MES TEACHERS COLLEGE, C.T.ERajajinagar, Bangalore – 560010

Reporton

Online Assignment

Topic : NATURAL DISASTERS AND THEIR REHABILITATION PROGRAMMES

Submitted as per the requirement for the Second semester B.Ed of Bangalore University 2014- 15

Presented by, Sushma D

14EDD13083

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to our beloved Principal, Dr, H S Ganesha Bhatta for his motivation to complete this assignment . I also take this opportunity to thank Dr. K H Prabhu and Smt P Mythili Raju for their encouragement and guidance given all through the period for their completing the assignment.

INTRODUCTION

MEANING

A natural disaster is a major adverse event resulting from natural processes of the Earth; examples include floods, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, and other geologic processes. A natural disaster 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.

An adverse event will not rise to the level of a disaster if it occurs in an area without vulnerable population. In a vulnerable area, however, such as San Francisco in 1906, an earthquake can have disastrous consequences and leave lasting damage, requiring years to repair.

TYPES OF NATURAL DISASTERS

1 FloodsWhen an expanse of water overflows, it submerges land and destroys everything that gets in its way. This is a flood. Floods are usually caused when the volume of water within a lake, river, or other body of water exceeds the total capacity of the body. Sometimes, the water level rises and causes it to overflow its channel.

Worst Case:

The world has seen numerous floods throughout history, but the Yangtze River floods were the most disastrous ever recorded. They were caused by torrential rains and killed more than 3.7 million people in southern China.

2 TornadoesTornadoes are violent, rotating, funnel-shaped clouds that usually extend from thunderstorms to the ground and have wind speeds of between 50 and 300 mph. A tornado’s path of damage can exceed 50 miles in some cases. Some tornadoes are clearly visible, while others are not. Similarly, there can be only one tornado at a time or there can be a large number of tornado

outbreaks along, what are called squall lines.

Worst Case:

Tornadoes are responsible for causing an average of 70 deaths and over 1,500 injuries in the U.S. each year. The Tri-State tornado that hit Illinois, Missouri, and Indiana in 1925 is still the deadliest tornado of all time with a death toll exceeding 695.

3.Extreme TemperaturesExtreme temperatures caused by a heat wave or cold wave are one of many climatological hazards. A heat wave increases the temperature in a certain region and pushes the human body beyond its limit. The same is the case with a cold wave that is accompanied with heavy snowfall and extreme cold, which may lead to hypothermia.

Worst Case:

The deadliest heat wave of all time struck Europe in 2003 and led to 70,000 casualties.

4.AvalanchesAn avalanche is a geophysical hazard caused by a large amount of snow sliding down a mountainside. It is a common sight in some mountains in winter. When an avalanche moves towards ground level, it gains mass by amassing snow from the snowpack and is usually at its highest speed when it gets nearer to the bottom of the slope. An avalanche occurs when the snow packed down on the surface fails to carry its weight. Rapid wind speed, major temperature changes, and manmade influences are other common factors causing avalanches.

Worst Case:

The Huascarán avalanche in Peru is considered the deadliest in history – it was triggered by the 1970 Ancash earthquake and killed more than 20,000 people.

5.DroughtsA drought occurs when a region doesn't receive enough rainfall which leads to a severe deficiency in the water supply. When the situation persists over an extended period, it changes the ecosystem and destroys the agriculture of the region.

Worst Case:

The Horn of Africa witnessed the worst drought in 60 years in 2011, leaving more than 12.4 million people with limited to no food supply. Due to its impact, a draught has to be included in the list of natural disasters.

6.WildfireIn the United States, over 90% of wildfires are caused when people leave campfires unattended, discard cigarettes carelessly, etc., but long-lasting lightning bolts can also start a fire in wild lands.

Worst Case:

The Peshtigo Fire in Wisconsin is the deadliest wildfire in U.S. history with estimated deaths of over 2,500 people.

7.TsunamiUsually caused by a powerful earthquake, underwater explosions, landslides, or volcanic eruptions under the ocean floor, a tsunami is one of the deadliest types of natural disasters and can affect millions of people. Tsunami waves get bigger as they approach the coast and cause tremendous damage.

Worst Case:

The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami is the deadliest of all time causing about 280,000 deaths.

8.Volcanic EruptionA volcano is formed when magma from the earth's upper mantle moves to the surface. It takes the form of a pool filled with molten rock. A volcano erupts when pressure builds. This can cause hot ash flows, lava flows, lateral blasts, falling ash, and avalanches. An erupting volcano can often trigger flash floods, tsunamis, mudflows, earthquakes, and rock falls.

Worst Case:

Indonesia witnessed the deadliest volcanic eruption in 1815 when Mount Tambora erupted and killed over 92,000 people.

