Disaster and disaster management

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  • India is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. Its location and geographical features render it vulnerable to a number of natural hazards including cyclones, droughts, floods, earthquakes, forest fires, landslides and avalanches.
  • Vulnerability Profile of India
    • India is vulnerable, in varying degrees, to a large number of disasters. Around 59% of the landmass is prone to earthquakes of moderate to very high intensity.
    • About 12% (over 40 million hectares) of its land is prone to floods and river erosion.
    • Close to 5,700 kms, out of the 7,516 kms long coastline is prone to cyclones and tsunamis.
    • 68% of its cultivable area is vulnerable to droughts; and, the hilly areas are at risk from landslides and avalanches.
    • Moreover, India is also vulnerable to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) emergencies and other man-made disasters.
    • Disaster risks in India are further compounded by increasing vulnerabilities related to changing demographics and socio-economic conditions, unplanned urbanization, development within high-risk zones, environmental degradation, climate change, geological hazards, epidemics and pandemics.
    • Clearly, all these contribute to a situation where disasters seriously threaten India’s economy, its population and sustainable development.
  • What is disaster?:
    • A disaster is an event that causes sudden disruption to normal life of a society and causes damage to property and lives, to such an extent that normal social and economic mechanisms available to the society are inadequate to restore normalcy.
    • According to the United Nations, ‘Disaster is 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’.
  • It is the result of a combination of a number of factors which include:
    • Exposure to natural hazards
    • Existing conditions of vulnerability
    • Insufficient capacity or measures to cope with potential negative consequences
    • Inappropriate management of risks and vulnerabilities
  • A hazard is a threat, a future source of danger with the potential to cause damage to:
    • People: Death, injury, disease and stress
    • Property: Damage to property, economic loss, loss of livelihood and status
    • Environment: Loss of fauna and flora, pollution, loss of bio-diversity
  • Types of disasters:
    • Disasters can be classified into two types:
      • Natural Disasters
        • Floods Earthquake
        • Tsunami
        • Drought
        • Cyclone
        • Landslide
        • Avalanche
        • Hurricane
        • Volcano eruption
        • Cold wave
        • Forest Fire
      • Man made Disasters
        • Nuclear disasters
        • Chemical disasters
        • Biological disasters
        • Pandemic emergencies, epidemic
        • Fire (Building, coal, forest, oil)
        • Pollution (Air, water, industrial)
        • Deforestation
        • Accidents (Road, rail, sea, air)
        • Industrial accidents
        • Riots
        • Hijacking
        • Terrorism
  • Worst Disasters in India:
    • Kashmir Floods (2014) affected Srinagar, Bandipur, Rajouri etc. areas of J&K have resulted into death of more than 500 people.
    • Uttarakhand Flash Floods (2013) affected Govindghat, Kedar Dome, Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand and resulted into death of more than 5,000 people.
    • The Indian Ocean Tsunami (2004) affected parts of southern India and Andaman Nicobar Islands, Sri Lanka, Indonesia etc., and resulted in the death of more than 2 lakh people.
    • Gujarat Earthquake (2001) affected Bhuj, Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Kutch, Surat, Surendranagar, Rajkot district, Jamnagar and Jodia districts of Gujarat and resulted in death of more than 20,000 people.
    • Odisha Super Cyclone or Paradip cyclone (1999) affected the coastal districts of Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Balasore, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Ganjam etc., and resulted into death of more than 10,000 people.
    • The Great Famine (1876-1878) affected Madras, Mysore, Hyderabad, and Bombay and resulted into death of around 3 crore people. Even today, it is considered as one of the worst natural calamities in India of all time.
    • Coringa Cyclone (1839) that affected Coringa district of Andhra Pradesh and Calcutta Cyclone (1737) are some other instances of natural calamities faced by the country in the past.
    • The Bengal Famine in the years 1770 and 1943 affected Bengal, Odisha, Bihar very badly and resulted into death of nearly 1 crore people.
    • Bhopal Gas tragedy (December, 1984) is one of the worst chemical disasters globally that resulted in over 10,000 losing their lives (the actual number remains disputed) and over 5.5 lakh persons affected and suffering from agonizing injuries.
    • In recent times, there have been
      • cases of railway accidents (Dussehra gathering on the railway tracks crushed by the trains in 2018),
      • fire accidents in hospitals due to negligence and non implementation of existing mandatory fire safety norms,
      • collapse of various infrastructure constructs like flyovers, metro tracks and residential buildings due to poor quality of construction, illegal addition of floors and recurring floods.
      • Stampede at large public gathering like Kumbh Mela caused by poor people management and lack of adequate infrastructure to monitor and manage large crowd gathering.
