Disaster Mitigation Strategies in India

Headings DISASTER Vulnerability and aims of disaster

management“ MITIGATION” Nodal Agencies for Disaster ManagementThe National Disaster Management Authority

(NDMA): in INDIA : Role and Plan WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION:

Role and plan Mitigation MethodsFuture Directions for Disaster Management in

India Areas of concern/Drawbacks

Natural disasters affect all countries, but burden falls disproportionately on developing countries

Support to natural disaster reduction is both an issue of sustainable development and a matter of environmental justice requiring international solidarity

57% land : Earthquakes. Of these,12% : severe Earthquakes. 68% land : Drought. 12% land : Floods. 8% land : Cyclones.

Chemical and industrial disasters and man-made disasters.

The effort to reduce loss of life and property by lessening the impact of disasters.

Measures aimed at reducing the risk, impact or effects of a disaster or threatening disaster situation.

Investments in Preparedness and Prevention Sustainable results, rather than spending money on relief

after a disaster It is taking action now—before the next disaster—to reduce

human and financial consequences later (analyzing risk, reducing risk, insuring against risk).

Effective mitigation : Local risks, address the hard choices, and invest in long-term community well-being.

DURING DISASTERDISASTER MANAGEMENT CYCLE

PR

E-D

ISA

STER

PO

ST-

DIS

ASTER

Response

Recovery

Mitigation

Prevention

Preparedness

Monitoring

Forecast and early warnings

Vulnerability analysis and risk assessment

Applications (agriculture, water resources, etc)

Rehearsals Public Education

and Training

Response Mechanisms

Warning Systems

Resource Base

Information System

Institutional Framework

PlanningVulnerability Assessment

COMPONENTS OF PREPAREDNESS

• People : Individuals, House-Holds, Volunteers• Gram Panchayat : Sarpanch, Panchayati Secretary, Panchayati Members• Village elders : Caste/Community/Religious Leaders, Teachers, Doctors, Engineers, Army & Police Personnel• Govt. Deptl. Officers: Agriculture, Medical, Engineers (Housing, Roads & Buildings, Irrigation) Revenue Department, Public Health, Police etc. NGOs

Directions for Disaster Management in India

Nodal Agencies for Disaster Management• Floods : Ministry of Water Resources • Cyclones : Indian Meteorological Department• Earthquakes : Indian Meteorological Department• Epidemics : Ministry of Health and Family Welfare• Chemical Disasters : Ministry of Environment and Forests• Industrial Disasters : Ministry of Labour• Nuclear Disasters : Department of Atomic Energy• Mine Disasters : Department of Mines

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) :

The apex body for Disaster Management in India, with the Prime Minister as its Chairman.

Disaster Management Authorities : At the State and District Levels headed by

the Chief Ministers and Collectors/Zilla Parishad Chairmen respectively.

NDMA STRUCTURE: NDMA set up as Apex Body with Hon’ble PM as Chairperson.

DM Structure – At all three levels i.e. National, State and District.

National Executive Committee (NEC) - Secretaries of 14 Ministries and Chief of Integrated Defence Staff Function as Executive Committee of NDMA.

At the Centre Central Ministries will Continue with Nodal Responsibilities. NDMA to Provide Guidance, Coordination and Synergy.

State Level SDMA at State Level, headed by Chief Minister. State Executive Committee (SEC), headed by Chief Secretary, will

coordinate and monitor implementation of National Policy, National Plan and State Plan.

District Level DDMA headed by District Magistrate; Chairperson of Zila Parishad as

Co-Chairperson – interface between Govt. and Public.

VISION: “To build A SAFE AND DISASTER RESILIENT INDIA by developing a holistic, proactive, multi-disaster and technology-driven strategy through a culture of prevention, mitigation, preparedness and efficient response.”

STRATEGY A multi-dimensional Strategy, focusing on – Pre-disaster Phase: 1.Prevention. 2. Mitigation. 3. Preparedness.

4. Capacity Building (National Institute of Disaster Management).

5. Community based Disaster Management (including Public Awareness).

Post-disaster Phase: 1. Prompt and Efficient Response – Proactive.