9.HurricanesCyclones, tropical storms, typhoons, and hurricanes describe the same disaster type. Basically, these types of natural disasters refer to a closed circulation system in the atmosphere that consists of strong winds and low pressure. The winds rotate clockwise in the southern hemisphere and counter clockwise in the northern hemisphere. A tropical cyclone is usually characterized by a low-pressure center with strong winds and spiral rain bands.

Worst Case:

Bhola cyclone that hit Bangladesh in 1970 is considered the deadliest since it caused the deaths of over 500,000 lives.

10.EarthquakesEarthquakes are one of those types of natural disasters that strike without an early warning. An earthquake is the result of the sudden break within the upper crust of the earth, which may also break the surface and lead to the vibration of the ground.

Worst Case:

In 2008, the 7.9 magnitude earthquake that struck Wenchuan, a county of Sichuan Province in China was devastating and killed over 61,150 people.

TORNADOESMeaning

A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as twisters or cyclones, although

the word cyclone is used in meteorology, in a wider sense, to name any closed low pressure circulation. Tornadoes come in many shapes and sizes, but they are typically in the form of a visible condensation funnel, whose narrow end touches the earth and is often encircled by a cloud of debris and dust. Most tornadoes have wind speeds less than 110 miles per hour (180 km/h), are about 250 feet (80 m) across, and travel a few miles (several kilometers) before dissipating. The most extreme tornadoes can attain wind speeds of more than 300 miles per hour (480 km/h), stretch more than two miles (3 km) across, and stay on the ground for dozens of miles (more than 100 km).

Various types of tornadoes include the landspout, multiple vortex tornado, and waterspout. Waterspouts are characterized by a spiraling funnel-shaped wind current, connecting to a large cumulus or cumulonimbus cloud. They are generally classified as non-supercellular tornadoes that develop over bodies of water, but there is disagreement over whether to classify them as true tornadoes. These spiraling columns of air frequently develop in tropical areas close to the equator, and are less common at high latitudes. Other tornado-like phenomena that exist in nature include the gustnado, dust devil, fire whirls, and steam devil; downbursts are frequently confused with tornadoes, though their action is dissimilar.

Tornadoes have been observed on every continent except Antarctica. However, the vast majority of tornadoes occur in the Tornado Alley region of the United States, although they can occur nearly anywhere in North America. They also occasionally occur in south-central and eastern Asia, northern and east-central South America, Southern Africa, northwestern and southeast Europe, western and southeastern Australia, and New Zealand. Tornadoes can be detected before or as they occur through the use of Pulse-Doppler radar by recognizing patterns in velocity and reflectivity data, such as hook echoes or debris balls, as well as through the efforts of storm spotters.

There are several scales for rating the strength of tornadoes. The Fujita scale rates tornadoes by damage caused and has been replaced in some countries by the updated Enhanced Fujita Scale. An F0 or EF0 tornado, the weakest category, damages trees, but not substantial structures. An F5 or EF5 tornado, the strongest category, rips buildings off their foundations and can deform large skyscrapers. The similar TORRO scale ranges from a T0 for extremely weak tornadoes to T11 for the most powerful known tornadoes.

Doppler radar data, photogrammetry, and ground swirl patterns (cycloidal marks) may also be analyzed to determine intensity and assign a rating.

Definition

A tornado is "a violently rotating column of air, in contact with the ground, either pendant from a cumuliform cloud or underneath a cumuliform cloud, and often (but not always) visible as a funnel cloud". For a vortex to be classified as a tornado, it must be in contact with both the ground and the cloud base. Scientists have not yet created a complete definition of the word; for example, there is disagreement as to whether separate touchdowns of the same funnel constitute separate tornadoes. Tornado refers to the vortex of wind, not the condensation cloud.

TYPES OF TORNDOES

1.Funnel cloud

A tornado is not necessarily visible; however, the intense low pressure caused by the high wind speeds (as described by Bernoulli's principle) and rapid rotation (due to cyclostrophic balance) usually causes water vapor in the air to condense into cloud droplets due to adiabatic cooling. This results in the formation of a visible funnel cloud or condensation funnel.

There is some disagreement over the definition of funnel cloud and condensation funnel. According to the Glossary of Meteorology, a funnel cloud is any rotating cloud pendant from a cumulus or cumulonimbus, and thus most tornadoes are included under this definition. Among many meteorologists, the funnel cloud term is strictly defined as a rotating cloud which is not associated with strong winds at the surface, and condensation funnel is a broad term for any rotating cloud below a cumuliform cloud.

Tornadoes often begin as funnel clouds with no associated strong winds at the surface, and not all funnel clouds evolve into tornadoes. Most tornadoes produce strong winds at the surface while the visible funnel is still above the ground, so it is difficult to discern the difference between a funnel cloud and a tornado from a distance.