  • Phases of disaster management
    • disaster management is the discipline dealing of with and avoiding risks. It is a discipline that involves preparing, supporting, and rebuilding society when natural or human-made disasters occur.
    • Phase 1: Before the Crisis:
      • Preventing and Mitigation: Measures that prevent or reduce the impact of disasters.
      • Preparedness: Planning, training, & educational activities for things that cant be mitigated. For example, better enforcement of building codes and zoning regulations, proper maintenance of drainage systems, better awareness and public education to reduce the risks of hazards, etc. help in containing the damage. 
      • Prediction and early warning.
    • Phase 2: During the Crisis:
      • Impact assessment.
      • Response: The immediate aftermath of a disaster to alleviate and minimise suffering and losses. Certain ‘primary activities’ become indispensable. These are:
        • Evacuation
        • Search and rescue, followed by
        • Provision of basic needs, such as food, clothing, shelter, medicines and other necessities essential for bringing bring the life of the affected community back to a degree of normalcy.
    • Phase 3: Post Crisis:
      • Recovery: The long-term aftermath of a disaster, when restoration efforts are in addition to regular services. This is the stage when efforts are made to achieve early recovery and reduce vulnerability and future risks.
      • Rehabilitation: Includes provision of temporary public utilities and housing as interim measures to assist long term recovery.
      • Reconstruction: Includes construction of damaged infrastructure and habitats and enabling sustainable livelihoods.
  • Elements of disaster management:
  • Disaster response in India
    • Over the centuries, local communities have developed their own indigenous survival mechanisms. This rich storehouse of knowledge is a part of our country’s legacy.
      • The Arthashastra (a treatise on public administration by Chanakya in the 4th century BC), devoted a section to mitigation measures to combat famines.
    • The community is usually the first responder in case of a disaster. Field level response on behalf of the government in rural areas is provided by the nearest police station and the revenue functionary (patwari/ patel/talati/karnam etc); in urban areas the response is articulated by agencies like the civic authorities, the fire brigade and the local police station.
    • At present, panchayats do not have the capacity to react institutionally in any effective manner to such situations and it is the district administration which retains the basic responsibility of handling crises situations, with the Collector playing a pivotal role.
    • In India the State Government concerned has the primary responsibility for crisis management, the Union Government plays a key supportive role in terms of physical and financial resources and providing complementary measures, such as early warning and co-ordination of efforts of all union ministries, departments and organisations.
    • Legal Framework
      • The Government enacted the National Disaster Management Act (NDMA) 2005 on December 26, 2005 to provide for institutional mechanism for drawing up and monitoring the implementation of disaster management plans, ensuring measures by various wings of the government for preventing and mitigating effects of disaster and for undertaking a holistic, coordinated and prompt response to any disaster situation.
        • The Act provides for setting up of a National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister, State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAS) under the chairmanship of Chief Ministers and District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMAS) under the chairmanship of District Magistrates. 
        • The Act further provides for constitution of National Executive Committee (NEC), National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
          • The NEC is responsible for the preparation of the National Disaster Management Plan for the whole country and to ensure that it is ‘reviewed and updated annually’. 
        • It also provides for the concerned ministries and departments to draw up department-wise plans in accordance with the National Disaster Management Plan.
        • In addition, the Act contains provision for constitution of National Disaster Response Fund and National Disaster Mitigation Fund and similar funds at the state and the district levels.
          • A high level committee of ministers under the chairmanship of Minister of Agriculture deals with the issue of financial support to be provided to the State Governments from the National Disaster Response Fund, if the funds available with the State Governments under State Disaster Response Fund are not adequate.
        • The Act also provides for specific roles to local bodies, including Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIS) and Urban Local Bodies (ULBS) in disaster management.
        • The NDMA, NEC and NIDM have since been constituted in accordance with the provisions of the Act to discharge the powers and functions envisaged for them under the Act.
        • At the district level, the DM Act 2005 provides for the constitution of District Disaster Management Authorities under the chairmanship of the District Magistrate/ Collector while the elected representative of the local authority would be the co-chairperson. In those districts where Zilla Parishads exist, the chairman would be the ex-officio co-chairperson of the District Disaster Management Authority.
          • The district authority shall act as the planning, coordinating and implementing body for disaster management in the district and take all measures for the purposes of disaster management in the district in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the national and state authorities.
        • The planning process has been carried down to the sub-divisional, block and village levels.
          • Each village in multi-hazard prone district will have a Disaster Management Plan.
          • The Disaster Management Teams at the village level will consist of members of youth organisations like Nehru Yuvak Kendra and other non-governmental organisations as wet as able bodied volunteers from the village.
