UNIT-4

DISASTER RISK REDUCTION

Introduction:

4.0 Disaster Risk Reduction:

Disaster risk reduction is: ‘Actions taken to reduce the risk of disasters
and the adverse impacts of natural hazards, through systematic efforts to
analyze and manage the causes of disasters, including through avoidance of
hazards, reduced social and economic vulnerability to hazards, and improved
preparedness for adverse Events’ - un International Strategy for Disaster
Reduction (ISDR).
The conceptual framework of elements considered with the possibilities
to minimize vulnerabilities and disaster risks throughout a society, to avoid
(prevention) or to limit (mitigation and preparedness) the adverse impacts of
hazards, within the broad context of sustainable development. - United
Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Steps for implementing DRR strategy:

1. Ensure that DRR is a national and local priority with strong institutional
basis for implementation.
2. Identify, assess, and monitor disaster risks – and enhance early warning.
3. Use knowledge, innovation, and education to build a culture of safety
and resilience at all levels.
4. Reduce the underlying risk factors.
5. Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective at all levels.

Components of Disaster Risk Reduction:

1. Mitigation
- Measures to be taken before and after an event
2. Preparedness
- Measures to be taken before and after an event
 3. Response
- Measures to be taken during and immediately after an event
4. Recovery
- Post disaster measures

4.1 DISASTER MANAGEMENT CYCLE

THE 4 PHASES OF DISASTER MANAGEMENT CYCLE

1. Mitigation
2. Preparedness
3. Response
4. Recovery
PHASE 1: MITIGATION
Meaning: To prevent future emergencies and take steps to minimize their
effects
The “mitigation” phase occurs before a disaster takes place. Here, an
organization will take steps to protect people and property, while also
decreasing risks and consequences from a given disaster situation. The
organization’s main goal is to reduce vulnerability to disaster impacts (such as
property damage, injuries and loss of life).

Mitigation activities actually eliminate or reduce the probability of disaster

occurrence, or reduce the effects of unavoidable disasters. Mitigation
measures include building codes; vulnerability analyses updates; zoning and
land use management; building use regulations and safety codes; preventive
health care; and public education. Mitigation will depend on the incorporation
of appropriate measures in national and regional development planning. Its
effectiveness will also depend on the availability of information on hazards,
emergency risks, and the countermeasures to be taken. The mitigation phase,
and indeed the whole disaster management cycle, includes the shaping of
public policies and plans that either modify the causes of disasters or mitigate
their effects on people, property, and infrastructure.

In electrical risks, a periodical power quality audit and exhaustive preventive

maintenance process with the help of electrical consultants can avert fire risks
due to electrical reasons, which is the major cause (>85%) of fires. In
earthquake prone areas, these preventive measures might include structural
changes such as the installation of an earthquake valve to instantly shut off the
natural gas supply, seismic retrofits of property, and the securing of items
inside a building. The latter may include the mounting of furniture,
refrigerators, water heaters and breakables to the walls, and the addition of
cabinet latches. In flood prone areas, houses can be built on poles/stilts.

Disaster mitigation measures are those that eliminate or reduce the impacts
and risks of hazards through proactive measures taken before an emergency or
disaster.

TYPES OF MITIGATION
1 .Primary Mitigation

2. Secondary Mitigation

1. Primary Mitigation:

Primary mitigation refers to increasing the resistance to the hazard and

reducing vulnerability.

2. Secondary Mitigation:

Secondary mitigation refers to reducing the effects of the hazard (prepared)

VARIOUS APPROACHES / STRATEGIES OF DISASTER MITIGATION

1) Risk Identification

The first step in disaster mitigation is to identify areas that are at risk to
hazard. Once the priority zones have been identified, comprehensive and
integrated risk reduction programs should be initiated.

2) Land-Use Planning

Land-use planning includes the mapping of disaster prone area which should
contain number of livestock per unit area, crop density, population density,
road network, location of shelter etc.

3) Structural and Non-Structural

Mitigation measures may involve construction (e.g. dykes and flood protection
walls, and also ecosystem-based approaches to flood and erosion control, such
as planting mangrove forests) and non-material measures (e.g. land-use
restrictions in flood risk areas).

4) Disaster relief and Rehabilitation

Supply emergency humanitarian aid to victims for survival and relocate the
peoples whose residence has been destroyed very badly, inappropriate for
living.

5) Disaster Management Training and Education

Trained up group of personnel need to be formed in local, national and
regional context to mitigate and reduce disaster risk and damages.

6) Role of Media in Disaster Risk Reduction

Media is the effective means to circulate the news and bulletins about hazard
warning and Mitigation processes.

7) Institutional Capacity Building

Several institutional bodies are engaged with disaster mitigation processes

such as local community, organization, local and national government, NGOs,
international organization etc. Ability and capacity of those institutions should
be as high as they are capable to mitigate the disaster.

PHASE 2: PREPAREDNESS
Meaning: To take actions ahead of time to be ready for an emergency
The “preparedness” phase also occurs before a disaster takes place. Here, an
organization attempts to understand how a disaster might affect overall
productivity and the bottom line. The organization will also provide
appropriate education while putting preparedness measures into place.

Preparedness refers the measures that ensure the organized mobilization of

personnel, funds, equipment, and supplies within a safe environment for effective
relief. Preparedness lessens the severity of disasters by preparing people for
disaster, developing plans to ensure an effective response and recovery and training
people to implement plans after a disaster occurs.