2. Reconstruction and Recovery

APPROACH: Paradigm Shift from Response Centric to a Holistic,&Integrated Approach.; Backed by – Institutional Framework and Legal Authority.

Financial Mechanism, Creation of new Funds,( Response Fund and Mitigation Fund.

NDMA MANDATE:

• Lay down Policy and Guidelines. : Approve National Disaster Management (DM) Plan and DM Plans of Ministries & Departments.; Coordinate enforcement and implementation of policy and plans.

• Take Measures for :– PREVENTION. ; PREPAREDNESS (including Capacity Development).

MITIGATION. ; AWARENESS GENERATION.; REHABILITATION AND RECOVERY

• Response : Low Level Disasters – National Executive Committee.

Grave Disasters – Execution by NEC and National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC).; Coordination by the NDMA.

• Capacity Building & Training:

National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) ,under guidelines of NDMA.

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) – Superintendence, Direction and Administrative Control with NDMA.

• Additional: Recommend provision of funds for mitigation and Preparedness measures.

Medical Preparedness, Psycho-Social Care and Trauma Management, Community Based Disaster Management, Information & Communication Technology, Training, Preparedness, Awareness Generation, etc. for natural and manmade disasters in partnership with the stakeholders concerned.

National Disaster Mitigation Fund : States and districts will administer mitigation funds

National Disaster Response Fund : through the National Executive Committee. States and Districts will administer state Disaster Response Fund and Disaster Response Fund respectively.

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF): 8 Battalions being trained and deployed with CSSR and MFR equipments and tools in eight strategic locations.

National Disaster Management Policy National Disaster Response Plan.

8batallions 8 locations; Toal strength: 1150 2 each from: BSF,CRPF, CISF (Central Industrial Security Force)

and ITBP.(Indo Tibet Border Police) 18 self contained specialist search Rescue teamns of 45 personnels- engineers,

electricians, dog squads, medical, paramedicals Equipped and extensively trained in combating:

natural, nuclear, biological, chemical disasters. Location: UP(Greater Noida), Punjab, (Bhatinda) TN(Arakkonam).

MH, (Pune); WB(Kolkatta) Gujarat(Gandhinagar), Assam (Guwahati); Orissa (Mundalli);

Bihar (Patna) and AP-Guntur–under construction

Adopted mitigation and prevention as essential components of their development strategy.

The Tenth Five Year Plan document has a detailed chapter on Disaster Management.

The plan emphasizes the fact that development cannot be sustainable without mitigation being built into developmental process.

Each State is supposed to prepare a plan scheme for disaster mitigation in accordance with the approach outlined in the plan.

Upgraded from the,National Centre for Disaster Management of the Indian Institute of Public Administration on 16th October, 2003

Constituted under the Disaster Management Act 2005 Entrusted with the nodal national responsibility for

human resource development, capacity building, training, research, documentation and policy advocacy in the field of disaster management.

Mission to make a disaster resilient India by developing and promoting a culture of prevention and preparedness at all levels

To mitigate the impact of drought in the long run.

Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP)

Desert Development Programme (DDP)

National Watershed Development Project for Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA)

Watershed Development Programme for Shifting Cultivation (WDPSC)

Integrated Water Development Project (IWDP)

Integrated Afforestation and Eco-development Project Scheme (IAEPS).

NGO based in Gujarat, India. Established after the 1987-89 Gujarat droughts Evolved from a project in 1989 to an autonomous

organisation in 1995. Expanded work over the years to now cover 11 types of

disasters in six areas of India and in seven countries in Asia. Community-based action research, action planning and action

advocacy organisation. Works towards bridging the gap between policy, practice and

research related to disaster risk mitigation and reduction. As an operational as well as learning organisation it is able to

link local communities with national and international policies of relief and long-term recovery.

Mass casualty incidents and the hospital administration/ doctor trained for this emergency.

In-service training of the current heath managers and medical personnel in Hospital Preparedness for emergencies or mass causality incident management is essential.

For Future: MCI: two committees have been constituted for preparation of curriculum for introduction of emergency health management in MBBS curriculum, and preparation of in-service training of Hospital Managers and Professionals.

Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences Karnataka -the lead national resource institution for the purpose.

