1. Earthquake.
•
• Fire.
Tornado.
•
• Flood.
Hurricane.
SURVIVE A DISASTER
ALIVE,
WE SHALL TRY PROBLEM SOLVING

2. In 1948, all the world’s governments made a firm
commitment – in the form of Article 3 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights – to
safeguard all people’s rights to life and security.
But for human rights to have meaning, it is not
enough for them simply to exist. In the aftermath
of conflicts and disasters, affected communities
are all too often left without the assistance
required to save life and protect livelihoods.
2

3. Geneva: India ranks second in the world for
natural disasters after China, a top UN official
has said. It was underlined that
• unplanned urbanization and
• failure to address the issue of climate change
pose a grave threat worldwide.
The two rapidly growing countries in the world, China
and India, rank first and second in the number of
reported natural disasters. While China witnessed 22
natural disasters, India came second with 16.
3

4. A disaster is "a situation or event which
overwhelms local capacity, necessitating
a request to a national or international
level of external assistance" and "an
unforeseen and often sudden event that
causes great damage, destruction and
human suffering."
4

5. LOSS OF PEOPLE & $
About 373 natural disasters killed over 296,800
people in 2010.
The estimated costs of natural disasters in 2010,
in which an earthquake in Haiti killed over
222,500 people and the Russian heat wave
caused around 56,000 fatalities, is around $ 110
billion.
5

6. Other than the Haiti earthquake and the heat
wave in Russia, other major disasters include the
earthquake in China (estimate number of
deaths 2,968), floods in Pakistan (1985 deaths),
landslides in China (1765 people killed) and
floods in China.
Floods, drought, earthquake, and extreme
temperatures are the major sources for rising
wave natural disasters.
6

7. NATURAL DISASTERS: PREPARE, MITIGATE,
MANAGE
• Disaster preparedness includes all of the activities
that are carried out prior to the advance notice of a
catastrophe in order to facilitate the use of available
resources, relief, and rehabilitation in the best
possible fashion.
• Disaster preparedness starts at the local community
level; if local resources were insufficient, it would
branch out to the national level, and if needed, the
international level. 7

8. Many governments fail to cope with threats like
storms, floods and earthquakes.
They fail to act
• effectively enough in response to these events,
or
• to take preventative action to reduce
unnecessary deaths and suffering.
A GOVT. CAN BE CHANGED ONCE IN 5 YEARS ONLY!
Discuss the types of disasters that are most likely to
happen to U. Explain what to do in each case to your
own group.
8

9. Indeed, the very actions of
• some governments and their
• national elites
place marginalised people at risk from disasters by
discriminating against them, like those who live in
flimsy slum housing easily destroyed by floods and
landslips.
‘We didn’t ask them to be there. God help them.’
Meet your family and discuss why you need
to prepare for disaster. Explain the dangers of
fire, severe weather, and earthquakes to
children. Plan to share responsibilities and work
together as a team.
9

10. Disaster mitigation is the ongoing effort to
lessen the impact disasters have on
people and property.
Fewer people and communities would be
affected by natural disasters with the use
of this process. Because of the varying
degree of each natural disaster, there are
different mitigation strategies for each.
10

11. Even in daunting economic times, the world can
afford to meet the humanitarian needs of every
person struggling to survive a disaster.
It is possible to reduce the threats from climate-
related catastrophes.
It is possible for governments to provide good-
quality aid to their citizens. The governments of
developing countries must take greater
responsibility for responding to disasters and
reducing people’s vulnerability to them. 11

12. NATIONAL POLICY ON DISASTER
MANAGEMENT(NPDM)
INDIA
India is vulnerable, in varying degrees, to a large
number of natural as well as man-made
disasters. 58.6 per cent of the landmass is prone
to earthquakes of moderate to very high
intensity; over 40 million hectares (12 per cent of
land) is prone to floods and river erosion; of the
7,516 km long coastline, close to 5,700 km is
prone to cyclones and tsunamis; 68 per cent of
the cultivable area is vulnerable to drought and
hilly areas are at risk from landslides and
avalanches.
12

13. NATIONAL POLICY ON DISASTER
MANAGEMENT(NPDM)
• Heightened vulnerabilities to disaster risks_ related to
expanding population, urbanization and industrialization,
development within high-risk zones, environmental
degradation and climate change. The economically and
socially weaker segments of the population are most
seriously affected. Elderly persons, women rendered
destitute and children orphaned on account of disasters
and the differently abled persons are exposed to higher
risks. 13