The goal of emergency preparedness programs is to achieve a satisfactory level

of readiness to respond to any emergency situation and the likelihood for a
disaster to occur. This risk assessment process is sometimes referred to as an
All -Hazards Analysis. All -Hazards Analysis is can be completed at multiple
levels, including:

• Federal, state, and county levels

• Hospital, business and agency levels

• Personal and family levels

The Planning and Preparedness also assesses the community’s system’s

infrastructure (i.e., availability of backup communications, transportation
options, economic viability, etc.) and its capability to respond to the potential
risks and vulnerabilities identified in the All - Hazards Analysis. Assessing
available mental health and spiritual care personnel and training them in
disaster response is an example of a Planning and Preparedness activity.

It is important to note, however, that having the best plan or the most
experienced team will not always guarantee a successful disaster response.
There are some disasters whose magnitude and/or unique characteristics will
stress even the most prepared system or team. In these cases, individual and
system flexibility is imperative. Developing a plan and response team that is
flexible and able to adapt to whatever occurs is extremely important. In many
cases, peoples’ lives will depend on it

1. Conduct disaster risk assessments

2. Integrate broader social and environmental issues into business strategies

and operations

3. Enact measures and systems that reduce risks

4. Develop plans for response and recovery

5. Disaster risk management (DRM) is a systematic application of management

policies, procedures and practices to the tasks of identifying, analyzing,
evaluating, treating and monitoring risk. Disaster risk reduction (DRR) entails
measures to curb disaster losses by addressing hazards and people’s
vulnerability to them.

Preparedness Includes:

1) Forecasting and Warning for Different Hazards.

2) Emergency Preparedness

- Organized personnel for monitoring, alert and evacuation

 - Medical team

- Search and rescue team

- Availability of food reserve

- Emergency monetary fund and seed reserve

- Distribution of disaster supplies and equipment

3) Education, Training and Public Awareness

Level of preparedness

1) Family

2) Community

- Volunteering activities

- Protesting environmental degradation

- Awareness building

- Emergency steps

3) National: Developing principles and laws, executing rules, funding etc.

4) International / Regional: Seminar, Conference, Exchange of Technology and

knowledge.

PHASE 3: RESPONSE

Meaning: To protect people and property in the wake of an emergency,

disaster or crisis

Response:

Response actions carried out immediately before, during, and after a hazard
impact are aimed at saving lives, reducing economic losses, and alleviating
suffering. The response phase includes the mobilization of the necessary
emergency services and first responders in the disaster area. This is likely to
include a first wave of core emergency services, such as fire-fighters, police
and ambulance crews. Response actions may include activating the Emergency
Operations Centre (EOC), evacuating threatened populations, opening shelters
and providing mass care, emergency rescue and medical care, fire fighting, and
urban search and rescue. Response begins when an emergency event is
imminent or immediately after an event occurs. Response encompasses the
activities that address the short-term, direct effects of an incident. Response
also includes the execution of the Emergency Operations Plan and of incident
mitigation activities designed to limit the loss of life, personal injury, property
damage, and unfavourable outcomes. As indicated by the situation, response
activities include:

• Applying intelligence and other information to lessen the effects or

consequences of an incident.

• Increasing security operations

• Continuing investigations into the nature and source of the threat.

• On-going public health and agricultural surveillance and testing processes,

immunizations, isolation, or quarantine.

• Specific law enforcement operations aimed at pre-empting, interdicting, or

disrupting illegal activity, and apprehending actual perpetrators and bringing
them to justice.

• Restoring critical infrastructure (e.g., utilities)

• Ensuring continuity of critical services (e.g., law enforcement, public works).

In other words, response involves putting preparedness plans into action.

Response situation activities:

1. Disaster response refers to actions taken during and immediately after a

disaster to ensure that its effects are minimized, and that people affected are
given immediate relief and support.
2. These include providing food, water, shelter, and medical aid, removing
people from danger, among other outreach efforts.
3. Disaster recovery refers to the coordinated process of supporting
disasteraffected communities in reconstruction of physical infrastructure and
restoration of emotional, social, economic and physical well- being.
4. This includes re-building houses and businesses, and providing medical aid
and counselling, among other efforts.
Phase 4: Recovery
Meaning: To rebuild after a disaster in an effort to return operations back to
normal
The “recovery” phase takes place after a disaster. The recovery phase of a
disaster can last anywhere from six months to a year (or even longer
depending on the severity of the incident).

Actions taken to return a community to normal or nearnormal conditions,

including the restoration of basic services and the repair of physical, social and
economic damages. Typical recovery actions include debris cleanup, financial
assistance to individuals and governments, rebuilding of roads and bridges and
key facilities, and sustained mass care for displaced human and animal
populations. Recovery differs from the response phase in its focus; recovery
efforts are concerned with issues and decisions that must be made after
immediate needs are addressed. Recovery efforts are primarily concerned with
actions that involve rebuilding destroyed property, reemployment, and the
repair of other essential infrastructure.

The goal of recovery is to return the community’s systems and activities to

normal. Recovery begins right after the emergency. Some recovery activities
may be concurrent with response efforts.

• Identify needs and define resources.

• Provide housing and promote restoration.

• Address long-term care and treatment of affected persons.

• Implement additional measures for community restoration.

• Incorporate mitigation measures and techniques, as feasible.

• Evaluate the incident to identify lessons learned.