Awareness generation

• Awareness generation campaign as part of its overall disaster risk management strategy. : Print and electronic media, places with high public visibility viz. hospitals, schools, railway stations and bus terminals, airports and post offices, commercial complexes and municipality offices etc. to make people aware of their vulnerabilities and promote creation of a safe living environment.

• Use of government stationery viz. postal letters, bank stationery, railway tickets, airline boarding cards and tickets etc. for disseminating the message of disaster risk reduction.

Disaster management as a subject in Social Sciences has been introduced in the school curriculum for Class VIII -X. (The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and state Boards of Secondary Education.

Teachers are being trained to teach disaster management Syllabus for Class X is being finalized and will be introduced in the course curriculum soon.

Special Focus to Northeastern States

Framework for guidance to natural disaster mitigation and reduction

WORLD METEREOLOGICAL ORGANIZATION’s

contribution

Risk identification; Monitoring, Early warnings for

weather water or climate related Disasters;

Adaptation measures; Vulnerability assessment &

Hazard analysis

Knowledge management

Risk management applications

Preparedness and emergency management

Governance support

Risk Identification: Adaptation measuresEarly warning systems and enhancing adaptive capacity to weather events and climate change.

Enhanced collaboration : between the climate and disaster reduction communities to the implementation of measures as environmental planning, data and information pooling, improved observation systems, best practices exchange, strengthened technical cooperation, and close collaboration with policy makers.

Linkage between climate and disaster databases to assess different vulnerabilities

Risk Identification: Hazard analysis

Hazard mapping : to be extended to all countries as a tool for risk communication among policy makers and communities.

Hazard maps are essential to prepare evacuation efficiently and to allow authorities to adjust land use and city planning.

WMO’s Agricultural Meteorology Programme

• Guidance on the development of suppt systems for sustainable land management and agro-climatic zoning orwith the active participation of the Commission for Agricultural Meteorology

WMO : to assist in developing and managing climate databases, through the Data Rescue and Climate Database Management Projects.

WMO’s Public Weather Services Programme contributes to this effort for the interpretation of forecasts and warnings

Minimizing the adverse effects of a hazard

Through effective precautionary actions

Ensuring timely, appropriate and efficient organisation and delivery of emergency response following the impact of a disaster.

Elements at Risk

Everything in the flood plain.

Earthen or soluble structures

Buried services and utilities

Food stores Crops and

livestock

Main Mitigation Strategies. Land use control Engineering of structures Dams, Reservoirs and other

Water Storages Elevation of structures Drainage Improvement Flood control structures Reforestation projects

(watershed management) Sea Walls/Coastal Protection

Works Anti-erosion Works

Elements at Risk

Lightweight structures.

Elevated utilities (Power and communication lines)

Fishing boats and other maritime industries.

Main Mitigation Strategies.

Structural engineering measures.

Planting of windbreaks.

CYCLONES: Mitigation Plans Constructing New building structure: The local community

will be encouraged to construct houses which will be cyclone resistant.(BIS Codes)

Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) will be asked to ensure this

Buildings: Cyclone Shelters Efforts will be made to have cattle mounds adjacent to

cyclone shelters. - raise the level of the site selected for the cattle mounds to the final extent required, keeping in view the maximum storm surge, by using debris or earth from sites which have been excavated.

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) have to be put in place in respect of the maintenance of Canals, Drains, Surface Water Tanks

Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping to include Resources.

Establishment of fodder banks at the village level for storage of fodder in the form of bales and blocks for feeding animals during drought and other natural calamities is an integral part of disaster mitigation

The fodder bank must be established at a secure highland that may not be easily affected by a natural calamity.

A few fodder banks to be developed as closed facilities to prevent them from getting contaminated

EARTHQUAKE MITIGATION PLANS All new construction to comply with earthquake-

resistant building codes and the modified techno-legal regime, which includes the revised town planning bye-laws, landuse zoning

Seismic Strengthening and Retrofitting of Lifeline and Priority Structures

Creation of Public Awareness on Seismic Safety and Risk Reduction

Capacity Development (Including Education, Training, R &D and Documentation)

The role of engineers and architects is crucial in reducing earthquake risks by ensuring that the construction adhere to the norms of seismically safety.