Outbreaks and familiesMain articles: Tornado family, tornado outbreak and tornado outbreak sequence

Occasionally, a single storm will produce more than one tornado, either simultaneously or in succession. Multiple tornadoes produced by the same storm cell are referred to as a "tornado family". Several tornadoes are sometimes spawned from the same large-scale storm system. If there is no break in activity, this is considered a tornado outbreak (although the term "tornado outbreak" has various definitions). A period of several successive days with tornado outbreaks in the same general area (spawned by multiple weather systems) is a tornado outbreak sequence, occasionally called an extended tornado outbreak.

Characteristics

Size and shapeMost tornadoes take on the appearance of a narrow funnel, a few hundred yards (meters) across, with a small cloud of debris near the ground. Tornadoes may be obscured completely by rain or dust. These tornadoes are especially dangerous, as even experienced meteorologists might not see them. Tornadoes can appear in many shapes and sizes.

Small, relatively weak landspouts may be visible only as a small swirl of dust on the ground. Although the condensation funnel may not extend all the way to the ground, if associated surface winds are greater than 40 mph (64 km/h), the circulation is considered a tornado. A tornado with a nearly cylindrical profile and relative low height is sometimes referred to as a "stovepipe" tornado. Large single-vortex tornadoes can look like large wedges stuck into the ground, and so are known as "wedge tornadoes" or "wedges". The "stovepipe" classification is also used for this type of tornado, if it otherwise fits that profile. A wedge can be so wide that it appears to be a block of dark clouds, wider than the distance from the cloud base to the ground. Even experienced storm observers may not be able to tell the difference between a low-hanging cloud and a wedge tornado from a distance. Many, but not all major tornadoes are wedges.

Tornadoes in the dissipating stage can resemble narrow tubes or ropes, and often curl or twist into complex shapes. These tornadoes are said to be "roping out", or becoming a "rope tornado". When they rope out, the length of their funnel increases, which forces the winds within the funnel to weaken due to conservation of angular momentum.Multiple-vortex tornadoes can appear as a family of swirls circling a common center, or they may be completely obscured by condensation, dust, and debris, appearing to be a

single funnel.

In the United States, tornadoes are around 500 feet (150 m) across on average and travel on the ground for 5 miles (8.0 km). However, there is a wide range of tornado sizes. Weak tornadoes, or strong yet dissipating tornadoes, can be exceedingly narrow, sometimes only a few feet or couple meters across. One tornado was reported to have a damage path only 7 feet (2 m) long. On the other end of the spectrum, wedge tornadoes can have a damage path a mile (1.6 km) wide or more. A tornado that affected Hallam, Nebraska on May 22, 2004, was up to 2.5 miles (4.0 km) wide at the ground, and a tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma on May 31, 2013 was approximately 2.6 miles (4.2 km) wide, the widest on record.

In terms of path length, the Tri-State Tornado, which affected parts of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana on March 18, 1925, was on the ground continuously for 219 miles (352 km). Many tornadoes which appear to have path lengths of 100 miles (160 km) or longer are composed of a family of tornadoes which have formed in quick succession; however, there is no substantial evidence that this occurred in the case of the Tri-State Tornado. In fact, modern reanalysis of the path suggests that the tornado may have begun 15 miles (24 km) further west than previously thought.

AppearanceTornadoes can have a wide range of colors, depending on the environment in which they form. Those that form in dry environments can be nearly invisible, marked only by swirling debris at the base of the funnel. Condensation funnels that pick up little or no debris can be gray to white. While traveling over a body of water (as a waterspout), tornadoes can turn very white or even blue. Slow-moving funnels, which ingest a considerable amount of debris and dirt, are usually darker, taking on the color of debris. Tornadoes in the Great Plains can turn red because of the reddish tint of the soil, and tornadoes in mountainous areas can travel over snow-covered ground, turning white.

Lighting conditions are a major factor in the appearance of a tornado. A tornado which is "back-lit" (viewed with the sun behind it) appears very dark. The same tornado, viewed with the sun at the observer's back, may appear gray or brilliant white. Tornadoes which occur near the time of sunset can be many different colors, appearing in hues of yellow, orange, and pink.

Dust kicked up by the winds of the parent thunderstorm, heavy rain and hail, and the darkness of night are all factors which can reduce the visibility of tornadoes. Tornadoes occurring in these conditions are especially dangerous, since only weather radar observations, or possibly the sound of an approaching tornado, serve as any warning to those in the storm's path. Most significant tornadoes form under the storm's updraft base, which is rain-free,]making them visible.Also, most tornadoes occur in the late afternoon, when the bright sun can penetrate even the thickest clouds. Night-time tornadoes are often illuminated by frequent lightning.