• Develop initiatives to mitigate the effects of future incidents. Long-term

recovery includes restoring economic activity and rebuilding community
facilities and housing. Long-term recovery (stabilizing all systems) can
sometimes take years.

Disaster recovery (DR) involves a set of policies and procedures to enable the
recovery or continuation of vital technology infrastructure and systems
following a natural or human- induced disaster. In other words, recovery is
implementation of actions to promote sustainable redevelopment following a
disaster, including new building code standards and land-use planning controls.

Recovery consists of:

1. Rehabilitation

2. Reconstruction (During reconstruction it is absolutely necessary to

consider mitigation measures including relocation, land use zoning etc.)

- Rebuilding of house and public buildings

- Financing for rebuilding

- Repair of roads, bridge, water system etc.

3. Psychological counselling

4. Long-term assistance to rebuild the community.

Prevention:

Prevention In accordance with the guiding principles of the Act,

preventative measures reduce the likelihood of a disaster event occurring
or the severity of an event should it eventuate.

Prevention is defined as regulatory and physical measures to ensure that

emergencies are prevented, or their effects mitigated and mitigation is
defined as measures taken in advance of a disaster aimed at decreasing or
eliminating its impact on society and environment.

The implementation of proactive, targeted prevention and mitigation

strategies designed to address likely risk factors, the vulnerability of the
population and reduce or eliminate the possible impact of disasters
ultimately ensures safer, more resilient and sustainable communities.

Prevention was recently added to the phases of emergency management. It

focuses on preventing the human hazard, primarily from potential natural
disasters or terrorist attacks. Preventive measures are taken, designed to
provide permanent protection from disasters. Not all disasters, particularly
natural disasters, can be prevented, but the risk of loss of life and injury can
be mitigated with good evacuation plans, environmental planning and
design standards.

4.2 Structural and non-structural measures:

Structural measures:

Are any physical construction to reduce or avoid possible impacts

of hazards, or the application of engineering techniques or technology to
achieve hazard resistance and resilience in structures or systems.

Common structural measures for disaster risk reduction include dams,

flood levies, ocean wave barriers, and earthquake-resistant construction
and evacuation shelters

Non-structural measures:

Are measures not involving physical construction which uses

knowledge, practice or agreement to reduce disaster risks and impacts,
in particular through policies and laws, public awareness raising, training
and education.

Common non-structural measures include building codes, land-use

planning laws and their enforcement, research and assessment,
information resources and public awareness programs.

4.3 Risk Analysis

Risk: The combination of the probability of an event and its negative

consequences.
 The expected losses (lives lost, persons injured, damage to
property and disruption of economic activity) due to a particular hazard.
Risk is the product of hazard and vulnerability.

Assessing risks is a crucial step before developing a disaster

management Planning Contingency plans must be developed and/or
previously existing plans updated in light of experience gained in the
disaster. Contingency planning is most effective when it is a participatory
process that includes all the actors who will be required to work
together in the event of an emergency. It is a forward planning process,
in which scenarios and objectives are agreed, managerial and technical
actions defined, and potential response systems put in place to respond
to an emergency situation.

Developing a plan is key to ensuring that efforts in preparedness,

response, and relief have taken the business, the community, and other
entities’ key issues into account.

Risk Assessment:

A methodology to determine the nature and extent of risk by analysing

potential hazards and evaluating existing conditions of vulnerability that
together could potentially harm exposed people, property, services,
livelihoods and the environment on which they depend

There are different ways of dealing with risk, such as:

Risk Acceptance: an informed decision to accept the possible

consequences and likelihood of a particular risk.

Risk Avoidance: an informed decision to avoid involvement in activities

leading to risk realization.

Risk Reduction: refers to the application of appropriate techniques to

reduce the likelihood of risk occurrence and its consequences.

Risk Transfer: involves shifting of the burden of risk to another party.

One of the most common forms of risk transfer is Insurance.

4.3.1 Vulnerability
Vulnerability is a concept which describes factors or constraints of an
economic, social, physical or geographic nature, which reduces the ability to
prepare for and cope with the impact of hazard.
Vulnerability describes the characteristics and circumstances of a
community, system or asset that make it susceptible to the damaging effects
of a hazard. There are many aspects of vulnerability, arising from various
physical, social, economic, and environmental factors.

Vulnerability to a given hazard depends on:

• Proximity to a possible hazardous event.
• Population density in the area proximal to the event.
• Scientific understanding of the hazard.
• Public education and awareness of the hazard.
• Existence or non-existence of early-warning systems and lines of
communication.
• Availability and readiness of emergency infrastructure.
• Construction styles and building codes.
• Cultural factors that influence public response to warnings.

Vulnerability factors;
vulnerability assessment:
There are three dimensions of vulnerability: exposure, sensitivity,
and adaptive capacity. Exposure is the degree to which people and the
things they value could be affected or "touched" by coastal hazards;
sensitivity is the degree to which they could be harmed by that
exposure; and adaptive capacity is the degree to which they could
mitigate the potential for harm by taking action to reduce exposure or
sensitivity.

