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Disaster Management

September 9, 2020 by BureaucratONE Leave a Comment Last Updated September 9, 2020

Table of Contents hide
1 Definition of Disaster
2 What is disaster management
3 Prevention and Mitigation
4 India's Vulnerability
5 Types of Disaster
6 Changing paradigm in Disaster Management - post 2005 Disaster management Act
7 What are the Steps and Strategies for Disaster Management
8 What should be the Risk Response
9 Risk recovery
10 CAG's Observation on Disaster Management
11 NDMA Weakness
12 NDRF
13 Case study of Odisha

Definition of Disaster

Disaster Management Act of 2005 defines a disaster as catastrophic mishap, calamity or a grave occurrence from a natural or man-made cause.

What is disaster management

Disaster management or Disaster Risk management is concerned with

  • Policy formulation
  • Policy Implementation

to reduce the risk associated with disaster. The key component is to reduce the existing level of vulnerability to disaster.

Prevention and Mitigation

  • Appropriate response mechanism
  • Post-disaster rehab and reconstruction

India's Vulnerability

  • 85% of the country is vulnerable to multiple disaster
  • 50% is in high seismic zone
  • 70% is drought prone
  • 40 million hectares is flood prone
  • On average, 2.25% if GDP is lost due to disaster

Types of Disaster

  • Geological
    • Earth Quake (not in our hand)
    • Landslide (mitigation possible)
  • Climatic
    • Flood and drought (mitigation possible)
  • Environment Degradation
    • Deforestation
    • Land Slides
    • Soil Erosion and Degradation
  • Accidents
    • Bhopal Gas Tragedy
    • Industrial Accidents
    • Lg Polimars Vizag
  • Public Health
    • Corona
    • Dengue
    • H1N1
  • Man-made
    • Mob, crowd, stampede
    • War, terrorism

Changing paradigm in Disaster Management - post 2005 Disaster management Act

  • Change in nodal agencies ( Ministry of Agriculture to Home Affairs)
  • Change in the legislative and institutional framework
  • NDMA - National Disaster Management Authority headed by Prime Minister
  • SDMA - State Disaster Management Authority headed by Chief Minister
  • DDMA - District Disaster Management Authority headed by District Magistrate
  • NDRF - National Disaster Response Force was formed
  • NIDM - National Institute of Disaster Management was constituted
  • R3 to P4 = Rescue, Relief & Rehab to Prediction, Prevention, Protection and Preparedness
  • From Adhoc response to systematic and institutional response
  • Rule-based Decision Making (Statutory basis)
  • Global recognition and intervention since disasters have a worldwide and a humanitarian impact - e.g Kyoto protocol, Hyogo framework....etc
  • Focus on sustainable development - intergenerational equity
  • Building national, local and community level capabilities through disaster awareness, improving risk management, mitigation and building resilience (absorb and again getup)
  • Use as a window of opportunity - "Build Back Better " - e.g Surat after plague and Odisha after 1999 super cyclone

What are the Steps and Strategies for Disaster Management

  • Risk reduction - legal and institutional framework
  • Hazard and Vulnerability analysis. e.g EIA
  • Planning for risk reduction
  • Promoting culture of Safety
  • Innovation in learning and education
  • Building resilience at all levels
  • Encourage mitigation based on technology, traditional wisdom and environmental sustainability
  • Main Stream disaster management into developmental planning
  • Focus on creation and enforcement of environmental safeguards
  • Identification and monitoring of disaster risk
  • Promoting partnership with media LSG, Civil society
  • Use financial instrument in risk reduction e.g crop insurance
  • Install early warning systems and predication mechanism

What should be the Risk Response

  • Trigger mechanism - SOP's
    • Standard Operation procedure
    • Safety Operation protocol
  • Immediate rescue & relief
  • Coordination among agencies
  • Install info dissemination system, dedication helplines and control centre
  • Special focus on vulnerable sections

Risk recovery

  • Build resilience - use window of opportunity - rehab with sustained livelihood.

CAG's Observation on Disaster Management

  • National plan for Disaster management is not yet formulated
  • NDMA's project management capacity is deficient - bcos of poor planning and incomplete projects
  • Poor SDRF - State Disaster Response Fund status
  • Communication projects incomplete or not operational
  • NDRF's fund, utilized for other purposes - so NDRF has not emerged as a well equipped, well trained and a specialised force
  • E.g
    • Uttarakhand Floods
      • Raises question on the development model in ecologically fragile states.
      • Exposed poor disaster management and coordination
    • Kashmir
      • Poor city planning
      • Absolutely un-prepared state machinery
      • Uran flood phenomenon - human loss of life with economic costs
      • More a military-driven operation rather than NDRF, State and district efforts
      • NDMA's organisation was headless - No role clarity and goal clarity

NDMA Weakness

  • No role and goal clarity
  • No proper allocation of funds
  • Insiders observe that members were politically appointed.
  • Top-heavy
  • No domain expertise
  • Taskforce set up to re-organize NDMA recommended reduction of members and downgrading their status from Ministry of state to secretary

NDRF

  • It needs to improve its competence, reaction time and presence
  • Need for ground-level coordination. e.g Kashmir orders were being issued by CM but there was no one to execute it.
  • Lack of uninterrupted communication networks
  • No capacity to interpret data .e.g rising water levels in Jhelum didn't trigger flood warning
  • Lack of coordination, monitoring and robust decision support system
  • Need to move from simple forecasting to impact forecasting
  • Need to have a one-point interface like a Disaster management section instead of having multiple agencies which either duplicate or either lack synergy -coordination

Case study of Odisha

  • 1999 - Super Cyclone - 10000 casualties
  • 2013 - Phalin
  • 2014 - Hud-Hud - 1 Million evacuated

Even UN appreciated India for reducing exposure to risk. They highlighted the combined efforts of state, district, civil societies and political executives.

Filed Under: Public Administration, UPSC

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