Disaster Management and Planning

What are Disasters?

Disasters are severe disturbances to a community’s functioning that surpass its ability to defend itself due to a lack of resources. Natural, man-made, and technical risks, as well as various elements that influence a community’s well being and vulnerability, can all lead to disasters.

Disasters strike when a community is “inadequately resourced or organised to endure the impact, and whose population is vulnerable due to poverty, exclusion, or other forms of socioeconomic disadvantage.” (Ms Mizutori, 2020)

What is Disaster Management?

Disaster management entails preparing, responding, and recovering from a disaster or incident. Planning for catastrophe comprises a better understanding of the threats and examining a structural response by preserving the structure, limiting damages, cost-effective solutions, and enhancing life safety.

Disaster and Disaster Management

A disaster is an evolved version of hazards that leads to mass destruction and affects the health and wealth of the community. Disasters like earthquakes, landslides, wildfires, cyclones, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and floods degrade living standards. Disaster management is a plan to limit and lessen the effects of damage to tangible or intangible wealth.

Some of the global organisations related to the disaster management are:

1. International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) for 1990-2000.
2. United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) is an alternative wing under IDNDR’s secretariat established in 1999 for carrying out the UN’s Disaster Risk Reduction planning.
3. The Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) for 2005-2015.
4. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction for the years 2015-2030. It makes the globe more flexible to natural disasters considering disaster risk reduction, identification, check through legal and policy structural planning, disaster readiness, and the use of innovation as the priority.

The objective of all the organisations is to decrease the number of affected people, economic loss, and infrastructure damage and increase international cooperation to fight together during adversities.

National organisations related to the disaster management 

Apart from being a signatory member of the Sendai Framework for Action and following the guidelines for international cooperation, India has planned various initiatives to manage and reduce risk through adequate disaster management techniques at various levels of governance.

• National Disaster Management Authority of India (NDMA)
  • It was founded in 2005 as a part of the Disaster Management Act of 2005.
  • The goal of the NDMA is to create a safer and more disaster-resilient India through a comprehensive, proactive, technology-driven, and long-term development plan.
  • The prime minister of India chairs the NDMA.
• State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA)
  • The Disaster Management Act of 2005 established State Disaster Management Authorities at the state level.
  • The states’ chief ministers chair the SDMA, with only eight other members, each selected by the chief minister.
  • The SDMA is in charge of preparing and implementing the state disaster management strategy and the National Disaster Management Plan.
• District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA)

For the communities which are the most vulnerable, the District Disaster Management Committee, monitored by the District Magistrate, develops disaster management plans at various panchayat and village levels.

Governmental Initiatives for disaster management

1. Collaborating closely with the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) to share ideas and skills in disaster management.
2. Signing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction to attain the goals and priorities under the given guidelines.
3. Improving regional collaboration among all the South Asian nations to reduce disasters through multifaceted programs and experience.
4. Under NDMA, establishing the duties of numerous stakeholders, including the central government and other tiers of government.
5. Regular mock drills, public training, and awareness programs to prepare general populations against the challenges of calamities.
6. Providing guaranteed communication and technological support through the Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) network between MHA, NDRF, NDMA, and affected zones.
7. Earthquake Disaster Risk Indexing (EDRI) provides readiness against adversities and divides places into various seismic zones for major cities.
8. Upgraded Earthquake Hazard Maps and Guidelines created by the NDMA through the Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC) for effective infrastructure development.
9. By constructing a GIS Server and creating a database to integrate data gathered from many stakeholders, risk reduction, prevention, disaster monitoring, response, and relief management efforts will be improved.
10. Training in school safety and disaster readiness is available through programmes such as the National School Safety Programme (NSSP).
11. The establishment of the National Crisis Management Committee and the Crisis Management Group.
12. Emphasising advanced technology of forecasting and alerting, compensation for agriculture during adversities to secure food grain availability.
13. The emplacement of Mobile Radiation Detection Systems (MRDS) to address radiological hazards and protect the public from their harmful effects.
14. Providing financial and other support to the landslide-prone areas of the country under the Landslide Risk Mitigation Scheme (LRMS).

Conclusion

Disasters are sudden events that are beyond human control; being always ready to tackle the situation during adversities is the only key solution. It’s not only the government’s role but also an individual’s responsibility to help others and progress together.

The adoption of people-centred development, implementation and monitoring system, sustainable development goals, spreading awareness through regular mock drills, introducing an educational curriculum, power-sharing at various levels of government, mutual understanding, and cooperation between countries and states can help mitigate the crises of disasters.