Factors affecting vulnerability :

1.Education :
Education is important in many ways. Firstly if you are educated
you will probably have a good job and earn a good salary. This means
that you can then live in a safer house in a safer location. Also if you are
literate you can understand the risks posed by hazards and how to react
 to them. You are also more likely to have better communications and
transport in order to hear about and escape from a possible hazard.
 Building Design :(Electrics, plumbing, foundations, structure)
If your house is built to latest earthquake-proof standards, then
you are less vulnerable than someone living in an informal settlement or
a house that has disobeyed guidance. If your house has proper electricity
connections and proper plumbing you are less vulnerable to fires,
electrocution, flooding and diseases.
 Home Preparation :
By preparing your home from hazards e.g. screwing pictures and
furniture to the wall so they don't fall during earthquakes, covering
windows during hurricanes or surrounding with sandbags during floods,
then you are less vulnerable to the risk of hazards.
 Building and Settlement Location :
Houses that are built on flat land and secure bedrock are going to
more secure and less vulnerable than houses built on steep hills and
unstable rock. Houses built in coastal areas or on floodplains or near
volcanoes are obviously going to be more at risk than ones built in areas
that don't suffer from hazards. Settlements that are not accessible will
be more vulnerable because people will not be able to escape hazards
and people will not be able to help hazard victims.

Hazard Identification and Vulnerability Assessment

• Hazard Identification and Vulnerability Assessment (HIVA) is the initial
step supporting the emergency management process of hazard
preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation.
• Hazard identification refers to the systematic use of all available
information to determine which types of hazards might affect a
community, along with their driving forces and typical effects.
• Vulnerability assessment refers to the estimation of scale and severity
these hazards may have on the people, property, environment, and
economy of a community.

4.3.2 CAPACITY ASSESSMENT

Capacity Building Capacity is defined as “the ability of individuals,
organizations, organizational units and / or systems to perform functions
effectively and in a sustainable manner” .

“Capacity building”, a contested concept sometimes used

interchangeably with “institution building”, “institutional and
organizational development” and “institutional capacity building”.

Physical Capacity:

People whose houses have been destroyed by the cyclone or crops have
been destroyed by the flood can salvage things from their homes and
from their farms. Some family members have skills, which enable them
to find employment if they migrate, either temporarily or permanently.

Socio-economic Capacity:

In most of the disasters, people suffer their greatest losses in the

physical and material realm. Rich people have the capacity to recover
soon because of their wealth. In fact, they are seldom hit by disasters
because they live in safe areas and their houses are built with stronger
materials.

However, even when everything is destroyed they have the capacity to

cope up with it. Hazards are always prevalent, but the hazard becomes a
disaster only when there is greater vulnerability and less of capacity to
cope with it.

The Governments are consciously promoting programs and projects to

enhance the capacity of their State and the people to be better prepared
to face disasters.

The terms capacity development and capacity building are sometimes

used interchangeably.

Capacity building activities like training, establishment of institutions,

community bases training, information and coordination sharing under
the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) programme helped in establishment
of a more interactive partnership between the different stakeholders
involved in development and disaster activities of concerned area.

Strengthening Capacity for Reducing Risk:

The Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA), a United Nations International

Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) initiative in 2005 outlined five
priorities for action. There has been significant progress since 2005 on
disaster risk reduction, some of which include;

a) Allocation of separate budget by countries for risk reduction;

b) Better preparedness of communities against disasters; and

c) Significant focus of education on disaster preparedness in schools.

The counter-disaster plan might include:

➢ a list of hazards;
➢ an initial response procedures;
➢ disaster kits—list of contents and locations;
➢ the location and description of smoke detection and firefighting
equipment;
➢ day and night emergency contacts for staff and specialists;
➢ the names and addresses of suppliers of emergency equipment and
materials, including day and night telephone numbers;
➢ the emergency funding procedures;
➢ insurance details;
Capacity Assessment :

The ISDR terminology views capacity as the combination of all the

strengths, attributes and resources available within a community,
society or organization that can be used to achieve agreed goals.
Capacity may include infrastructure and physical means,
institutions, societal coping abilities, as well as human knowledge, skills
and collective attributes such as social relationships, leadership and
management. Capacity also may be described as capability.

Capacity assessment is a term for the process by which the capacity of a

group is reviewed against desired goals, and the capacity gaps are
identified for further action.

4.4 EARLY WARNING SYSTEM

An Early warning system (EWS) can be defined as a set of

capacities needed to generate and disseminate timely and meaningful
warning information of the possible extreme events or disasters (e.g.
floods, drought, fire, earthquake and tsunamis) that threatens people's
lives.

The purpose of this information is to enable individuals,

communities and organizations threatened to prepare and act
appropriately and sufficient time to reduce the possibility of harm, loss
or risk.

CHARACTERISTICS OF EWS
• Effective early warning systems require strong technical
foundations and good knowledge of risks.
• But they must be strong people centered- with clear messages,
dissemination systems.
• Public awareness and education are critical, in addition, many
sectors must be involved.
• Effective early warning systems must be embedded in an
understandable manner and relevant to the communities which
they serve.
.
4.5 POST DISASTER ENVIRONMENT RESPONSE

4.5.1 WATER:

Prepare an Emergency Water Supply:

Store at least 1 gallon of water per day for each person and each
pet. Consider storing more water than this for hot climates, for pregnant
women, and for people who are sick. Store at least a 3-day supply of
water for each person and each pet. Try to store a 2-week supply if
possible. Observe the expiration date for store-bought water; replace
other stored water every 6 months.

Store a bottle of unscented liquid household chlorine bleach to

disinfect your water and to use for general cleaning and sanitizing. Try to
store bleach in an area where the average temperature stays around
70°F (21°C). Because the amount of active chlorine in bleach decreases
over time due to normal decay, consider replacing the bottle each year.