There is mounting evidence, including Doppler On Wheels mobile radar images and eyewitness accounts, that most tornadoes have a clear, calm center with extremely low pressure, akin to the eye of tropical cyclones. Lightning is said to be the source of illumination for those who claim to have seen the interior of a tornado.

RotationTornadoes normally rotate cyclonically (when viewed from above, this is counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern). While large-scale storms always rotate cyclonically due to the Coriolis effect, thunderstorms and tornadoes are so small that the direct influence of the Coriolis effect is unimportant, as indicated by their large Rossby numbers. Supercells and tornadoes rotate cyclonically in numerical simulations even when the Coriolis effect is neglected.Low-level mesocyclones and tornadoes owe their rotation to complex processes within the supercell and ambient environment.

Approximately 1 percent of tornadoes rotate in an anticyclonic direction in the northern hemisphere. Typically, systems as weak as landspouts and gustnadoes can rotate anticyclonically, and usually only those which form on the anticyclonic shear side of the descending rear flank downdraft (RFD) in a cyclonic supercell. On rare occasions, anticyclonic tornadoes form in association with the mesoanticyclone of an anticyclonic supercell, in the same manner as the typical cyclonic tornado, or as a companion tornado either as a satellite tornado or associated with anticyclonic eddies within a supercell.

Sound and seismologyTornadoes emit widely on the acoustics spectrum and the sounds are caused by multiple mechanisms. Various sounds of tornadoes have been reported,

mostly related to familiar sounds for the witness and generally some variation of a whooshing roar. Popularly reported sounds include a freight train, rushing rapids or waterfall, a nearby jet engine, or combinations of these. Many tornadoes are not audible from much distance; the nature and propagation distance of the audible sound depends on atmospheric conditions and topography.

The winds of the tornado vortex and of constituent turbulent eddies, as well as airflow interaction with the surface and debris, contribute to the sounds. Funnel clouds also produce sounds. Funnel clouds and small tornadoes are reported as whistling, whining, humming, or the buzzing of innumerable bees or electricity, or more or less harmonic, whereas many tornadoes are reported as a continuous, deep rumbling, or an irregular sound of "noise".

Since many tornadoes are audible only when very near, sound is not reliable warning of a tornado. Tornadoes are also not the only source of such sounds in severe thunderstorms; any strong, damaging wind, a severe hail volley, or continuous thunder in a thunderstorm may produce a roaring sound.

Tornadoes also produce identifiable inaudible infrasonic signatures.

Unlike audible signatures, tornadic signatures have been isolated; due to the long distance propagation of low-frequency sound, efforts are ongoing to develop tornado prediction and detection devices with additional value in understanding tornado morphology, dynamics, and creation. Tornadoes also produce a detectable seismic signature, and research continues on isolating it and understanding the process.

Electromagnetic, lightning, and other effectsTornadoes emit on the electromagnetic spectrum, with sferics and E-field effects detected. There are observed correlations between tornadoes and patterns of lightning. Tornadic storms do not contain more lightning than other storms and some tornadic cells never produce lightning. More often than not, overall cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning activity decreases as a tornado reaches the surface and returns to the baseline level when the tornado lifts. In many cases, intense tornadoes and thunderstorms exhibit an increased and anomalous dominance of positive polarity CG discharges.Electromagnetics and lightning have little or nothing to do directly with what drives tornadoes (tornadoes are basically a

thermodynamic phenomenon), although there are likely connections with the storm and environment affecting both phenomena.

Luminosity has been reported in the past and is probably due to misidentification of external light sources such as lightning, city lights, and power flashes from broken lines, as internal sources are now uncommonly reported and are not known to ever have been recorded. In addition to winds, tornadoes also exhibit changes in atmospheric variables such as temperature, moisture, and pressure. For example, on June 24, 2003 near Manchester, South Dakota, a probe measured a 100 mbar (hPa) (2.95 inHg) pressure decrease. The pressure dropped gradually as the vortex approached then dropped extremely rapidly to 850 mbar (hPa) (25.10 inHg) in the core of the violent tornado before rising rapidly as the vortex moved away, resulting in a V-shape pressure trace. Temperature tends to decrease and moisture content to increase in the immediate vicinity of a tornado.

Life cycle

Types

Multiple vortexA multiple-vortex tornado is a type of tornado in which two or more columns of spinning air rotate around a common center. A multi-vortex structure can occur in almost any circulation, but is very often observed in intense tornadoes. These vortices often create small areas of heavier damage along the main tornado path. This is a distinct phenomenon from a satellite tornado, which is a smaller tornado which forms very near a large, strong tornado contained within the same mesocyclone. The satellite tornado may appear to "orbit" the larger tornado (hence the name), giving the appearance of one, large multi-vortex tornado. However, a satellite tornado is a distinct circulation, and is much smaller than the main funnel.

