responsible for carrying out appropriate design review of all
Government buildings to be constructed in the State, act as an advisory cell to the
State Government on the different aspects of building safety against hazards and
act as a consultant to the State Government for retrofitting of the lifeline buildings.
A National Core Group on Cyclone Monitoring & Mitigation has been constituted. Experts from Indian Meteorological Department, National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting, Central Water Commission, National Remote Sensing Agency and
Indian Space Research Organisation have been made the Members of the Core
Group, besides administrators from the relevant Ministries/Departments and State
Governments vulnerable to cyclones.
The Group has been assigned the responsibility of looking at warning protocols for cyclones; coordination mechanism between different Central and State
Ministries/Departments/Organisations; mechanism for dissemination of warning to
the local people and; cyclone mitigation measures required to be taken for the
coastal States.
The Group will also suggest short-term and long-term measures on
technology up-gradation. The cyclone warning formats have been revised to
ensure that the warning is more meaningful to the community at risk. A project
has been taken up with the United States for upgradation of models for cyclone
track prediction
Awareness generation
Recognizing that awareness about vulnerabilities is a sine qua non for inducing a mindset of disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness, the Government has initiated a nation-wide awareness generation campaign as part of its overall disaster risk management strategy.
In order to devise an effective and holistic campaign, a steering committee for mass media campaign has been constituted at the national level with due representation of
experts from diverse streams of communication.
The Committee has formulated a campaign strategy aimed at changing peoples perception of natural hazards and has consulted the agencies and experts associated with advertising and media to instill a culture of safety against natural hazards.
Apart from the use of print and electronic media, it is proposed to utilize
places with high public visibility viz. hospitals, schools, railway stations and bus
terminals, airports and post offices, commercial complexes and municipality
offices etc. to make people aware of their vulnerabilities and promote creation of a
safe living environment.
A novel method being tried is the use of government stationery viz. postal
letters, bank stationery, railway tickets, airline boarding cards and tickets etc. for
disseminating the message of disaster risk reduction.
Slogans and messages for this purpose have already been developed and have been communicated to concerned Ministries/agencies for printing and dissemination. The mass media campaign will help build the knowledge, attitude and skills of the people in
vulnerability reduction and sustainable disaster risk management measures.
Disaster Awareness in School Curriculum: Disaster management as a
subject in Social Sciences has been introduced in the school curriculum for Class
VII & IX. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) which has
introduced the curriculum runs a very large number of schools throughout the
country and the course curriculum is invariably followed by the State Boards of
Secondary Education.
CBSE have been advised to include basic disaster related material in text
books for classes 8th, 9th and 10th the basic dos and don ts / precaution to
be taken etc. State Government may advise their Secondary Boards of
Education to include similar in their text books
Teachers are being trained to teach disaster management Syllabus for Class X is being finalized and will be introduced in the course curriculum soon.
The State Governments have been advised to take similar steps
vis- -vis their school boards. Several States Governments have already introduced
the same curriculum in Class VII.
Ministry is working with the Council of Board
of School Education (COBSE) to facilitate inclusion of disaster management in
public education in all 39 School Boards in the country.
Information, Education and Communication
In order to assist the State Governments in capacity building and awareness generation activities and to learn from past experiences including sharing of best practices, the Ministry of Home Affairs has compiled/prepared a set of resource materials developed by various organisations/institutions to be replicated and disseminated by State Governments
based on their vulnerabilities after translating it into the local languages.
The voluminous material which runs into about 10000 pages has been divided into 4
broad sections in 7 volumes. These sections cover planning to cope with disasters;
education and training; construction toolkit; and information, education and
communication toolkit including multi-media resources on disaster mitigation and
preparedness.
The Planning section contains material for analyzing a community s
risk, development of Preparedness. Mitigation and disaster management plans,
coordinating available resources and implementing measures for risk reduction.
Model bye-laws, DM Policy, Act and model health sector plan have also been
included. Education and Training includes material for capacity building and
upgradation of skills of policy makers, administrators, trainers, engineers etc. in
planning for and mitigating against natural disasters.
Basic and detailed training modules in disaster preparedness have been incorporated along with training methodologies for trainers, for community preparedness and manuals for training at district, block, panchayat and village levels.
For creating a disaster-resistant building environment, the Construction Toolkit addresses the issue of seismic resistant construction and retrofitting of existing buildings. BIS Codes, manuals and guidelines for RCC, Masonry and other construction methodologies as also for repair and retrofitting of masonry and low-rise buildings have been included.
The IEC material seeks to generate awareness to induce mitigation and
preparedness measures for risk reduction. Material and strategies used by various
States and international organizations, including tips on different hazards, have
been incorporated along with multi-media CDs on disasters.
The material has been disseminated to all the State Governments/UT Administrations with the request to have the relevant material, based on the vulnerability of each district, culled out, translated into local languages and disseminate widely down to the village level.
Conclusion
The message being put across is that, in order to move towards safer and sustainable national development, development projects should be sensitive towards disaster mitigation.
Our mission is vulnerability reduction to all types of hazards, be it natural
or manmade. This is not an easy task to achieve, keeping in view the vast
population, and the multiple natural hazards to which this country is exposed.
However, if we are firm in our conviction and resolve that the Government and the
people of this country are not prepared to pay the price in terms of massive
casualties and economic losses, the task, though difficult, is achievable and we
shall achieve it.
India s vision 2020 is to build a safer and secure India through sustained
collective effort, synergy of national capacities and people s participation. What
looks a dream today will be transformed into reality in the next two decades.
This is our goal and we shall strive to achieve this goal with a missionary zeal. The path
ahead, which looks difficult today, will become a lot easier as we move along
together.
Role of Space Technology
Space systems from their vantage position have unambiguously demonstrated their capability in providing vital information and services for disaster management ( Fig.1).The Earth Observation satellites provide comprehensive, synoptic and multi temporal coverage of large areas in real time and at frequent intervals and 'thus' - have become valuable for continuous monitoring of atmospheric as well as surface parameters related to natural disasters(Table-1). Geo-stationary satellites provide continuous and synoptic observations over large areas on weather including cyclone-monitoring. Polar orbiting satellites have the advantage of providing much higher resolution imageries, even though at low temporal frequency, which could be used for detailed monitoring, damage assessment and long-term relief management. The vast capabilities of communication satellites are available for timely dissemination of early warning and real-time coordination of relief operations. The advent of Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSAT) and Ultra Small Aperture Terminals (USAT) and phased - array antennae have enhanced the capability further by offering low cost, viable technological solutions towards management and mitigation of disasters. Satellite communication capabilities-fixed and mobile are vital for effective communication, especially in data collection, distress alerting, position location and co-ordinating relief operations in the field. In addition, Search and Rescue satellites provide capabilities such as position determination facilities onboard which could be useful in a variety of land, sea and air distress situations.