Water Containers (Cleaning and Storage)

Unopened commercially bottled water is the safest and most

reliable emergency water supply. Use of food-grade water storage
containers, such as those found at surplus or camping supply stores, is
recommended if you prepare stored water yourself. Before filling with
safe water.

Wash the storage container with dishwashing soap and water and
rinse completely with clean water. Sanitize the container by adding a
solution made by mixing 1 teaspoon of unscented liquid household
chlorine bleach in one quart of water. Cover the container and shake it
well so that the sanitizing bleach solution touches all inside surfaces of
the container.

Wait at least 30 seconds and then pour the sanitizing solution out
of the container. Let the empty sanitized container air-dry before use OR
 rinse the empty container with clean, safe water that already is
available.

Avoid using the following containers to store safe water.

• Containers that cannot be sealed tightly

• Containers that can break, such as glass bottles
• Containers that have ever held toxic solid or liquid chemicals, such
as bleach or pesticides
• Plastic or cardboard bottles, jugs, and containers used for milk or
fruit juices

For proper water storage:

• Label container as “drinking water” and include storage date.

• Replace stored water that is not commercially bottled every six
months.
• Keep stored water in a place with a fairly constant cool
temperature.
• Do not store water containers in direct sunlight.
• Do not store water containers in areas where toxic substances
such as gasoline or pesticides are present.

4.5.2 FOOD:

Prepare an Emergency Food Supply

A disaster can easily disrupt the food supply at any time, so plan to have
at least a 3-day supply of food on hand.

Keep foods that:

• Have a long storage life

• Require little or no cooking, water, or refrigeration, in case utilities are
disrupted
• Meet the needs of babies or other family members who are on special
diets
• Meet pets’ needs
 • Are not very salty or spicy, as these foods increase the need for drinking
water, which may be in short supply.

How To Store Emergency Food

• When storing food, it is not necessary to buy dehydrated or other types
of emergency food.
• Check the expiration dates on canned foods and dry mixes. Home-
canned food usually needs to be thrown out after a year.
• Use and replace food before its expiration date.
• Certain storage conditions can enhance the shelf life of canned or dried
foods. The ideal location is a cool, dry, dark place. The best temperature
is 40° to 70°F.
• Store foods away from ranges or refrigerator exhausts. Heat causes
many foods to spoil more quickly.
• Store food away from petroleum products, such as gasoline, oil, paints,
and solvents. Some food products absorb their smell.
• Protect food from rodents and insects. Items stored in boxes or in paper
cartons will keep longer if they are heavily wrapped or stored in
waterproof, airtight containers.
Preparing Food
• Preparing food after a disaster or emergency may be difficult due to
damage to your home and loss of electricity, gas, and water.
• Having the following items available will help you to prepare meals
safely:

•Cooking utensils spoons Paper plates, cups

• Knives, forks,
• towels
• A manual can- and bottle-opener
• Heavy-duty aluminum foil
• Propane gas or charcoal grill; camp stove
• Fuel for cooking, such as charcoal. (CAUTION: Only use charcoal grills or
camp stoves outside of your home to avoid smoke inhalation and carbon
monoxide poisoning.)
4.5.3 SANITATION

Hand washing:
Keeping hands clean during an emergency helps prevent the
spread of germs. If your tap water is not safe to use, wash your hands
with soap and water that has been boiled or disinfected. Follow these
steps to make sure you wash your hands properly:
Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold) and
apply soap.
Rub your hands together to make a lather and scrub them well; be sure
to scrub the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your
nails.
Continue rubbing your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a
timer? Rinse your hands well under running water. Dry your hands using
a clean towel or air dry them.

Washing hands with soap and water is the best way to reduce the
number of germs on them. If soap and water are not available, use an
alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Alcohol-
based hand sanitizers can quickly reduce the number of germs on hands
in some situations, but sanitizers do not eliminate all types of germs.
Hand sanitizers are not effective when hands are visibly dirty
Wash hands with soap and clean, running water (if available):
When to wash hands:
• Before, during, and after preparing food
• Before eating food
• After using the toilet
• After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the
toilet
• Before and after caring for someone who is sick
• After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
• After touching an animal or animal waste
 • After touching garbage
• Before and after treating a cut or wound

4.5.4 DISEASE CONTROL

Over 15 million U.S. households obtain their drinking water from

private wells , which are not covered by the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) regulations that protect public drinking water
systems. Although the United States has one of the safest drinking water
supplies in the world, sources of drinking water can still become contaminated
through naturally occurring chemicals and minerals (for example, arsenic,
radon), local land use practices (for example, pesticides, chemicals, animal
feeding operations), malfunctioning wastewater treatment systems (for
example, sewer overflows), and other sources. Contamination of a private well
can impact not only the household served by the well, but also nearby
households using the same aquifer.

Owners of private wells are responsible for ensuring that their water
is safe from contaminants. Private wells should be checked every year for
mechanical problems, cleanliness, and the presence of coliform bacteria,
nitrates, and any other contaminants of local concern. A local health
department or water well systems professional can help ensure delivery of
high-quality water from an existing well or, if needed, help locate and
construct a new well in a safer area. Additional information about well
maintenance and water testing is available at Healthy Water’s Well
Testing page.