14. On 23 December, 2005, the Government of India (GoI)
took a defining step by enacting the Disaster
Management Act, 2005, (hereinafter referred to as the
Act) which envisaged the creation of the National
Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), headed by the
Prime Minister, State Disaster Management Authorities
(SDMAs) headed by the Chief Ministers, and District
Disaster Management Authorities (DDMAs) headed by
the Collector or District Magistrate or Deputy
Commissioner as the case may be, to spearhead and
adopt a holistic and integrated approach to DM.
14

15. There will be a paradigm shift, from the erstwhile
relief-centric response to a proactive prevention,
mitigation and preparedness-driven approach for
conserving developmental gains and also to
minimise losses of life, livelihoods and property.
VISION: To build a safe and disaster resilient India
by developing a holistic, proactive, multi-disaster
oriented and technology driven strategy through a
culture of prevention, mitigation, preparedness and
response. 15

16. The growth in localised climate-related shocks will
hit people in developing countries hardest,
because their homes and livelihoods will be most
vulnerable.
So developing countries will need to enable
regional authorities and civil society to respond
effectively. Whether or not there is sufficient will to
do this will be one of the defining features of our
age, and will dictate whether millions live or die.
16

17. In India, the National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act (NREGA) has created 900 million
person-days of employment for rural people
living in poverty, the advent of social protection
mechanisms offers the hope that the cycle of
disaster and poverty can be broken. The state is
the principal guarantor of its citizens’ right to life.
And the impetus to make the state deliver better
lifesaving assistance is often the action of citizens
holding their governments to account. 17

18. The NREGA came about because Indian
national legislators had the political will to
challenge rural vulnerability.
With strong rights-based legislation and clear
mechanisms of accountability, the NREGA has
the potential to improve government services
so that they meet the demands of active and
empowered citizens.
18

19. The humanitarian challenge of the twenty-first
century is this:
• an increasing total of largely local catastrophic events,
increasing numbers of people vulnerable to them,
• too many governments failing to prevent or respond to
them, and
• an international humanitarian system unable to cope.
• Humanitarian emergencies are caused by
conflict, other human-made crises, and
environmental hazards.
19

20. These cause immense suffering. For those who
do not immediately lose their lives, many will
lose loved ones, experience catastrophic
damage to their homes and livelihoods, witness
the destruction of their communities, and suffer
the dangers and humiliations of displacement
and destitution. For them, the aftermath of a
catastrophe becomes a daily struggle for
survival, for dignity and for a future.
20

21. As the twenty-first century progresses,
humanity will face a greater threat from
catastrophic events.
Let us estimate what is the growth in
humanitarian need between now and 2020.
Take a look at some of the reasons why so many
more people will feel the impact of these
catastrophic events in the coming decades.
21

22. In particular, let us look at how vulnerability,
defined by
• who one is,
• where one lives, and
• how one makes a living, will have a direct
bearing on the chances of surviving the
immediate effects or longer-term impact of
catastrophes with health and livelihood
intact.
22

23. Ask what can realistically be done to help those affected
by the vast and seemingly overwhelming forces of climate
change, population growth, displacement, and
vulnerability.
The necessary skills, knowledge, and financial resources
can be mobilised to radically reduce the numbers of
people who will die or be made destitute by catastrophes
For this to happen, all parties – governments, the UN, civil-
society organisations, and ordinary citizens – must
acknowledge and respond to the growing threat.
23

24. Mumbai is one of the world’s most populous cities. Built
on a narrow, low lying promontory jutting into the
Arabian Sea, it is also one of the most vulnerable cities in
the world to coastal and rainwater flooding.
• Some 54 per cent of the city’s population live in slums,
many of them built on reclaimed swamp-land to the
north and east of the centre.
• In July 2005, widespread flooding in Mumbai caused
the deaths of around 900 people, most killed not by
drowning but by landslips and collapsed buildings.
24

25. Mumbai …
The impact of unusually high rainfall was
compounded by failure to invest in replacing
Mumbai’s crumbling early twentieth-century
drainage network, the uncontrolled
development of the city’s poorer suburbs, and
the destruction of rainwater sinks (in particular,
the mangrove swamps that had once
surrounded the city).Mumbai- kars coped well.
25

