Natural disasters and disaster management - class-VIII

Recovery is an integral component of fire management and involves wildlife rescue, rehabilitation and restoration of areas damaged during fire suppression operations, restoration of park infrastructure or personal property damaged by fire and recovery of the local community when a fire has had an impact on the economic or social wellbeing of the community (e.g. effect on power or water supply, access, stock or income).

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN's global development network with its headquarters in New York City, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP works in five main areas: democratic governance, poverty reduction, crisis prevention and recovery, environment and energy, and HIV/AIDS.

Disaster risk reduction includes disciplines like disaster management, disaster mitigation and disaster preparedness, but DRR is also part of sustainable development. In order for development activities to be sustainable they must also reduce disaster risk. On the other hand, unsound development policies will increase disaster risk - and disaster losses. Thus, DRR involves every part of society, every part of government, and every part of the professional and private sector

Mitigation is also used to assess structural and non-structural measures undertaken to reduce possible damage at a level which does not harm people and property, according to codes or "accepted practice" based, among other issues, on a known probability of hazard.

UNISDR stands for United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. The UN General Assembly adopted the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction in December 1999 and established UNISDR, the secretariat to ensure its implementation.

The first phase of disaster management is preparedness which involves collection, compilation, and dissemination of relevant knowledge and information on hazards, vulnerabilities, and capacities to respond to a disaster or other emergency situation. The preparedness phase is designed to structure the disaster response prior to the occurrence of a disaster. During the preparedness phase, governments, organizations, and individuals develop plans to save lives, minimize disaster damage, and enhance disaster response operations.

Recovery is defined as decisions and actions taken after a disaster with a view to restoring or improving the pre-disaster living conditions of the stricken community, while encouraging and facilitating necessary adjustments to reduce disaster risk. This process of recovery from the impact of disaster must be across various sectors, namely shelter, infrastructure, healthcare services, agriculture, economic and social rehabilitation. 

The most commonly cited definition of DRR is one used by UN agencies such as UNISDR, also known as the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, and UNDP: "The conceptual framework of elements considered with the possibilities to minimize vulnerabilities and disaster risks throughout a society, to avoid (prevention) or to limit (mitigation and preparedness) the adverse impacts of hazards, within the broad context of sustainable development

Cyclones,

Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) is a systematic approach to identifying, assessing and reducing the risks of disaster. It aims to reduce socio-economic vulnerabilities to disaster as well as dealing with the environmental and other hazards that tiggers them.

Disaster management preparation is a comprehensive process that requires information, identification of risks, planning, and community involvement.

India’s hierarchical disaster management structure, it is essential to ensure that measures taken at the local, district, state, and national levels are all integrated and coordinated with one another. As villages, cities and towns are the sites of all disaster management actions, it is even more imperative to ensure that the district, state and national-level programs are properly linked with their everyday processes and activities. On some of the matters the activities must be coordinated at all levels. The Panchayati Raj stays at the lowest most point in the Hierarchy System concerned to the villages and local taalukas.

The Chairperson of District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) will be the Collector or District Magistrate or Deputy Commissioner of the district. The elected representative of the area is member of the DDMA as an ex officio co-Chairperson.

Preparedness is the cornerstone of effective disaster management, as it allows for a faster and more organized response when a disaster occurs.

According to the Disaster Management Act of 2005, the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) is chaired by the Chief Minister of the state.

The Disaster Management Act was passed on 23rd December 2005 by the Rajya Sabha. The Act provides for "the effective management of disasters and for matters connected there with or incidental thereto."

Disaster management is a cycle that includes mitigation (before), emergency response (during), and reconstruction/rehabilitation (after).

B.  BDO

As the head of the Block administration, Block Development Officer plays a very significant role in the implementation of Disaster Management operations like Preparedness, Prevention and Mitigation. As the main functionary of the Block administration, he will act in the following sectors:

1. Monitoring of functioning of all kinds of Disaster Management operations in his area and sending report to the Sub Divisional Officer and other higher authorities,
2. To monitor the functioning of all committees related to Disaster Management at the Panchayat Samity and Gram Panchayat level,
3. To visit every part of his area and to see that the social assistance measures are promptly, properly & effectively given to disaster victims whenever required and make periodical routine examination/assessment of the socio-economic status of his area,
4. To make assessment of fund required for infrastructural reconstruction after any disaster,
5. Will maintain all the accounts of the Disaster Management operations that have to be started during any natural calamity,She/he will prepare Block Disaster Management Plan every year and also revise it from year to year.
6. She/he will undertake preparedness, mitigation and rehabilitation measurers every year.She/he will keep the Block level India Disaster Resource Network updated every year.
7. After every calamity, s/he will prepare and send preliminary report in CAII form to the Sub Divisional Officer at once.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is the apex body for disaster management in India, and it is chaired by the Prime Minister.