The presence of contaminants in water can lead to health issues, including

gastrointestinal illness, reproductive problems, and neurological disorders.
Infants, young children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people whose
immune systems are compromised because of AIDS, chemotherapy, or
transplant medications, may be especially susceptible to illness from some
contaminants.

4.5.5 Waste management

 This is the common word used when the time, money and energy
invested on a particular thing is not worth it. The same word is used to indicate
materials, which have been used but no longer wanted. The word 'waste' is
indicative of the way the consumer society behaves in relation to a material.
The Basel Convention defines waste to mean substances or objects which are
disposed or are intended to be disposed or are required to be disposed of by
the provisions of national laws. This meaning does not prescribe hazardous
nature to the waste and depends upon national laws to categorize waste
substances. The United Nation Statistics Division (UNSD) describes wastes as
materials that are not prime products (that is products produced for the
market) for which the generator has no further use in terms of his/he r own
purpose of production, transformation or consumption, and which he /she
wants to dispose.

Waste may be generated during the extraction of raw materials, the

processing of raw materials into intermediate and final products, and other
human activities. Residuals recycled or reused at the place of generation are
excluded. Thus UNSD meaning also fails to taken into account the
environmental impact of the waste and merely describes from the point of
view of industry.

Management of Hazardous wastes in India

In order to protect and improve our natural environment resources,

the Government of India has passed regulations of unprecedented scope and
impact. The forty-second amendment to our Constitution underscored the
importance of green thinking. Article 48A of the Indian Constitution enjoins the
state to protect and improve the environment and safeguard the forests and
wild life in the country. Further, Article 51A (g) of the Constitution states:
"Fundamental duty of every citizen is to protect and improve the natural
environment including forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife and to have
compassion for living creatures". Government of India is a Party to the
Convention and the Ministry of Environment and Forests has been designated
as the competent authority in India under this Convention. As a Party to the
Convention, it is obligatory for India to comply with the requirements of this
Convention for any trans boundary movement of hazardous wastes, and for all
Parties it is obligatory to incorporate the provisions of this convention in their
national legislation.

4.5.6 Security

The intent of policy is to guide practice, but the reverse appears more
consistently true. That is, good policy derives from practice. Yet this maxim is
confounded in extreme events when there has been no previous incident that
approximates the scale or scope of danger confronting public managers. This
inability to imagine attacks on the security of U.S. cities on the scale of the
9/11 events limited government capacity to plan defensively for such threats.
Government planning did occur, butitfell regrettably short of meeting the
needs for coordinated action to protect the security of U.S. cities. To
understand how this gap occurred and to design better strategies for
improving government performance under security threats, it is useful to
review the policies that were in place before 9/11, the policies that were put in
place immediately after 9/11, and the reasoning underlying both strategies.

Within weeks of 9/11, President George W. Bush established an

Office of Home-land Security, and appointed Tom Ridge, then governor of
Pennsylvania, to advise him on the development of a national strategy for
homeland security. Governor Ridge accepted this position as Director of the
White House Office on Home- land Security on October 6, 2001 and began an
effort to organize a coordinated response among the federal agencies to
increase their capacity for public security. In this position, he reported directly
to the president but had no executive authority or budget. He could only
advise, persuade, cajole, threaten, or negotiate agreements among the
multiple federal agencies with differing responsibilities for border control,
immigration, customs inspection, and intelligence gathering both within and
outside the U.S. to share information and coordinate their activities.

His first task was to identify which agencies performed what

functions that were relevant to homeland security. The product of this analysis
was a densely overlap-ping chart that identified 22 federal agencies with
distinct responsibilities related to homeland security. The key issue, identified
by Ridge as well as other informed analysts, was inter government
coordination among not only these federal agencies, with their distinct
cultures and competitive interests for budgets and personnel so with the state
and local agencies that shared responsibility for implementing a
comprehensive national security strategy (Posner 2002) .he proposal for a
cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security generated substantive debate
both for and against this massive structural reorganization. Those in favor
believed that the reorganization would bring all relevant agencies together
under one shared mission and grant a senior cabinet-level executive the
authority and budget to coordinate performance among them. They argued
that a cabinet-level appointment was needed to gain and keep the attention of
the president on these issues and to defend the national mission of securing
the homeland against separate efforts to protect the identity and budgets of
single agencies.

Those who opposed the strategy, including initially the White House, argued
that the individual agencies had distinctive capabilities that would be
minimized in a larger, more complex organization. Further, the difficulty of
integrating these disparate agencies would delay and distract them from
performing their separate functions at expected professional levels, and it
would take years to build trust and mutual understanding among them.
Nonetheless, on January 23, 2003, President Bush signed Executive Order
13,284, which established the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

4.5.7 Communications:

Communication during and immediately after a disaster situation is

an important component of response and recovery, in that it connects affected
people, families, and communities with first responders, support systems, and
other family members. Reliable and accessible communication and information
systems also are key to a community’s resilience.

1. The role of communication technology has been recognized as integral to

disaster management for a long time. Although application of communication
technology has a role in all the four distinct phases of disaster management
namely, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery, most of the
application has traditionally been in response and recovery phases. The new
communication and information technologies that have emerged over the last
two decades lend themselves to greater possibilities of integration of different
communication systems.

The interoperability of various communication systems including

internet, mobile phones, fax, e-mail, radio and television is increasingly
becoming functional. As a result, the possibilities for application of
communication technologies in mitigation and prevention of disasters are also
increasing.

