1. Disaster
Management
Mahendra Choudhary

2. What is disaster management
???
 “A disaster can be defined as any occurrence
that cause damage, ecological disruption, loss of
human life, deterioration of health and health
services on a scale, sufficient to warrant an
extraordinary response from outside the affected
community or area”.
(W.H.O.)
 “A disaster can be defined as an occurrence
either nature or manmade that causes human
suffering and creates human needs that victims
cannot alleviate without assistance”.
American Red Cross (ARC) ’

3. What is Disaster Management

4. What it involves ??
 Dealing with and avoiding both natural
and man made disasters.
 Preparedness before disaster.
 Rebuilding and supporting society after
natural disasters.

5. BACKGROUND
 Enormous population pressures and
urbanization
 A flood, a drought or an earthquake millions
of peoples are affected each time a disaster
occurs
 Large-scale displacement and the loss of
life, loss of property and agricultural crops

6. BACKGROUND
 The reasons for this are varied including:
 an increasing population pressures in urban
areas
 an increase in the extent of encroachment
into lands, e.g., river beds or drainage
courses, low lying areas etc.
 poor or ignored zoning laws and policies
 lack of proper risk management (insurance)

7. TYPES OF DISASTER
Natural
Disasters
Hydro-
Meteorological
Topographical
Environmental
Man-made
Disasters
Technological
Industrial
accidents
Security related

8. CHARACTERISTIC OF DISASTER
 Predictability
 Controllability
 Speed of onset
 Length of
forewarning
 Duration of impact
 Scope and intensity
of impact

9. PHASES OF DISASTER
Pre-impact
phase
Impact
phase
Post-impact
phase

11. PRINCIPLES OF DISASTER MANAGEMENT
 Disaster management is the responsibility of all
spheres of government
 Disaster management should use resources that
exist for a day-to-day purpose.
 Organizations should function as an extension of
their core business
 Individuals are responsible for their own safety.
 Disaster management planning should focus on
large-scale events.

12. Contd….
 DM planning should recognize the difference
between incidents and disasters.
 DM planning must take account of the type of
physical environment and the structure of the
population.
 DM arrangements must recognise the involvement
and potential role of non- government agencies.

13. PHASES OF DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Disaster Preparedness
Disaster impact
Disaster Response
Rehabilitation
Disaster Mitigation

14. Disaster preparedness
Preparedness should be in the form of
money, manpower and materials
 Evaluation from past experiences about risk
 Location of disaster prone areas
 Organization of communication, information
and warning system
 Ensuring co-ordination and response
mechanisms

15. Contd….
 Development of public education
programme
 Co-ordination with media
 National & international relations
 Keeping stock of foods, drug and other
essential commodities.

16. E.g.: Indian Meteorological department (IMD) plays a key role
in forewarning the disaster of cyclone-storms by detection tracing. It has
5 centres in Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Vishakapatanam, Chennai &
Mumbai. In addition there are 31 special observation posts setup a long
the east coast of India.
The International Agencies which provides humanitarian assistance to the
disaster strike areas are United Nation agencies.
 Office for the co-ordination of Humanitarian Affair (OCHA)
 World Health Organization (WHO)
 UNICEF
 World Food Programme (WFP)
 Food & Agricultural Organisation (FAD)
E.g.: Non Governmental Organizations
 Co-Operative American Relief Every where (CARE)
 International committee of Red cross
 International committee of Red cross

17. Disaster impact

18. Disaster response
 Epidemiologic surveillance and disease
control
 Vaccination
 Nutrition

19. Rehabilitation phase
Water supply
 Food safety
 Basic sanitation and personal hygiene
 Vector control

20. Disaster mitigation
 This involves lessening the likely effects of emergencies.
 These include depending upon the disaster, protection of
vulnerable population and structure.
Eg. improving structural qualities of schools, houses and such other
buildings so that medical causalities can be minimized.
 Similarly ensuring the safety of health facilities and public health
services including water supply and sewerage system to reduce the
cost of rehabilitation and reconstruction.
This mitigation compliments the disaster preparedness and disaster
response activities.

21. DISASTER-EFFECTS
 Deaths
 Disability
 Increase in communicable disease
 Psychological problems
 Food shortage
 Socioeconomic losses
 Shortage of drugs and medical supplies.
 Environmental disruption

22. DISASTER RECOVERY
 Successful Recovery Preparation
 Be vigilant in Health teaching
 Psychological support
 Referrals to hospital as needed
 Remain alert for environmental health
 Nurse must be attentive to the danger

23. Major Disasters in India
 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy
 2001 Gujarat earthquake
 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
 2008 Mumbai attacks

24. India’s Vulnerability to Disasters
 57% land is vulnerable to earthquakes. Of these,
12% is vulnerable to severe earthquakes.
 68% land is vulnerable to drought.
 12% land is vulnerable to floods.
 8% land is vulnerable to cyclones.
 Apart from natural disasters, some cities in India
are also vulnerable to chemical and industrial
disasters and man-made disasters.

25. GOI – NGO Disaster preparation
and Response Committee
 Members
 World Vision of India
 SOS Children's Village India
 Ramakrishna Mission
 Plan international
 OXFAM India Trust
 Lutheran World Service India
 Red Cross
 Catholic Relief Services
 CASA
 CARITAS India
 Voluntary Health association Of India
 Action Aid
 Action for Food Production-AFPRO
 Indo German Social Services Society

26. Areas of Concern
 Activating an Early Warning System network and its
close monitoring
 Mechanisms for integrating the scientific,
technological and administrative agencies for
effective disaster management
 Terrestrial communication links which collapse in the
event of a rapid onset disaster
 Vulnerability of critical infrastructures (power supply,
communication, water supply, transport, etc.) to
disaster events

27. Contd…
 Funding : Primacy of relief as disaster response.
 Preparedness and Mitigation very often ignored.
 Lack of integrated efforts to collect and compile data,
information and local knowledge on disaster history and
traditional response patterns.
 Need for standardized efforts in compiling and interpreting
geo-spatial data, satellite imagery and early warning signals.
 Weak areas continue to be forecasting, modeling, risk
prediction, simulation and scenario analysis, etc.

