DISASTER MANAGEMENT
• The Disaster is a sudden, calamitous event bringing great damage, loss,
destruction and devastation to life and property.
• Damage caused by disaster is immeasurable and varies with the
geographical location, climate and the type of the earth surface.
• This influences the mental, socio-economic, political and cultural state of the
affected area.
• Generally, disaster has the following effects in the concerned Areas,
1. It completely disrupts the normal day to day life
2. It negatively influences the emergency systems
3. Normal needs and processes like food, shelter, health, etc. are affected
and deteriorate depending on the intensity and severity of the disaster.
It may also be termed as “a serious disruption of the functioning of society,
causing widespread human, material or environmental losses which exceed the
ability of the affected society to cope using its own resources.”
• Types of Disaster
• Generally, disasters are of two types – Natural and Manmade.
Based on the devastation, these are further classified into major/minor natural
disaster and major/minor manmade disasters. Some of the disasters are listed
below.
Natural Disasters
• Major natural disasters: • Minor natural disasters:
• • Flood • • Cold wave
• • Cyclone • • Thunderstorms
• • Drought • • Heat waves
• • Earthquake • • Mud slides
• • Storm
MANMADE DISASTER
• Major manmade disaster: • Minor manmade disaster:
• • fires • • Road / train accidents,
• • Epidemic • • Food poisoning
• • Deforestation • • Industrial disaster/ crisis
• • Chemical pollution. • • Environmental pollution
• • Wars
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
There are no standardized rules defining the different phases of the disaster
management cycle.
• Different agencies use different cycles depending upon their objectives.
However, while approaches vary, it is agreed that disaster management
activities should be carried out in a cycle.
Disaster Warning
• Disaster Warning
• Disaster Reduction identifies several key parties that play major roles in the
disaster management process, especially in disaster warning.
• Communities,
• Local governments
• National governments
• Regional institutions and organizations
• International bodies
• Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
• The private sector
• The media and the scientific community
Channels Used for Disaster Warning
• Radio and Television
• Telephone (Fixed and Mobile)
• Short Message Service
• Satellite Radio
• Internet/Email
• GIS and Remote Sensing in Disaster Management
Disaster management in India
• The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), headed by the
Prime Minister of India, is the Apex Body for Disaster Management in India.
The setting up of the NDMA and the creation of an enabling environment for
institutional mechanisms at the State and District levels is mandated by the
Disaster Management Act, 2005.
• Evolution of NDMA
• The Government of India (GOI), in recognition of the importance of Disaster
Management as a national priority, has set up a High-Powered Committee
(HPC) in August 1999 and also a nation committee after the 2001 Gujarat
earthquake, for making recommendations on the preparation of Disaster
Management plans and suggestion effective mitigation mechanisms.
Floods
• A flood is an expanse of water submerging land.
• A flood is caused by excess water in a location, usually due to rain from a
storm or thunderstorm or the rapid melting of snow.
• A flood happens when an area of land, usually low-lying, is covered with
water. The worst floods usually occur when a river overflows its banks. The
flood is constituted not only of the overflowing water but also of all other
waters that are unable to drain off into water channels.
Causes of floods
1) When snow on a mountain melts or when a river or a lake of some sort
overflows
2) Flooding from water displacement, such as in a landslide,
3) The failure of a dam,
4) An earthquake induced tsunami,
5) A hurricane’s storm surge or melt water from volcanic activity.
6) Flooding of Coastal areas by high tides or by tsunami waves caused by
undersea earthquakes.
7) A flood that rises and falls rapidly with little or no advance warning is called a
flash flood. Flash floods usually result from intense rainfall over a relatively
small area.
Elements at risk
1) Buildings built of earth (mud),weak foundation and water-soluble material.
2) Basement of buildings.
3) Utilities such as sewerage, water supply.
4) Agricultural equipment and crops, vehicles, fishing boats etc.
Effects of flood
1) Physical damage- structures such as buildings get damaged due to flood
water.
2) Landslides can also take place. Top soil gets washed away
3) Causalities - people and livestock die due to drowning. It can also lead to
epidemics and diseases.
4) Water supplies- Contamination of water. Clean drinking water becomes
scarce.
5) Crops and food supplies- shortage of food crops can be caused due to loss
of entire harvest.
Flood management
• Flood management involves the following activities:
• 1) Mapping- of the flood prone area.
• 2) Land use control- no major development should be permitted in the
areas subjected to flooding.
• 3) Construction of engineered structures- strong structures to withstand
flood forces.
• Moreover, the buildings should be constructed on an elevated area and if
necessary, should be build on stits.
• 4) Flood control- it aims to reduce flood damage. It includes:
• a) Flood reduction b) Flood diversion c) Flood proofing
• For example, London is protected from flooding by a huge mechanical barrier
across the river Thames, which is raised when the water level reaches a
certain point.
• Notable floods
CYCLONE
• The name cyclone was first coined by Captain Henry Piddington, Chairman of
Marine Court Calcutta in 1848. It is derived from Greek word means coil of a
snake.
• Cyclone is a meteorological phenomena in which an area of low pressure
characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate counter clockwise in the
northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere of the earth.
• Near the places of their origin, they are only 80 Km in diameter, but well
developed cyclones have their diameter ranging from 300 to 1500 km. They
move at faster rate over the oceans than over the land because the
irregularities of the land surface retard their speed. The six main types of
cyclones are polar cyclone, polar low, extra tropical, subtropical, tropical and
mesoscale.
EARTHQUAKE
• Earthquake is those movements of the earth crust which make the ground
vibrate and shake backward and forward. The shaking of earth crust proceeds
in the form of waves from the centre of disturbance.