A.  Earthquakes

An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth, resulting from the sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can be violent enough to toss people around and destroy whole cities. The seismicity or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time. In modern popular culture, the portrayal of earthquakes is shaped by the memory of great cities laid waste, such as Kobe in 1995 or San Francisco in 1906.Fictional earthquakes tend to strike suddenly and without warning

Generation of disaster warning is a multi-institutional effort, which has direct application in disaster mitigation and management, urban development, planning, design and construction, and risk assessment to existing life and property, defense installations, heavy industry and public utilities and services, etc. During the last few years’ efforts have been made to take up microzonation studies for Delhi, Guwahati, Sikkim and Bangalore

Recovery is the phase after a disaster that aims to restore normal life, which includes housing, medical care, and rebuilding infrastructure.

Hurricane Betsy was an intense and destructive tropical cyclone that brought widespread damage to areas of Florida and the Central United States Gulf Coast in September 1965. Hurricane Betsy was the first natural
disaster to generate more than a billion dollars in damages. At that time there was no standardized floodplain management
strategy throughout the country and flood insurance was not widely available through private
companies.Hurricane Betsy was the final push for the creation of national flood
legislation. The implementation of the National Flood Insurance Program was intended to make flood insurance more affordable, but also
to manage development in floodplains.

• The four phases of Comprehensive Emergency management are Mitigation, Preparation, Response and Recovery. 
  
• Mitigation i.e preventing future emergencies or minimizing their effects and it includes any activities that prevent an emergency, reduce the chance of an emergency happening, or reducing the damaging effects of unavoidable emergencies. 
  
• The preparation phase is centred around arranging or developing a plan to approach events after the incident crops up. Unlike prevention and preparation phase, response is undertaken during a disaster situation. 
  
• The aim of the response procedures is to save lives, reduce victim's suffering and alleviate economical losses. Crucial for this phase is the implementation of the plans formulated and prepared prior to the event in the preparation phase. 
  
• During a recovery phase, which takes place after an incident had occurred, affected community is assisted in restoration of concerned area.

The  phases of disaster management planning are Preparation, Response and Recovery, Management.  The preparation phase is centred around arranging or developing a plan to approach events after the incident crops up. Activities are tailored to minimize the damage disaster causes, improving response operations on institutional and individual levels. Unlike prevention and preparation phase, response is undertaken during a disaster situation. The aim of the response procedures is to save lives, reduce victim's suffering and alleviate economical losses. Crucial for this phase is the implementation of the plans formulated and prepared prior to the event in the preparation phase. During a recovery phase, which takes place after an incident had occurred, affected community is assisted in restoration of concerned area. Disaster management forces can help by removing people and property from a threatened location and by facilitating timely and effective rescue, relief and rehabilitation at the place of disaster thereby reducing loss of property, protecting people and reducing trauma among people.

The International Day for Disaster Reduction began in 1989, by the United Nations General Assembly for a day to promote a global culture of risk-awareness and disaster reduction. Held every 13 October, the day celebrates how people and communities around the world are reducing their exposure to disasters and raising awareness about the importance of reining in the risks that they face.

DRR stands for Disaster Risk Reduction, which refers to policies and practices designed to minimize vulnerabilities and disaster risks.

Mitigation activities are those taken to reduce the severity or impact of a disaster, such as building flood defenses or earthquake-resistant structures.

Among the given statements, both A and B are true. Disaster management is to survive through disaster with various measures like making use of technology to save causalities, making use of proper medical facility etc. Disaster mitigation is nothing but reducing the effect of disaster. It is more of a preplanning. It involves shifting of people to safe areas etc.

The goal of emergency preparedness programs is to achieve a satisfactory level of readiness to respond to any emergency situation through programs that strengthen the technical and managerial capacity of governments, organizations, and communities. Preparedness measures include preparedness plans; emergency exercises/training; warning systems; emergency communications systems; evacuations plans and training; and public information/education.

The United Nations General Assembly designated October 13 as the International Day for Disaster Reduction. The International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR) encourages every citizen and government to take part in building more disaster resilient communities and nations.

The Office of Emergency Services (OES) coordinates the overall county response to disasters. OES is responsible for alerting and notifying appropriate agencies when disaster strikes; coordinating all agencies that respond; ensuring resources are available and mobilized in times of disaster; developing plans and procedures for response to and recovery from disasters; and developing and providing preparedness materials for the public.

Preparedness is an understanding of the geographic area affected, along with the intensity and frequency of different hazard events, is critical for planning evacuation routes, creating shelters, and running preparedness drills. Providing a measure of the impact of different hazard events—potential number of damaged buildings, fatalities and injuries, secondary hazards—makes it possible to establish detailed and realistic plans for better response to disasters, Training, drills and exercises, plan development, which can ultimately reduce the severity of adverse natural events.

The Disaster Management Act was passed by the Indian Parliament in 2005 to provide for the effective management of disasters and for matters connected therewith.

A man-made disaster is caused by human action or negligence, such as a road accident. Drought, floods, and landslides are generally classified as natural disasters.

The Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) is an independent international organization headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand.

The response phase of emergency management involves immediate assistance, relief operations, and initial restoration of critical infrastructure. Mitigation aims to prevent hazards, preparedness focuses on planning, and recovery involves long-term rebuilding.