28. Contd…
 Absence of a national level, state level, and district level
directory of experts and inventory of resources.
 Absence of a National Disaster Management Plan, and
State level and district level disaster management plans.
 Sustainability of efforts
 Effective Inter Agency Co-ordination and Standard
Operating Procedures for stakeholder groups, especially
critical first responder agencies.
 Emergency medicine, critical care medicine, triage, first
aid

29. Nodal Agencies for Disaster Management
 Floods : Ministry of Water Resources, CWC
 Cyclones : Indian Meteorological Department
 Earthquakes : Indian Meteorological Department
 Epidemics : Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
 Avian Flu: Ministry of Health, Ministry of Environment,
 Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry

30. Nodal Agencies for Disaster Management
 Chemical Disasters : Ministry of Environment and
Forests
 Industrial Disasters : Ministry of Labour
 Rail Accidents : Ministry of Railways
 Air Accidents : Ministry of Civil Aviation
 Fire : Ministry of Home Affairs
 Nuclear Incidents : Department of Atomic Energy
 Mine Disasters : Department of Mines

31. Dynamics of Disasters
 There is a high probability or a low probability for an
event happening somewhere sometime soon…
 The unpredictability of disaster events and the high
risk and vulnerability profiles make it imperative to
strengthen disaster preparedness, mitigation and
enforcement of guidelines, building codes and
restrictions on construction of buildings in flood-prone
areas and storm surge prone coastal areas.

32. New Directions for Disaster Management in
India
 The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has
been set up as the apex body for Disaster Management in
India, with the Prime Minister as its Chairman.
 Disaster Management Authorities will be set up at the State
and District Levels to be headed by the Chief Ministers and
Collectors/Zilla Parishad Chairmen respectively.

33. New Directions for Disaster Management in
India
 A National Disaster Mitigation Fund will be administerd by NDMA.
States and districts will administer mitigation funds.
 A National Disaster Response Fund will be administerd by NDMA
through the National Executive Committee. States and Districts will
administer state Disaster Response Fund and Disaster Response Fund
respectively.
 8 Battalions of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are being
trained and deployed with CSSR and MFR equipments and tools in
eight strategic locations.
 A National Disaster Management Policy and National Disaster
Response Plan will also be drawn up.

34. Lessons Learnt
 Be Prepared : Preparedness and Mitigation is
bound to yield more effective returns than
distributing relief after a disaster.
 Create a Culture of Preparedness and
Prevention.
 Evolve a code of conduct for all stake-holders

35. Future Directions
 Encourage and consolidate knowledge networks
 Mobilise and train disaster volunteers for more
effective preparedness, mitigation and response
(NSS, NCC, Scouts and Guides, NYK, Civil Defence,
Homeguards)
 Increased capacity building leads to faster
vulnerability reduction.
 Learn from best practices in disaster preparedness,
mitigation and disaster response

36. Future Directions
 Mobilising stakeholder participation of Self Help
Groups, Women’s Groups, Youth Groups, Panchayati
Raj Institutions
 Anticipatory Governance: Simulation exercises, Mock
drills and Scenario Analysis
 Indigenous knowledge systems and coping practices
 Living with Risk: Community Based Disaster Risk
Management

37. Invest in Preparedness
 Investments in Preparedness and Prevention
(Mitigation) will yield sustainable results, rather than
spending money on relief after a disaster.
 Most disasters are predictable, especially in their
seasonality and the disaster-prone areas which are
vulnerable.
 Communities must be involved in disaster
preparedness.

38. Future Directions
 Inclusive, participatory, gender sensitive, child
friendly, eco-friendly and disabled friendly
disaster management
 Technology driven but people owned
 Knowledge Management: Documentation and
dissemination of good practices
 Public Private Partnership

39. Best Practices
 On 12 November, 1970 a major cyclone hit the coastal belt of
Bangladesh at 223 km/hr. with a storm surge of six to nine
meters height, killing an estimated 500,000 people.
 Due to the Cyclone Preparedness Program, the April 1991
cyclone with wind speed of 225 km/hr. killed only 138,000
people even though the coastal population had doubled by
that time.
 In May 1994, in a similar cyclone with a wind speed of 250
km/hr. only 127 people lost their lives.
 In May 1997, in a cyclone with wind speed of 200 km/hr. only
111 people lost their lives.

40. New possibilities
 National Urban Renewal Mission for 70 cities:
recent experience of “unprecedented”
extreme weather conditions in a few major
metros and megacities
 100,000 Rural Knowledge Centres
( IT Kiosks): Need for Spatial e-Governance for
informed decision making in disaster-prone
areas: before, during and after disasters

41. Disaster Reduction Day
 NIDM observed "Disaster Reduction Day" on the
12th October
 Rallies and special lectures were organized in the
universities and colleges to mark the initiatives of
awareness for disaster reduction amongst youth &
children
 Children's Colour Activity Book for Disaster
Preparedness

42.  FOR INFORMATION ON DISASTERS DIAL
TOLL FREE No. 1070
 Log on to http://www.ndmindia.nic.in

43. DISASTER NURSING
 It can be defined as the adaptation of
professional nursing skills in recognizing
and meeting the nursing, physical and
emotional needs resulting from a
disaster.

44. Any Questions ??