Communications for Disaster Management

All disaster emergencies and crisis events are by nature chaotic and
highly dynamic, creating physical, emotional, and social disorder. In such crisis
events and emergencies, communications is critical at all phases of disaster
management. Communications during emergencies incorporates a wide range
of measures to manage risks to communities and the environment. Before
disasters strike, telecommunications can be used as a conduit for
disseminating information about the impending danger thus, making it
possible for people to take the necessary precautions to mitigate the impact of
these hazards. Other telecommunication applications, including remote
sensing and global positioning system (GPS), have critical roles to play in
tracking approaching hazards, alerting authorities, warning affected
populations, coordinating relief operations, assessing damages and mobilizing
support for reconstruction. It is clear therefore that telecommunications play a
pivotal role in disaster prevention, mitigation, and management. In times of
natural calamity like floods, storms, cyclone, tsunami, fire etc. the usual mode
of communication like phone, mobile etc might not work or might be lost in
the calamity. The society at large must be well protected and the protection
given by the police or disaster management forces must be instant and
immediate. Thus the disaster management crew must be well trained and
equipped with the best appliances which might help them to communicate the
condition they are in and the status of the calamity in the region they work for.

Policy and Institutional Framework for Emergency Communications

Policy and regulations are important elements of emergency

communications planning and management. One of the main hindrances to
effective establishment of telecommunications for disaster mitigation is the
lack of a legal and regulatory regime. Horizontal cooperation among
specialized services at each level is as essential as the vertical lines of
communication for emergency communications. This requires established links
between disaster coordinators, telecommunications authorities and service
providers at each level. Governments need to take important steps to
eliminate the monopoly of public telecommunications enterprise and to
undertake a review of current telecommunications legislation, including
regulations incorporating emergency telecommunication systems and
protocols to support emergency services.

Disaster Management Policy, Plans & Guidelines

• National Policy on Disaster Management, 2009

• National Action Plan on Climate Change-Issued by MOEF

• Drought Manual –Prepared jointly by MOA/ NIDM and issued by MOA.

• Guidelines- 26 guidelines issued by NDMA.

• National Disaster Management Plan

• State and District Disaster Management Plans

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

 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.

 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

4.6 Roles and responsibilities of government, community, local institutions ,

NGO’S and stake holders.

INTRODUCTION

The unique geo-climatic conditions of the Indian subcontinent make

this region among the most vulnerable to natural disasters in the world.

— According to World Bank estimates India loses about 2 per cent of its
GDP and 12 per cent of its revenues every year due to losses from natural
disasters.

— While long-term preventive and preparedness measures have been

taken up, the unprecedented nature of the disasters has called in for a nation-
wide response mechanism wherein there is a pre-set assignment of roles and
functions to various institutions at Central, State and the District level.

However, in the event of disasters which are spread over several states and
with uncontrollable proportions, the Central Government may be required to
supplement taking appropriate measures in rescue, relief and preparedness.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

COLLECTOR:

 Facilitate and, coordinate with, local Government bodies to ensure that pre
and post - disaster management activities in the district are carried out.
 Assist community training, awareness programmes and the installation of
emergency facilities with the support of local administration, non-
governmental organizations, and the private sector.

 Take appropriate actions to smoothen the response and relief activities to

minimize the effect of disaster.

 Recommend State Government for declaration of disaster

LOCAL AUTHORITY

 Provide assistance to Collector in disaster management activities.

 Ensure training of its officers and employees and maintenance of resources

so as to be readily available for use in the event of a disaster.

 Ensure that all construction projects under it conform to the standards and
specifications lay down.

 Each department of the Government in a district shall prepare a disaster

management plan for the district.  Carry out relief, rehabilitation and
reconstruction activities in the affected area within its jurisdiction

PRIVATE SECTOR

 The private sector should ensure their active participation in the pre-
disaster activities in alignment with the overall plan developed by the DDMA.
They should also adhere to the relevant building codes and other
specifications, as may be stipulated by relevant local authorities.

Community Groups and Voluntary agencies

 Local community groups and voluntary agencies including NGOs should

actively assist in prevention and mitigation activities under the overall
direction and supervision of the DDMA. They should actively participate in all
training activities as may be organized and should familiarize themselves with
their role in disaster management.
CITIZEN

 It is a duty of every citizen to assist the DDMA or such other person

entrusted with or engaged in disaster management whenever his aid is
demanded generally for the purpose of disaster management

4.7 Nodal agency for managing different types of disaster :

Type of Disaster/Crisis Nodal Ministry

Earthquakes & Tsunami MHA/Ministry of Earth

Sciences/IMD

Floods MHA/Ministry of Water Resources/CWC

Cyclones MHA/Mi
nistry of
Earth
Sciences/
IMD

Drought Ministry of Agriculture

Biological Disasters Ministry of Health & Family Welfare

Chemical Disasters Ministry of Environment & Forest

Nuclear Disasters Ministry of Atomic Energy

Air Accidents Ministry of Civil Aviation

Railway Accidents Ministry of Railways

 Till June 2002, the Ministry of Agriculture was the nodal ministry for
dealing with all natural disasters.

— With shifting of the subject of Disaster Management to the Ministry of

Home Affairs in 2002, a change in orientation has been brought about with
emphasis on disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness.

— Among the 37 States/Union Territories in the country, 25 are disaster

prone. — The states are further sub-divided into districts- out of 602 districts,
271 are most disaster-prone

— The Indian ocean is one of the six major cyclone-prone regions in

the world. The eastern coast line is more prone to cyclones as about 80 per
cent of total cyclones generated in the region hit there.