      • Issue:
        • The implementation of the National Disaster Management Act 2005 has been slow, and slack. In 2013, the Supreme Court, in response to a PIL, issued notices to the Governments of Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and the Central Government for alleged failure to implement the National Disaster Management Act 2005.
        • The Act has been criticised for marginalising non-governmental organisations (NGOS), elected local representatives, local communities and civic groups; and for fostering a hierarchical, bureaucratic, command and control, ‘top down’ approach that gives the central, state and district authorities sweeping powers.
  • Agencies involved in Disaster Management
    • National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA):- The National Disaster Management Authority, or the NDMA, is an apex body for disaster management, headed by the Prime Minister of India. It is responsible for the supervision, direction and control of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
      • It formulates and enforces national disaster policies at federal and provisional levels and collaborates closely with various government ministries, military forces and United Nations based organisations to jointly coordinate efforts to conduct disaster management, search and rescue, and a wide range of humanitarian operations in the country and abroad.
      • It Lay down policies on disaster management, approve the National Plan.
      • Lay down guidelines to be followed by the State Authorities in drawing up the State Plan
      • Lay down guidelines to be followed by the different Ministries or Departments of the Government of India for the purpose of integrating the measures for prevention of disaster, or the mitigation of its effects in their development plans and projects.
      • Also lay down broad policies and guidelines for the functioning of the National Institute of Disaster Management
    • National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP)
      • It was released in 2016, it is the first ever national plan prepared in the country for disaster management.
      • With National Disaster Management Plan (2016) India has aligned its National plan with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, to which India is a signatory.
      • The objective of the plan is to make India disaster resilient, achieve substantial disaster risk reduction. It aims to significantly decrease the losses of life, livelihoods, and assets in terms of economic, physical, social, cultural, and environmental. To maximize the ability to cope with disasters at all levels of administration as well as among communities.
    • The National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM): 
    • The NIDM was constituted under the Disaster Management Act 2005. It is a premier national organisation working for human resource development at the national level in the area of disaster mitigation and management. It is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
    • It has been entrusted with the nodal national responsibility for human resource development, capacity building, training, research, documentation and policy advocacy in the field of disaster management
    • National Executive Committee (NEC):- The NEC is composed of high profile ministerial members from the government of India that include the Union Home Secretary as Chairperson, and the Secretaries to the Government of India (GoI)like Ministries/Departments of Agriculture, Atomic Energy, Defence, Drinking Water Supply, Environment and Forests etc. The NEC prepares the National Plan for Disaster Management as per the National Policy on Disaster Management.
    • State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA):- The Chief Minister of the respective state is the head of the SDMA.The State Government has a State Executive Committee (SEC) which assists the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) on Disaster Management.
    • District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA)
      • Under Disaster Management Act 2005, every State government shall establish a DDMA for every district in the State.
      • The DDM Authority shall consist of:
        • Chairperson – the Collector or District Magistrate or Deputy Commissioner act as Chairperson of DDMA.
        • Co-Chairperson – is the elected representative of the local authority. In the Tribal Areas, the Chief Executive Member of the district council of autonomous district is the co-chairperson.
      • There are not more than seven other members in DDMA.
      • The Disaster Management Committee governed under District Magistrate will formulate village level disaster management plans for concern villages.
      • The DDMA makes District Disaster Management Plan and implements the state Disaster Management Plan.
    • Local Authorities:- Local authorities would include Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI), Municipalities, District and Cantonment 11 Institutional and Legal Arrangements Boards, and Town Planning Authorities which control and manage civic services.
  • Organisations related to Disaster Management Framework at Global level
    • In 1994 the World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction was held in Yokohama, Japan.
      • The conference adopted the Yokohama strategy and declared the decade 1990-2000 as the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR).
    • United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) is the successor to the secretariat of IDNDR and was created in 1999 to implement UN Disaster Risk Reduction strategy.
    • The Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) is a 10-year plan (2005-2015) to make the world safer from natural hazards. Priorities such as, Disaster risk reduction, identification, assessment through legal and policy frameworks, disaster preparedness and use of innovation was adopted.
    • The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, is the successor instrument to the Hyogo Framework.
      • It is a non-binding agreement, which the signatory nations, including India, will attempt to comply with on a voluntary basis.
    • There are three international agreements within the context of the post- 2015 development agenda. These are:
      • The Sendai Framework.
      • Sustainable Development Goals 2015-2030
      • The Paris agreement (COP 21) on Climate Change.