WaterspoutA waterspout is defined by the National Weather Service as a tornado over water. However, researchers typically distinguish "fair weather" waterspouts from tornadic waterspouts. Fair weather waterspouts are less severe but far more common, and are similar to dust devils and landspouts. They form at the bases of cumulus congestus clouds over tropical and subtropical waters. They have relatively weak winds, smooth laminar walls, and typically travel

very slowly. They occur most commonly in the Florida Keys and in the northern Adriatic Sea. In contrast, tornadic waterspouts are stronger tornadoes over water. They form over water similarly to mesocyclonic tornadoes, or are stronger tornadoes which cross over water. Since they form from severe thunderstorms and can be far more intense, faster, and longer-lived than fair weather waterspouts, they are more dangerous. In official tornado statistics, waterspouts are generally not counted unless they affect land, though some European weather agencies count waterspouts and tornadoes together.

LandspoutMain article: LandspoutA landspout, or dust-tube tornado, is a tornado not associated with a mesocyclone. The name stems from their characterization as a "fair weather waterspout on land". Waterspouts and landspouts share many defining characteristics, including relative weakness, short lifespan, and a small, smooth condensation funnel which often does not reach the surface. Landspouts also create a distinctively laminar cloud of dust when they make contact with the ground, due to their differing mechanics from true mesoform tornadoes. Though usually weaker than classic tornadoes, they can produce strong winds which could cause serious damage.

Similar circulationsGustnadoA gustnado, or gust front tornado, is a small, vertical swirl associated with a gust front or downburst. Because they are not connected with a cloud base, there is some debate as to whether or not gustnadoes are tornadoes. They are formed when fast moving cold, dry outflow air from a thunderstorm is blown through a mass of stationary, warm, moist air near the outflow boundary, resulting in a "rolling" effect (often exemplified through a roll cloud). If low level wind shear is strong enough, the rotation can be turned vertically or diagonally and make contact with the ground. The result is a gustnado. They usually cause small areas of heavier rotational wind damage among areas of straight-line wind damage.

Dust devilMain article: Dust devilA dust devil resembles a tornado in that it is a vertical swirling column of air. However, they form under clear skies and are no stronger than the weakest

tornadoes. They form when a strong convective updraft is formed near the ground on a hot day. If there is enough low level wind shear, the column of hot, rising air can develop a small cyclonic motion that can be seen near the ground. They are not considered tornadoes because they form during fair weather and are not associated with any clouds. However, they can, on occasion, result in major damage in arid areas.

Fire whirlsMain article: Fire whirlSmall-scale, tornado-like circulations can occur near any intense surface heat source. Those that occur near intense wildfires are called fire whirls. They are not considered tornadoes, except in the rare case where they connect to a pyrocumulus or other cumuliform cloud above. Fire whirls usually are not as strong as tornadoes associated with thunderstorms. They can, however, produce significant damage.

Steam devilsMain article: Steam devilA steam devil is a rotating updraft that involves steam or smoke. Steam devils are very rare. They most often form from smoke issuing from a power plant's smokestack. Hot springs and deserts may also be suitable locations for a steam devil to form. The phenomenon can occur over water, when cold arctic air passes over relatively warm water.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN INDIA AND AT INTERNATIONAL LEVELDisasters and their management generally get discussed in their aftermath but practically it should result in planning and preparing the strategy to tackle and mitigate disasters in a responsible and effective manner. Disasters, both natural and unnatural, are macro level events or processes, which induce disturbances and turmoil for a prolonged life-threatening environment for a community.

World Development Report (IFRCRC, 2001) categorizes natural disasters into hydro meteorological (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, etc) and geophysical (landslides, droughts, etc) categories. The scope of unnatural disasters

broadly encompasses conflicts, civil strife, riots and industrial disasters.

In the past decade (1991-2000), natural disasters have killed 66,59,598 people, accounting for 88 percent of all deaths due to disasters. Similarly, unnatural disasters have killed 86,923 people during the decade. Nearly two-thirds of the people killed in these disasters hail from developing countries like India, with only four percent of the casualties being reported from highly developed countries (IFRCRC, 2001).

Disaster management is essentially a dynamic process. It comprises the classical management functions of planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling. It also involves many organizations, which must work together to prevent, mitigate, prepare for, respond to and recover from the effects of disaster. Disaster management would therefore include immediate response, recovery, prevention, mitigation, preparedness and …..the cycle goes on.

India is considered as the world’s most disaster prone country. Like many other countries in this region, India is plagued by various kinds of natural disasters every year, such as floods, drought, earthquakes, cyclones and landslides. Millions of people are affected every year and the economic losses caused by natural disasters amount to a major share of the Gross National Product (GNP). Natural Disasters are huge economic burdens on developing economies such as India. Every year, huge amount of resources are mobilized for rescue, relief and rehabilitation works following natural disaster occurrences.

