Introduction to Disaster Management Definitions Adopted By Few Important Agencies WHO; A disaster is an occurrence disrupting the normal conditions of existence and causing a level of suffering that exceeds the capacity of adjustment of the affected community. International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR); A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources. Acc. to The Johns Hopkins and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies The word disaster implies a sudden over-whelming and unforeseen event. At the household level, a disaster could result in a major illness, death, a substantial economic or social misfortune. At the community level, it could be a flood, a fire, a collapse of buildings in an earthquake, the destruction of livelihoods, an epidemic or displacement through conflict. When occurring at district or provincial level, a large number of people can be affected Types of Disaster 1. Natural 1) Tornados 2) Hurricanes 3) Earthquakes 4) Floods & drought 5) Tsunamis & cyclones 6) Landslides 7) Wildfires 8) Volcanic activities
9) Pandemic Flu 2. Manmade 1) Nuclear disasters 2) Biological disasters 3) Chemical disasters 4) Road accidents 5) Fire accidents 6) Terrorism 7) Epidemics Environmental Hazard State of events which has the potential to threaten the surrounding natural environment and adversely affect people's health. Term incorporates topics like pollution and natural disasters such as storms and earthquakes. Hazards can be categorized in 1. Chemical 2. Physical 3. Mechanical 4. Biological 5. Psychosocial Chemical Hazards and Toxic Substances Chemical hazards and toxic substances pose a wide range of health hazards (such as irritation, sensitization, and carcinogenicity) and physical hazards (such as flammability, corrosion, and reactivity).
Natural Disaster is a major adverse event resulting from natural processes of the Earth; Ex- floods, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, and other geologic processes. Can cause loss of life or property damage, and typically leaves some economic damage in its wake, the severity of which depends on the affected population's resilience, or ability to recover. Disaster Management Management Organization and coordination of the activities in order to achieve defined objectives. Disaster Management Can be defined as the organization and management of resources and responsibilities for dealing with all humanitarian aspects of emergencies, in particular preparedness, response and recovery in order to lessen the impact of disasters. Need of Disaster Management To deal with or to avoid the natural and manmade disaster To avoid the risk Involves preparedness, response and recovery to decrease the impact of disaster Following pages provide data related to the land mass which have vulnerability to different disastrous events depending upon their locality and environmental conditions (which also very sound factor for being an area to be vulnerable for disaster). That will provide you an insight that a huge amount of landmass in Indian is subjected to earthquake risk, flood risk, and cyclone risk. Due to this type of landmass India faces number of events at a time interval which harms the locality and livelihood of people, environmental and geology of area which further adds risk of new and, dangerous event to occur in that area. These situations remain to be present for particular areas and will introduce the disaster risk and that is going to be increased day by day. Because of severity of events and increased amount of losses it is prime concerned to predict, plan and manage such kind of events. And disaster management proved its worthiness in such conditions. It includes prediction and study of events to planning of events, implementing the plan and response phase, and recovery to risk reduction phase, and re-analyzing for development with add of preparedness. It is continuous process to deal with disasters.
Vulnerability & Capacity Inability to withstand the effects of a hostile environment. Vulnerability in this context can be defined as the diminished capacity of an individual or group to anticipate, cope with, resist and recover from the impact of a natural or manmade hazard. The reverse side of the coin is capacity, which can be described as the resources available to individuals, households and communities to cope with a threat or to resist the impact of a hazard. Such resources can be physical or material, but they can also be found in the way a community is organized or in the skills or attributes of individuals and/or organizations in the community. Figures show vulnerability of Indian land mass towards the cyclones, earthquakes and floods. Which imparts a huge role in becoming victim of disastrous events in recent years These figures also provide a idea about the severe conditions of land mass facing continuously such event like floods, droughts and earthquakes. Also you can think of degree of readiness require at different locations if some event occurs in near future.
DM Cycle 1. Response phase 2. Recovery/ rehabilitation phase 3. Risk reduction phase 4. Preparedness phase Response Phase The primary aims of disaster response are rescue from immediate danger and stabilization of the physical and emotional condition of survivors. These go hand in hand with the recovery of the dead and the restoration of essential services such as water and power. Search and Rescue Fulfill humanitarian needs Effective coordination of disaster assistance by many responding organization Recovery/ Rehabilitation Phase The immediate goal of the recovery phase is to bring the affected area back to normalcy as quickly as possible. During reconstruction it is recommended to consider the location or construction material of the property. Risk/Disaster Risk Potential disaster losses (in terms of lives, health status, livelihoods, assets and services) which could occur to a particular community or a society over some specified future time period. It considers the probability of harmful consequences, or expected losses (deaths, injuries, property, livelihoods, economic activity disrupted or environmentally damaged) resulting from interactions between natural or human induced hazards and vulnerable conditions. Risk can be calculated using the following equation: Risk = Probability of Hazard x Degree of Vulnerability. Risk Reduction Phase Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) aims to reduce the damage caused by natural hazards like earthquakes, floods, droughts and cyclones, through an ethic of prevention. (UNISDR) Disaster risk reduction is everyone's business. Disaster risk reduction is about choices
Concept and practice of reducing disaster risks through systematic efforts to analyse and reduce the causal factors of disasters. Reducing exposure to hazards, lessening vulnerability of people and property, wise management of land and the environment, and improving preparedness and early warning for adverse events DRR STRATEGIES ADOPTED IN Bali Action Plan 1. Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a local priority with a 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 response. KEY ACTION TO BE TAKEN FOR DDR 1) Risk assessments: Involve the collection and summary of national risk information, including socio-economic data on existing vulnerability and capacity. and should be routinely updated to assess emerging risks; The information is most often represented in risk maps. It should be made widely available to all relevant users, in order to support policymaking, raise community awareness, and enable populations to reduce their own risks. 2) Early warning systems: Effective early warning systems involve four elements: risk knowledge, monitoring and warning service, dissemination and communication, and response capability. 3) Sector-specific risk reduction plans: To be effective, national plans and strategies to reduce disaster risk need to be integrated in the plans and programs of every sector and area of development. Land-use planning, the locating of critical infrastructure, the management of natural resources, the protection of key assets all should ensure that risk is identified and reduced at all stages from planning through to implementation.
Preparedness phase Disaster preparedness refers to measures taken to prepare for and reduce the effects of disasters. That is, to predict and, where possible, prevent disasters, mitigate their impact on vulnerable populations, and respond to and effectively cope with their consequences. Disaster preparedness activities embedded with risk reduction measures can prevent disaster situations and also result in saving maximum lives and livelihoods during any disaster situation, enabling the affected population to get back to normalcy within a short time period. Disaster preparedness is a continuous and integrated process resulting from a wide range of risk reduction activities and resources rather than from a distinct sectorial activity by itself. It requires the contributions of many different areas ranging from training and logistics, to health care, recovery, livelihood to institutional development. Process of ensuring that an organization (1) Has complied with the preventive measures, (2) Is in a state of readiness to contain the effects of a forecasted disastrous event to minimize loss of life, injury, and damage to property, (3) Can provide rescue, relief, rehabilitation, and other services in the aftermath of the disaster, and (4) Has the capability and resources to continue to sustain its essential functions without being overwhelmed by the demand placed on them. Preparedness for the first and immediate response is called emergency preparedness.