The elements of earthquake engineering is being integrated into the undergraduate engineering and architecture courses.

The Course curriculum for adoption by various technical institutions and universities have been developed and circulated to the Universities and Technical Institutions for adoption in the under graduate curricula.

Ministry of Home Affairs : with All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) and Council of Architecture (COA) - revised curricula for engineering and architecture course from 2005-2006.

Two National Programmes for Capacity Building in Earthquake Risk Mitigation for Engineers and Architects , have been approved to assist the State Govts in building capacities for earthquake mitigation in seismically safe building designs and related techno-legal requirements

The mitigation measures will take care of the new constructions

The problem of unsafe existing buildings stock would still remain

The new life line buildings : Hospitals, schools,Buildings where people congregate like cinema halls, multi-storied apartments

The States have been advised to have these buildings assessed and where necessary retrofitted.

The Ministries of Civil Aviation, Railways, Telecommunication, Power and Health and Family Welfare : necessary action for detailed evaluation and retrofitting of lifeline buildings located in seismically vulnerable zones --comply with BIS norms

Ministry of Finance : had advised RBI, Financial institutions, to issue suitable instructions to all the Banks and Financial Institutions to see that BIS codes/bye laws are scrupulously followed while financing/refinancing construction activities in seismically vulnerable zones.

A National Core Group : landslide hazard zonation and to evolve early warning systems and protocols for landslides/landslide risk reduction.

Geological Survey of India (GSI) as the nodal agency responsible for coordinating/ undertaking geological studies, landslides hazard zonation, monitoring landslides/avalanches, studying the factors responsible and suggesting precautionary and preventive measure.

The States/UTs have been requested to share the list of habitation close to landslide prone areas and their existing data base on landslide for the purpose of landslide hazard zonation being carried out by them.

A national strategy for mitigating landslide hazard in the country is being drawn up in consultation with all the agencies concerned.

Biological Warfare (BW) and Bioterrorism (BT) Mitigation Plans

Training and Education: for medical officers, nurses, emergency medical technicians,paramedics, drivers of ambulances, public health specialists to handle disasters due to natural epidemics/BT

Community education/awareness about various disasters and development of Dos and Don’ts; the importance of basic hygiene and cleanliness.

Documentation R& D.

Strengthening disaster preparedness, mitigation and enforcement of guidelines- Code of conduct for all stake holders

Encourage and consolidate knowledge networks Mobilise and training disaster volunteers for more effective

preparedness, mitigation and response (NSS, NCC, Scouts and Guides, Civil Defence, Homeguards)

Mobilising stakeholder participation of Self Help Groups, Women’s Groups, Youth Groups, Panchayati Raj Institutions

Simulation exercises, Mock drills and Scenario Analysis Indigenous knowledge systems and coping practices Inclusive, participatory, gender sensitive, child friendly, eco-

friendly and disabled friendly disaster management- Technology driven but people owned

Knowledge Management: Documentation and dissemination of good practices

Living with Risk: Community Based Disaster Risk Management

National Urban Renewal Mission for 70 cities: Major metros and megacities

100,000 Rural Knowledge Centres ( IT Kiosks): Need for Spatial e-Governance for informed decision

making in disaster-prone areas: before, during and after disasters

Early Warning System network, its close monitoring Integrating: scientific, technological and administrative

agencies Terrestrial communication links which collapse in the event

of a rapid onset disaster Vulnerability of critical infrastructures (power supply,

communication, water supply, transport, etc.) Funding : Primacy of relief as disaster response. Standardised efforts in compiling and interpreting geo-

spatial data, satellite imagery and early warning signals. Few experts and inventory of resources Sustainability of efforts Providing Emergency medicine, critical care medicine, first

aid

VETERINARIAN ROLE IN MITIGATION:Be prepared: Prophylactic vaccination, worming & husbandry programmes. Higher authorities must lobby in governments to ensure

animals are taken into account when plans are being drawn up, ahead of an event.

To make clients understand the simple tasks that can be undertaken before or during a disaster to make sure their animals survive and are not separated from their families.

Advising on livestock: Restocking, and maintaining viable breeding stocks-

Vital to vulnerable regions in the coming years.