In India, a closer analysis of what transforms a natural event into a human and economic disaster reveals that the fundamental problems of development that the country faces are the very same problems that contribute to its vulnerability to the catastrophic effects of natural hazards. The principal causes of vulnerability include rapid and uncontrolled urbanization, persistence of widespread urban and rural poverty, degradation of the environment resulting from the mismanagement of natural resources, inefficient public policies, and lagging (and misguided) investments in infrastructure.

Development and disaster-related policies have largely focused on emergency response, leaving a serious under-investment in natural hazard prevention and mitigation.

Conventional response to Disasters

Humans have managed disasters and an overview of our past experiences shows that management of disasters is not a new concept. For example, in ancient India, droughts were effectively managed through conventional water conservation methods, which are still in use in certain parts of the country - like Rajasthan. Local communities have devised indigenous safety mechanisms and drought-oriented farming methods in many parts of the country.

The subject of disaster management is not mentioned in any of the three lists in the Seventh Schedule of the Indian constitution, where subjects under the Central and State governments are specified. In the post-independent India, a journey through the five-year plans points to the fact that the understanding of disasters was to mitigate droughts and floods; schemes such as the Drought Prone Area Program (DPAP), Desert Development Program (DDP), National Watershed Development Project for Rain fed Areas (NWDPRA) and Integrated Water Development Project (IWDP) are examples of this conventional paradigm (Planning Commission, 2002).

Recent changes

The late 1990s and the early part of this century marked a watershed in Disaster Management in India. The Orissa Super Cyclone and the Gujarat Earthquake taught the nation a hard lesson. The experiences of the stakeholders like the state, voluntary sector and the communities at large helped in initiating the planning process pertaining to preparedness and mitigation of disasters.

A welcome step in this direction was setting up of a High Powered Committee on Disaster Management in 1999, which submitted its report in 2001. An important recommendation of the committee was that at least 10 percent of plan funds at the national, state and district levels be earmarked and apportioned for schemes that specifically address areas such as prevention, reduction, preparedness and mitigation of disasters. Also for the first time in the planning history of India, planners devoted a separate chapter titled ‘Disaster Management: The development perspective’ in the tenth five-year plan document (Planning Commission, 2002).

More recently, several institutions with a focused mandate on disaster

management have come up in various parts of the country. The Ministry of Home Affairs (Disaster Management Division), National Institute for Disaster Management (New Delhi), Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA), Orissa State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA), Disaster Mitigation Institute (Ahmedabad) can be seen as initiatives taken in the right direction.

There has also been a concerted effort on the part of the state to mainstream Disaster Mitigation initiatives in Rural Development schemes. One of its example is the coordination between the Ministry of Rural Development and the Ministry of Home Affairs, which is now the nodal ministry for coordination of relief and response and overall natural disaster management, for changing the guidelines of schemes such as Indira Awas Yojna (IAY) and Sampoorn Grameen Rojgar Yojna (SGRY) so that the houses constructed under IAY or school buildings/community buildings constructed under SGRY are earthquake/cyclone/flood resistant.

Role of NGOs

Since the community is the first responder in any disaster situation, there is a great need for community level initiatives in managing disasters. The initiatives taken by various agencies, including the state, need to be people-centric and the level of community participation should be gauged through the role played by the community in the process of planning and decision-making. Efforts should also be made to strengthen local economies, thereby making people independent of external assistance (Gupta, www.gisdevelopment.net).

The voluntary sector has been in the forefront of mobilizing communities, enabling them to cope with disasters in the past decades. Their initiatives and experiences have been consolidated and demonstrated on a larger scale with the help of the state. Development organizations working in communities share a good rapport with the community, which helps the state in implementing its plans more effectively; village level plans prepared after the Super Cyclone in Orissa could be seen as an example of the same.

The focus of any disaster management plan now incorporates the following:

4 Community Based Disaster Preparedness4 Development of block, Gram Panchayat and Village disaster

management plansThis has been made possible through continuous advocacy by development organizations like Action Aid, Oxfam, CARE- India, etc. These initiatives have been scaled up by the state, which has taken efforts to integrate disaster management plans with the larger developmental plans at all levels such as Village/Panchayat/Block/District/State.

Government has got the whole machinery in place and the relief work is carried out with the help of the following agencies- Indian Red Cross Society ,Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, UNDP India, Tata Energy Research Institute, Housing and Urban Development Corporation Ltd., Ministry of Urban Development and Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART). All these agencies in the past responded to major disasters in the country. For example, in the state of Orissa in the aftermath of Super Cyclone in 1999, they provided immediate relief services to the affected families. Further, they collected and distributed relief material, helped in providing immediate shelter, supported voluntary organizations for implementing activities pertaining to the relief and rehabilitation work and provided training to masons for repairing damaged houses. The vast network of partner voluntary organizations provides the Government with a greater opportunity to implement Disaster Management plans at the grassroots level much more effectively.