— About 60 per cent of total area of the country is vulnerable to seismic

activity of varying intensities. Most of the vulnerable areas are generally
located in Himalayan and sub-Himalayan regions, and in Andaman and
Nicobar islands.

Non-Government Voluntary Organizations:

•  Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are one of the most

effective alternative means of achieving an efficient communication link
between the Disaster Management agencies and the affected
community.
 In typical disaster situations they can be of help in preparedness, relief and
rescue, rehabilitation and reconstruction and also in monitoring.
The action of NGOs can be very useful in the following activities in different
stages of disaster management:
• — Awareness and information campaigns
• — Training of local volunteers
• Advocacy and planning
• — Immediate rescue and first-aid including psychological aid ,
• Supply of food, water, medicines, and other materials of immediate
need
• Ensuring sanitation and hygiene
 • — Damage assessment
• — Technical and material aid in reconstruction
• — Assistance in seeking financial aid
• — Monitoring

The Recent Developments

• The Disaster Management Act 2005 was one of the most significant
initiatives taken by the Government of India for putting in place an
Institutional system dedicated to disaster management.
• The Act consists of 79 sections and 11 chapters and it provides for
“effective management of disasters and for matters connected
therewith or incidental thereto.”
• The Disaster Management Act 2005 has created a hierarchy of
institutions at the national, state and district levels for holistic
management of disasters.

4.8 DISASTER RISK REDUCTION AND AUTHORITY

— National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC):

• NCMC has been constituted in the cabinet secretariat under the

chairmanship of cabinet secretary.
• The other members of this committee include:
• The Secretary to PM
• Secretaries of Ministry of Home Affairs, Defence, Research & Analysis
Wing and Agriculture and Cooperation
• Director Intelligence Bureau

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA):

• With the Prime Minister as Chairperson and 9 other members the NDMA
is entrusted with the responsibility of laying down the policies, plans and
guidelines for ensuring timely and effective response to disasters.
• The other duties of NDMA includes:
• — Approving the national plan
 • — Approving the plans of other ministries/ departments
• — Laying down the guidelines for states
• — Coordinate implementation of policies and plans — Coordinate
bilateral support to other affected countries during disasters.

National Executive Committee (NEC):

 The NEC works under the Chairmanship of the Home Secretary to assist the
NDMA in performance of its functions.

 The NEC would comprise of the Secretaries to the ministries/ departments

of agriculture, defence, water supply, environment & forests, finance, health,
power, rural development, telecommunication, space, science & technology,
urban development, water resources and the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff

National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM):

 NIDM was founded from its predecessor National Centre for Disaster
Management (NCDM) with an aim of creating an Institute of excellence in
disaster management studies in India.

 NIDM is also required to network with various research and training

institutions for sharing of knowledge and resources.

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF):

The NDRF has been constituted by up gradation/ conversion of 8

standard battalions of the Central Para-military Forces as specialist force to
respond to disaster situations. — The NDRF includes 2 battalions each from
Border Security Force (BSF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Central
Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

A similar institutional structure has been created at the state level

with each state to have — State Disaster Management Authorities under the
chairpersonship of the Chief Minister. — State Executive Committee under the
chairpersonship of the Chief Secretary and four secretaries of relevant
departments. — State Disaster Response Forces (state armed police, fire and
rescue services, home guards, civil defence etc.,). SDRF also include women
members for looking after the needs of women and children.

Their major responsibilities would include:

• — Preparation of disaster response plan,

• — Coordination and monitoring implementation of the national and
state policies and plans,
• — To take requisite measures for disaster prevention and mitigation in
the vulnerable areas,
• — To give directions to concerned departments for putting in place risk
reduction measures,
• — To organize capacity building of the staff,
• — To facilitate community training and awareness,
• — To coordinate early warning and dissemination mechanisms,
• — To establish stock piles of relief and rescue materials,
• — To ensure regular rehearsals, drills etc and — Communicating with
their State Authority .

Stake holders:

Sl.No Name of the Dept. Role of the Dept. in brief

1 Revenue Dept. • coordination with all

departments

• Identification of
vulnerable areas/
villages

• comprehensive plan of
action macro and micro
level

• evacuation plan,
 • relief camps

• providing of food,
water, lighting
arrangements at relief
camps

• Over all monitoring

2 The Commissioner of • Action plan for

Police, VSP deployment of Police
personnel for evacuation
and rescue operations in
City limits

3 The Superintendent of • Action plan for

Police, VSP deployment of Police
personnel for evacuation
and rescue operations in
Rural Areas

4 The commissioner, • City Disaster

GVMC, V SP Management plan with
past experiences and
wayouts, challenges etc

• Preparation of micro
level plan in case of
cyclone/ flood

5 The DSO (Rural) • Distribution of

Visakhapatnam. essential commodities
includingK.Oil to MLS
Points/ FP Shops in Rural
areas

• Ensure to open petrol

bunks

• Details of supplies of
ECs / vegetables

6 The District Fire Officer, • Deployment of rescue

 VSP team

• Deployment of fire
engines

• Inventory of Gas
cutters, life jackets,
ropes, gum shoes and
other rescue equipment

7 The District Panchayat • procurement of

Officer, VSP Bleaching powder,
sanitation material and
its distribution to GPs

• details of suppliers and

their contact numbers