    • These three agreements recognize the desired outcomes in Disaster Risk Reduction as a product of interconnected social and economic processes, which overlap across the agendas of the three agreements.
  • Challenges in Disaster Risk Reduction
    • There are insufficient levels of implementation for each monitored activity. For example, Disaster risk management plans or a risk sensitive building codes exist but they are not enforced because of a lack of government capacity or public awareness.
    • There is lack of local capacities to implement disaster risk management. Weak capacity at the local levels undermines the implementation Disaster preparedness plans.
    • Absence of integration of climate change into Disaster risk management plans.
    • There is divergence of obtaining political and economic commitments due to other competing needs and priorities such as poverty reduction, social welfare, education etc. require greater attention and funding.
    • Due to poor coordination between stakeholders, there is inadequate access with respect to risk assessment, monitoring, early warning, disaster response and other Disaster related activities.
    • Insufficient investment in building disaster resilient strategies, also private sector are least contributors in the share of investment.
  • Government Initiatives
    • India is a signatory to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and is committed to achieve the priorities and objectives through systematic and institutional efforts.
    • With multi-dimensional initiatives and expertise, India is taking a leading role in strengthening regional cooperation among South Asian countries for reducing disasters.
    • India is one of the participating countries and works closely with the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR). India has been working closely with many countries for the exchange of ideas and expertise in disaster management.
    • National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) defines the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders including Central Ministries/ Departments, State Governments, UT Administrations, District Authorities and local self Governments.
    • Primary responsibility of disaster management rests with the States. The Central Government conducts regular mock drill, community training and awareness programme to prepare the civilian populations for disasters.
    • National Disaster Management Services (NDMS) was conceived by NDMA during 2015-16 for setting up of Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) Network connecting MHA, NDMA, NDRF etc. to provide the failsafe communication infrastructure and technical support for Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) operations across the country.
    • NDMA has taken an initiative on Earthquake Disaster Risk Indexing (EDRI) for 50 important cities and 1 District in Seismic Zone IV & V areas.
      • This kind of indexing will be helpful in comparing the overall risk across large number of cities or region and also in prioritization of cities to implement appropriate disaster mitigation measures.
    • NDMA through Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC) has prepared Upgraded Earthquake Hazard Maps and Atlases for the country for better planning and policies.
    • Leveraging the technology of geographic information system (GIS), NDMA have taken up a project for disaster risk management by establishing GIS Server and creation of database to integrate data obtained from various stakeholders to increase disaster preparedness, mitigation, damage assessment, response and relief management efforts.
    • Under the National School Safety Programme (NSSP), 8600 schools (with 200 schools in 43 districts in 22 States/UTs falling seismic zones IV and V) have been selected for providing training on school safety and disaster preparedness.
    • The Aapdamitra scheme of NDMA has provision for training 6000 community volunteers in disaster response in 30 most flood prone districts (200 volunteers per district) in 25 States.
    • The government has set up National Crisis Management Committee and Crisis Management Group.
    • The state governments have set up state crisis management groups headed by chief secretaries, institutes of relief commissioners and state/district contingency plans.
    • The disaster management policy of the government stresses on forecasting and warning using advanced technologies, contingency agricultural planning to ensure availability of food grains, and preparedness and mitigation through specific programmes.
    • Project on deployment of Mobile Radiation Detection Systems (MRDS) to handle Radiological Hazards in Metros/Capital Cities/Big Cities in India to detect unclaimed radioactive materials/substances and save public from its hazardous effects.
    • Landslide Risk Mitigation Scheme (LRMS) envisages financial support for site specific Landslide Mitigation Projects recommended by landslide prone States, covering disaster prevention strategy, disaster mitigation and R&D in monitoring of critical Landslides thereby leading to the development of Early Warning System and Capacity Building initiatives. The Scheme is under preparation.
  • Disaster Management in India: Success stories
    • The Indian government’s “zero casualty” policy for cyclones and the pinpoint accuracy of the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) early warning system has helped reduce the possibility of deaths from cyclone Fani in Odisha.
    • India’s policy of minimising fatalities from cyclones has been proven by past performances as in cyclone Phailin in 2013, when famously the casualty rate was kept to as low as 45 despite the intensity of the storm.
    • In August 2010 during the flash floods due to cloudburst in Leh in Ladakh region by the Indian Army. The Army’s immediate search, rescue, and relief operations and mass casualty management effectively and efficiently mitigated the impact of flash floods, and restored normal life.
    • Bihar suffers from floods almost every year during the monsoon season, predominantly due to the Ganges and its tributaries. The State has successfully scaled up disaster preparedness and mitigation efforts since 2011.