Challenges for the future

There is a growing need to look at disasters from a development perspective. Disasters can have devastating effect on communities and can significantly set back development efforts to a great extent. But then, it could also offer an opportunity to invest in development efforts in a post disaster scenario. Disasters are opportunities for communities to reinvent themselves.

Disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness and relief are four elements, which contribute to and gain from the implementation of sustainable development policies. These elements, along with environmental protection and sustainable development, are closely inter-related. The Yokohama Strategy, emanating from the international decade for natural disaster reduction in May 1994, emphasizes that disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness are better than disaster-response in achieving the goals and objectives of vulnerability reduction.

The Government of India has adopted mitigation and prevention as essential components of its development strategy. The Tenth Five Year Plan emphasizes the fact that development cannot be sustainable without mitigation being built into the development process. In brief, Disaster Management is being institutionalized into development planning. But, there are various underlying problems in the whole process. In fact, a number of problems stem from social inequities.

In the long run, the onus is upon the local communities to handle disasters with the help of the state and other such organizations. It is a well-known fact that the community dynamics is quite complex in a country like India. There is a need to address specific local needs of vulnerable communities through local traditions and cultures. Restoration of common property resources with the participation of the local level bodies is a real challenge. The historical focus of disaster management has been on relief and rehabilitation after the event but now the focus is on planning for disaster preparedness and mitigation. Given the high frequency with which one or other part of the country suffers due to disasters, mitigating the impact of disasters must be an integral component of our development planning.

One of the glaring lacunae in the process of Disaster Management in India has been the overlooking of unnatural disasters. The recent efforts focus purely on natural disasters, whereas the current global situation also demands initiatives in managing the impact of unnatural disasters. Developments at the international level, particularly the civil wars and civil strife in Eastern Europe and Southern America culminating on 9/11 have brought the issue of unnatural disasters at the forefront of disaster management. The global community has recognized the serious consequences of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) warfare. This remains a serious challenge for India to address in the near future.

The need of the hour is to chalk out a multi-pronged strategy for total disaster management comprising prevention, preparedness, response and recovery on the one hand and initiate development efforts aimed towards risk reduction and mitigation on the other. The countries in the Asia-Pacific region should establish a regional co-ordination mechanism for space-technology based disaster mitigation and strengthen co-operation, Luan suggested, adding that they also need to set up an all-weather and all-time comprehensive space-based disaster mitigation system and share the

information.

A pro-active stance to reduce the toll of disasters in the country requires a more comprehensive approach that comprises both pre-disaster risk reduction and post-disaster recovery. It is framed by new policies and institutional arrangements that support effective action. Such an approach should involve the following set of activities:

4 Risk analysis to identify the kinds of risks faced by people and development investments as well as their magnitude;4 Prevention and mitigation to address the structural sources of vulnerability;4 Risk transfer to spread financial risks over time and among different actors;4 Emergency preparedness and response to enhance a country’s readiness to cope quickly and effectively with an emergency; and4 Post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction to support effective recovery and to safeguard against future disasters. qReferences

1. Planning Commission (2002); "Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-2007) - Vol.1"; Planning Commission, Government of India; New Delhi.2. Gupta A; "Information Technology and Natural Disaster Management in India"; www.gisdevelopment.net3. www.ndmindia.nic.in4. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (2001); "World Disaster Report - Focus on reducing risk"; IFRCRCS; Geneva Organisations involved in disaster management

Disaster management is a complex process involving international, national and local organisations each with a distinct role to play. To respond to disaster situations a coordinated effort is required.

The United Nations and its organisationsHealth Care in Danger projectThe International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent SocietiesThe International Committee of the Red CrossInternational non-governmental agenciesNational organisations

The United Nations and its organisationsThe Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in collaboration with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) is the arm of the United Nations responsible for bringing together national and international humanitarian providers to ensure a coherent response to emergencies. OCHA also ensures that a framework is in place within which each provider can contribute to the overall response effort. It also advocates for people in need, promotes preparedness and prevention and facilitates sustainable solutions.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN (FAO) provides early warning of impending food crises, and assesses global food supply problems.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) is an intergovernmental agency which helps transfer refugees, internally displaced persons and others in need of internal or international migration services.

The Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) provides assistance and advice to governments and other actors on human rights issues, sets standards and monitors rights violations.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) assists disaster-prone countries in contingency planning and with disaster mitigation, prevention and preparedness measures.

