Disaster Management

Disasters and Disaster Management

• Natural Disasters
• Man Made Disasters

Major Natural Disasters

• Floods/Hurricanes/Tornados/Cyclones
• Volcanic Eruptions
• Earthquakes
• Droughts
• Tsunamis
• Landslides
• Forest fires
• Heat waves
• Rail accidents/ Plane accidents/Ship wrecks
• Hailstorms
• Avalanches

Man-made Disasters

• Riots
• War
• Accidents ( road, rail, plane Crashes and ship wrecks)
• Deforestation
• Exploitation of natural resources
• Construction Collapses – houses, buildings, bridges
• Mine Tragedies
• Wildfires

Disaster Possibilities in India

• Peculiar Geographical location
• Long coastlines – surrounded by sea on three sides
• Snow- clad Peaks – Hymalayas
• High Mountain Ranges
• Perennial Rivers
• High Population
• Over exploitation of Natural Resources
• Northern Region falls under the Seismic Zones III to V (Prone to landslides, floods, droughts ,and earthquakes)
• Eastern Zone is prone to heavy floods (Perennial rivers like Brahmaputra and Ganges)
• North- Eastern Zone comes under seismic zone IV and V ( Chance for floods, landslides and earthquakes)
• Western region is known for severe drought, wind erosion of land and soil and earthquakes
• Southern coastal region is vulnerable to cyclones, sea erosion, tsunami, and landslides
• Human greed and mismanagement
• Mass felling of trees
• Soil and sand mining
• Construction of huge dams and drying up of rivers

Impact of Disasters

• Cause widespread damage to life and property
• Wide spread destruction of life and nature
• Disrupt communication system ,power supply, water supply and drainage
• Health care and hospitals are affected
• Commercial and economics activities are disrupted
• Severe psychological traumas
• Results in Famine as crops are destroyed
• Problem of Rehabilitation
• Riots affects the poorest sections of the society
• Material and Economics loss
• Displacement, Poverty, Exploitation, Epidemics

Prevention:

• It is impossible to prevent natural calamities; however, it is possible to minimize the impact of natural calamities such as floods, earthquakes, wild fires, droughts, landslides and famine
• Preparing a master plan for construction of infrastructure
• Ensuring quality materials for construction
• Enforcing laws for safety and security in construction
• Technically assessing existing buildings
• Ensuring a regular monitoring mechanism
• Controlling constructions in Ecologically fragile areas
• Proper coordinating of different departments
• Ensuring roles of NGOS
• Timely rehabilitation should be ensured
• Should have trained rescue team with well-equipped technologies
• Preparing good evacuation plans
• the organization and management of resources
• Preparedness, response and recovery in order to lessen the impact of disasters.
• Timely relief works
• Permanent disaster management system
• Early warning system

 

• Most natural calamities cannot be predicted, and using some form of early warning system is the best way to deal with them
• The effects of drought and famine can be mitigated by better management of water resources. Rain water harvesting techniques are useful.
• Building sturdier houses in non-seismic activity zones is a recommended way to deal with earthquakes.
• Using modern technology to warn people of an impending natural calamity, such as a tsunami or flood, is an effective way to reduce casualties and damage
• Dams change the nutrient content in waters downstream and alter water temperatures, which in turn affects the growth of populations.
• They sometimes necessitate costly repairs and maintenance, and dam breaks create safety hazards.
• Water conservation is one of the most obvious precautions to take during a drought.
• Droughts are typically accompanied by extreme heat, so precautions should be taken around the home to stay cool.