  • Issues:
    • There are significant gaps in preparedness on various aspects of risk management, particularly for catastrophic disasters like major earthquakes and floods.
      • Though all of India’s states have departments of disaster management or relief and rehabilitation, they are still poorly prepared to lend support in times of disasters, according to the UN Development Programme (UNDP).
      • In a number of recent disasters, 2010 mudslides in Leh, Sikkim earthquake in 2011 and the Uttarakhand floods of 2013, the level of preparedness was inadequate, leading to high levels of mortality and displacement of people.
    • Facilities such as emergency operations centres, emergency communications, and search and rescue teams are being made available but these systems and facilities need to be strengthened.
    • In India Disaster management is yet to be seen as an essential part of good governance and integral to development planning.
    • The preparedness at various levels are not people-oriented.
    • India’s capacity to manage disaster risk is challenged by its size and huge population. The country is likely to have the greatest exposure of any nation in the world to extreme weather and natural disasters by 2030.
    • The northeast region is most at risk from earthquakes and lacks seismically secure infrastructure and buildings. It is also vulnerable to landslides, floods and erosion.
    • Flooding on the country’s plains is a regular occurrence, and although communities are resilient, the intensity of floods has reduced their capacity to adapt.
    • The local adaptation efforts driven solely by communities are no longer sufficient and additional, scientifically planned adaptation is needed, which will require government support.
    • The division of responsibilities under the Disaster Management Act is not very clear, resulting in its poor implementation. There also exists an overlap between the implementing agencies
    • Intense public and media scrutiny after disasters automatically leads to a higher priority being given to response, rather than risk reduction.
    • Furthermore, where risk-reduction activities are described, State Disaster Management Plans (SDMPs) does not institutionalise accountability mechanisms to ensure that departments follow these considerations in their own planning.
      • As a result, risk-reduction activities are driven by schemes and external projects, rather than by guidelines in SDMPs.
    • Because risk-reduction needs are locations specific, this gap is an opportunity for stronger, locally led risk-reduction planning by Strengthening disaster risk management in India.
  • Suggestions
    • A clearer demarcation of national and state-level responsibilities is needed, especially regarding who is responsible for risk-reduction activities.
    • It is vital for state disaster management authorities to focus on the continued capacity-building of district disaster management authorities and CSOs that are responsible for managing disaster risk.
      • Capacity-building should support the planning and implementation of actions across the full disaster management cycle.
    • There is a need to revise the SDMPs to include a much greater emphasis on risk reduction, rather than just preparedness and response.
    • Existing rules and regulations that impede the inclusion of measures for risk reduction need to be amended.
    • Build partnerships with and draw lessons from forerunner states such as Bihar and Gujarat on how to include risk reduction in plans more effectively.
    • Accountability mechanisms need to be specified. This will ensure that departments follow disaster risk-reduction considerations in their own development planning.
    • There is an urgent need to put the National Disaster Mitigation Fund and state disaster management funds into operation. States such as Bihar, which are leading in this regard, should share lessons on how to realise this at the state level.
    • States should have decision-making power regarding whether state disaster management authorities control funds for risk reduction, or whether these are distributed to government departments.
    • Public-private partnerships should be looked at more seriously as alternative modes of financing. Models such as the Surat Climate Change Trust, a collaboration between the private sector and the urban local body in Surat, Gujarat, should be studied and, if suitable, replicated.
    • Risk-transfer mechanisms and insurance should be scaled up to support risk reduction.
    • States should include downscaled climate projections into SDMPs, so that future and evolving risks can be taken into account.
    • Using data that are already being uploaded onto platforms such as the Open Government Data Platform can help to synthesise a clearer understanding of vulnerability.
    • There is a need to expand capacity-building activities on disaster management within departments, so that they include all stages of the disaster cycle, rather than the current emphasis on emergency response.
    • It is important to ensure the participation of nodal officials from all key state government departments while revising SDMPs; working with technical institutions and NGOs to train nodal officials is also useful.
    • The needs of women and other marginalised groups must be considered across all types of disaster risk management activity, rather than only response and relief activities, as is currently the case.
    • Publicly available census data on sex, age and disability need to be included in vulnerability analyses.
    • Clearer guidelines need to be issued for the genuine participation of vulnerable communities in processes to develop district disaster management plans.
    • Officials from state disaster management authorities should be trained in gender-responsive budgeting and gender mainstreaming.
    • Collaboration with state and central scientific institutions would help state disaster management authorities to track changing risk and risk of losses through modelling, rather than only measuring disaster impacts.
    • The National Disaster Management Authority should prepare guidelines and/ or a framework to support subnational governments in aligning with the Sendai Framework.

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