• Longitudinal waves, transverse waves and surface waves are the 3 types of
waves. Earthquake may be caused by two types of forces.
1) Tectonic occurrence: tectonic occurrence like faulting, breaking of rocks,
raising or sinking of layers of the earth, folding of the strata or vapour seeking to
escape from the earth.
2) volcanic activity: violent eruptions and intrusion of igneous magma from
below the earth.
Types of earthquake:
• Volcanic earthquake: are associated with the flow of hot magma
interrupting volcanoes. These happen to be localized and seldom cause any
extensive damage.
• Tectonic earthquake: are those which result from structural and injustments
inside the earth.
• Plutonic earthquake: are those which have their origin at greater depths.
They may also be generated in the same manner as the tectonic earthquake
far below the surface of the earth.
Effects of earthquake:
• Collapse of manmade structure like building, bridges, towers etc.
• • Roads get affected due to subsidence of the ground and enormous fissures
appear on land.
• • Extensive landslides in hilly regions and rocky debris come down to block
the path of streams.
• • When earthquake are accompanied by volcanic activity, the destruction is
very enormous.
Mitigation measures:
• • Damage to structure can be avoided by prohibiting restriction on such
earthquake prone zones.
• • Power lines and pipelines can be built with extra slack where they cross
such earthquake prone zones.
• • New buildings should be constructed with proper earthquake resistant
measures. They require secure anchoring and tight bonding of foundations,
frame, outer and inner walls, floors and roofs.
• • Vulnerable older building located in high risk areas might be rebuilt to
withstand anticipated earth quake.
Land Slides and Mitigation Measures
• In the recent years, intensive construction activity and the destabilizing forces of
nature have aggravated the land Slide problem. Landslides refer to the downward
sliding of huge quantities of land masses. Sliding occurs along steep slopes of
hills of mountains.
• The rate of movement of such a mass is never constant. Landslides occur as a
result of changes on a slope, sudden or gradual, either in its composition,
structure, hydrology or vegetation. The changes can be due to geology, climate,
weathering, changing land use and earthquakes.
• The causes of landslides may be grouped into two types:
• • Inherent or internal causes.
• • Immediate causes.
Effect of landslides:
• Landslides are not only destructive to the man but also to the structures.
• One of the most disastrous landslides occurred in Switzerland in 1806, when
great masses of loose rock and soil suddenly slide down into the valley form
the mountainside.
• It resulted in killing of 800 persons. Initially the Vajont Dam, was the highest
arch failed due to landslide on October 9, 1963, when a rock mass of about
600 million tons slide down into the lake.
• A significant reduction in hazards caused by landslides can be achieved by prevention
of the exposure of population and facilitates by physically controlling the landslides.
• Development programs that involve modification of the topography, exploitation of
natural resources and change in the balance load on the ground should not be
permitted.
• Some critical measures that could be undertaken to prevent further landslides are
drainage measures, erosion control measures such bamboo check-dams, terracing,
jute and coir netting and rock control measures such as grass plantation, vegetated dry
masonry walls, retaining walls and, most importantly, preventing deforestation and
improving afforestation.
• Disasters cannot be totally prevented. However, early warning systems, careful
planning and preparedness on part of the vulnerable community would help in
minimizing the loss of life and property due to these disasters.
1. Prevention
The best way to address a disaster is by being proactive. This means
identifying potential hazards and devising safeguards to mitigate their impact.
Although this stage in the cycle involves putting permanent measures into
place that can help minimize disaster risk, it’s important to acknowledge that
disasters can’t always be prevented.
Prevention involves scenarios such as the following:
Implementing an evacuation plan in a school, for example, showing teachers
how to lead students to safety in the event of a tornado or fire
Planning and designing a city in a way that minimizes the risk of flooding, for
example, with the use of locks, dams or channels to divert water away from
populous areas
2. Mitigation
Mitigation aims to minimize the loss of human life that would result from a
disaster. Both structural and nonstructural measures may be taken.
A structural measure means changing the physical characteristics of a building
or an environment to curb the effects of a disaster. For example, clearing trees
away from a house can ensure that dangerous storms don’t knock down the
trees and send them crashing into homes and public buildings.
Nonstructural measures involve adopting or amending building codes to
optimize safety for all future building construction.
3. Preparedness
Preparedness is an ongoing process in which individuals, communities,
businesses and organizations can plan and train for what they’ll do in the event
of a disaster. Preparedness is defined by ongoing training, evaluating and
corrective action, ensuring the highest level of readiness.
Fire drills, active-shooter drills and evacuation rehearsals are all good
examples of the preparedness stage.
4. Response
Response is what happens after the disaster occurs. It involves both short- and
long-term responses.
Ideally, the disaster-management leader will coordinate the use of resources
(including personnel, supplies and equipment) to help restore personal and
environmental safety, as well as to minimize the risk of any additional property
damage.
During the response stage, any ongoing hazards are removed from the area;
for example, in the aftermath of a wildfire, any lingering fires will be put out,
and areas that pose a high flammability risk will be stabilized.
5. Recovery
The fifth stage in the disaster-management cycle is recovery. This can take a
long time, sometimes years or decades. For example, some areas in New
Orleans have yet to fully recover from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It involves
stabilizing the area and restoring all essential community functions. Recovery
requires prioritization: first, essential services like food, clean water, utilities,
transportation and healthcare will be restored, with less-essential services
being prioritized later.
Ultimately, this stage is about helping individuals, communities, businesses
and organizations return to normal or a new normal depending on the impact of
the disaster.