26. OVER 200 FERRY PASSENGERS STILL
MISSING
Over 200 passengers of a ferry that capsized in the
Brahmaputra, near Medartary in lower Assam's Dhubri
district, during a cyclonic storm on 30 April are still missing.
Search made by divers of the National Disaster Response
Force (NDRF), the Army and the Border Security Force
(BSF) till Tuesday morning. According to the survivors,
more than 400 passengers, including women and
children, were on board when the tragedy occurred.
While about 350 tickets were issued to adult commuters,
there were many children without tickets.
17 bodies were recovered, there were 10 injured and 35
were missing. About 100 people swam to safety or were
rescued.
26

27. Alas, the Assam Transport Minister has now
promised to introduce a new and better ferry
service across the river.
Was the government sleeping so far?
Unfortunately, in our country, the administration
rises from its slumber only when a disaster strikes!
When will Indians get governments that acts
pro-actively ?
_a commentator on the boat disaster.
27

28. Two killed, two others injured, 1.000 houses damaged as
wind, rain wreak havoc in Pathanamthitta, April 24, 2012
A fierce whirl wind, accompanied by heavy summer
showers wreaked havoc in many parts of Adoor and
Kozhencherry taluks of Pathanamthitta (Kerala) on
Monday evening.
As per an official survey conducted by the Revenue
department, 403 houses have been partially damaged
and 113 houses fully destroyed in the natural calamity.
The official survey has estimated loss worth Rs 2.12 crore
in the natural calamity.
28

29. Sudden shocks such as flooding and
earthquakes are not the only risks for poor
urban populations. Other risks are:
• People live close to each other,
• without adequate housing,
• water and sanitation,
• health services, or education,
leading to the increased risk of epidemics of
communicable disease.
29

30. BUILDING STATE RESPONSIBILITY AND
EMPOWERING AFFECTED PEOPLE
• Governments must reinforce national and local
capacity to respond in emergencies and to reduce
people’s vulnerability; donor governments and
others must substantially increase their support to
help them do that;
• • Communities must be empowered to demand
that governments and others fulfil their obligations to
safeguard their lives, as well as to respond to and
prepare for disasters themselves; and …..
30

31. BUILDING STATE RESPONSIBILITY AND
EMPOWERING AFFECTED PEOPLE
• Continued…
• • The international community, including
regional organisations, must use mediation
and diplomacy far more robustly to press
states to assist their own citizens.
31

32. Poor people in urban settings are often highly
vulnerable to conflict and violence too. In conflict as
well as disasters, civil-society organisations can
influence the way affected people are treated, and
support them in demanding that governments uphold
their rights. Humanitarian organisations, both local
and international, regularly demonstrate enormous
skill, commitment and courage in delivering essential
aid to those who need it most.
32

33. In rural areas, high population density, the
increasing stress on productive land, soil
degradation, and increasing aridity due to
climate change are making hundreds of millions
of rural livelihoods vulnerable.
People are being forced to eke out a precarious
living on land that is becoming more and more
arid and degraded, with the result that food is
getting harder and harder to come by.
33

34. People affected by emergencies deserve aid
that is more than just an empty gesture of
support. They deserve aid that:
1 Saves lives (that is relevant, good quality, and
well-managed);
2 is delivered impartially on the basis of need;
3 is accountable, with mechanisms to challenge
failure and abuse;
4 builds durable solutions; and
5 is sufficiently resourced. 34

35. A continuous and integrated process of
planning, organizing, coordinating and
implementing measures which are necessary or
expedient for:
• Prevention of danger or threat of any disaster.
• Mitigation or reduction of risk of any disaster or
its severity or consequences.
• Capacity building including research and
knowledge management.
35

36. • Preparedness to deal with any disaster.
• Prompt response to any threatening
disaster situation or disaster.
• Assessing the severity or magnitude of
effects of any disaster.
• Evacuation, rescue and relief.
• Rehabilitation and reconstruction.
36

37. There is nothing inevitable about a future in
which greater numbers of people die and are
made destitute by natural hazards and conflict.
In a future of climate change, rising hazard and
a proliferation of disasters, the world can still
mitigate threats and reduce people’s
vulnerability to them.
Many governments, humanitarian organisations,
and communities are already doing this – but not
nearly enough. 37