3.
APPROACHES TO DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
Disaster cycle and its analysis
Structural –Non structural sources
Roles and responsibility of community
Panchayati raj institution/Urban local bodies,
states, centre and other stake holders
Disaster cycle
Introduction
A disaster is a situation in which the
community is incapable of coping. It is a
natural or human-caused event which causes
intense negative impacts on people, goods,
services and/or the environment, exceeding
the affected community’s capability to
respond; therefore the community seeks the
assistance of government and international
agencies
Disaster management cycle:
Mitigation: Measures put in place to minimize the
results from a disaster. Examples: building codes and
zoning; vulnerability analyses; public education.
Preparedness: Planning how to respond.
Examples: preparedness plans; emergency
exercises/training; warning systems.
Response: Initial actions taken as the event takes
place. It involves efforts to minimize the hazards
created by a disaster. Examples: evacuation; search
and rescue; emergency relief.
Recovery: Returning the community to normal. Ideally,
the affected area should be put in a condition equal to
or better than it was before the disaster took place.
Examples: temporary housing; grants; medical care.
Disaster mitigation:
Structural mitigation – construction projects
which reduce economic and social impacts
i.e. dams, windbreaks, terracing and hazard
resistant buildings.
Non-structural activities – policies and
practices which raise awareness of hazards or
encourage developments to reduce the
impact of disasters
Mitigation includes
1. Reviewing building codes
2. Vulnerability analysis updates
3. Zoning and land-use management and
planning
4. Reviewing of building use regulations and
safety codes
5. Implementing preventative health measures
6. Political intervention and commitment
7. Public awareness
Disaster mitigation and infrastructure
Investment in infrastructure to support sustainable
socioeconomic development
Investment in infrastructure for reconstruction and
recovery.
A backup generator is available in case of power
failure and that a battery-operated radio .
A backup copy of all critical information
The preliminary design should take into
consideration the prevalent hazards and methods to
avoid or to minimize the effects of the extreme
natural events.
Strengthening vulnerable areas such as roofs,
exterior doors, windows, and garage doors
Disaster and development
Disasters set back development programming,
destroying years of development initiatives.
Rebuilding after a disaster provides significant
opportunities to initiate development
programmes
Development programmes can increase an
area’s susceptibility to disasters
Development programmes can be designed to
decrease the susceptibility to disasters and
their negative consequences
Development initiatives countries faced with
disasters:
Partnership- Close collaboration among donors,
governments, communities, nongovernmental
organizations, the private sector, and universities
Flexibility- Development agencies must be
efficient and flexible; adaptable to local
environments and capable of adjusting to
changing conditions and seizing opportunities
when they arise.
Selectivity- Resources are the public asset that
must be invested prudently to achieve maximum
impact.
Preparedness
Preparedness measures include:
1. Preparedness plans
2. Emergency exercises/training
3. Warning systems
4. Emergency communications systems
5. Evacuations plans and training
6. Resource inventories Emergency
7. Personnel/contact list.
8. Mutual aid agreements
9. Public information/education
Emergency training:
Important areas:
Develop and test warning systems regularly and
plan measures to be taken during a disaster alert
period to minimize potential loss of life and
physical damage.
Educate and train officials and the population at
risk to respond to the disaster.
Train first-aid and emergency response teams.
Establish emergency response policies, standards,
organizational arrangements and operational plans
to be followed by emergency workers and other
response entities after a disaster.
Disaster risk reduction (DRR)
It forms the action plan to be implemented
before, during and after disasters.
The IFRCRCS( International Federation of
Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies)
defines risk reduction as physical measures to
reduce the vulnerability and exposure of
infrastructure to natural hazards as well and
to provide coping and adaptive infrastructure
in case of a disaster event.
DRR recommendations for countries which do
not have a robust disaster preparedness plans:
Policy, planning and capacity building in
disaster management
Physical prevention; example, building
seawalls against storm surge or flood shelters
during flood events
Capacity building at institutional and
systemic level in disaster preparedness .
continued provision of food, potable water
and health care.
The emergency operation plan (EOP)
EOP allows the community to respond to
threats.
Engages responders in the short-term
recovery
Must be flexible to be valuable in real and
potential emergencies.
It doesn’t include the administrative plan ,
the mitigation strategy, the long term
recovery or the Standard Operational
Procedures.
Cont:
Structure of EOP consists of
promulgation/broadcast statement signed by
the Chief Executive Officer authorizing the
Plan; description of the planning process,
abstract of contents, implementation; table of
contents; instructions about the use of the
Plan; purpose of its sections, and its
distribution
Cont:
Functional Annexes- provide specific information
and direction on operations and the roles and
responsibilities to be performed by responders.
Exercising the EOP- by having response agencies
exercise them. The exercises carried out involve
preparatory training that helps orient staff to the
procedures that they may be required to know, to
function during a disaster.
Publicizing the Plan- Completed EOPs are
published and made public to communities and
through the use of public awareness programmes.