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) provides international protection and assistance for refugees, stateless persons and internally displaced persons, particularly in conflict-related emergencies.

The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) works to uphold children’s rights, survival, development and protection by intervening in health, education, water, sanitation, hygiene and protection.

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the principle supplier of relief food aid.

The World Health Organization (WHO) provides global public health leadership by setting standards, monitoring health trends, and providing direction on emergency health issues. WHO’s role is to reduce avoidable loss of life and the burden of disease and disability. A range of technical guidelines for health action in crises and pre-deployment training courses are

available. A set of technical hazard sheets on earthquakes, drought, floods and landslides, is also available.

Health Care in Danger projectHealth Care in Danger project: new e-learning module (November 2014). The module introduces health personnel to the principles underpinning ethical considerations when working in conflict situations and other emergencies. Using a multimedia interface, the module presents various dilemmas that health personnel face every day. Users can explore these issues in depth by interacting virtually with experts in the field, studying real-life issues, and receiving guidance that helps them to make decisions in difficult situations.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent SocietiesThe International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is the world’s largest humanitarian organization made up of 186 member Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The International Federation’s mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity.

The IFRC coordinates and directs international assistance to victims of natural and technological disasters, to refugees and in health emergencies. It combines its relief activities with development work to strengthen the capacities of National Societies and through them the capacity of individual people. The IFRC acts as the official representative of its member societies in the international field. It promotes cooperation between National Societies, and works to strengthen their capacity to carry out effective disaster preparedness, health and social programmes.

The International Committee of the Red CrossThe International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a Swiss-based humanitarian organisation and founding member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement(1863). It is mandated by the international community to be the guardian and promoter of international humanitarian law, working around the world to provide assistance to people affected by violence.

The ICRC provides physical rehabilitation to people injured by explosive weapons or other types of incident. ICRC organises, in collaboration with WHO, the Health Emergencies in Large Populations (HELP) course to upgrade professionalism in humanitarian assistance programmes.

The ICRC runs programmes to support the development of physical therapy education and welcomes the involvement of individuals or physical therapy institutions in supporting these developments. Opportunities are added to the working and studying abroad page of our website

The ICRC publication Health care in danger: the responsibilities of health-care personnel working in armed conflicts and other emergencies provides guidance, in simple language, on rights and responsibilities in conflict and other situations of violence for health personnel.

International non-governmental agenciesLeading international non-governmental agencies work through volunteers to fight poverty in developing countries. Their strong role in development works side by side with the recovery from a disaster and prevention and preparedness for any future disasters.

CARE is a humanitarian organisation fighting global poverty. Women are at the heart of CARE's community-based efforts to improve basic education, prevent the spread of HIV, increase access to clean water and sanitation, expand economic opportunity and protect natural resources. CARE also delivers emergency aid to survivors of war and natural disasters, and helps people rebuild their lives. CARE works alongside poor women because, equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty.

Handicap International works in partnership with local organisations and government institutions. It raises awareness of both governments and the general public on disability and landmine issues, mobilises civil society and implements action in emergency situations.

Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO) is a network of health care professionals, organisations, corporations and donors united in a common commitment to improving global health through education. The website includes a volunteer toolkit and an informative newsletter Volunteer Connection.

IMA World Health is an inter-church not-for-profit organisation based in the United States of America, which partners with USAID, the World Bank and many other organisations to build sustainable health care systems.

International Rescue Committee (IRC) offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster and provides emergency response by experienced personnel for short-term assignments.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) provides medical services in emergency situations. It recruits some physical therapists and other health professionals as well as physicians.

Oxfam is an international confederation of 14 organisations working together and with partners and allies around the world to bring about lasting change. Oxfam works directly with communities and seeks to influence the powerful to ensure that poor people can improve their lives and livelihoods and have a say in decisions that affect them.

Rehabilitation International (RI) is a global network of expert professionals who work to empower people with disabilities and provide sustainable solutions for a more inclusive and accessible society. It advocates for inclusion of people with disabilities in climate change and disaster management planning.

National organisationsMost nations have a national disaster management plan. National disaster management plans are aligned to the most commonly experienced disasters in that country or region and the resources available. Look at the disaster management plan for your country and region. Links to the national disaster management plan for Australia and India are provided here as examples.

Government funded aid programmes coordinate national responses to disasters in another country. They may also run development projects that support countries in the recovery following a disaster.

Here are some examples of national aid programmes:

Country AgencyAustralia AusAIDCanada CIDAEuropean Union EuropeAidIreland Irish AidNew Zealand NZAID

Norway NORADSweden SIDAUnited Kingdom DFIDUnited States of America USAID

BIBLIOGRAPHY

www.wcpt.org www.ifrc.org www.unisdr.org https://en.m.wkikipedia.org