A
terminology developed by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster
Reduction (UNISDR) defines a disaster as “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.” The Disaster
Management Act, 2005 defines a disaster as “a catastrophe, mishap, calamity or
grave occurrence in any area, arising from natural or man made causes, or by
accident or negligence which results in substantial loss of human sufferings or
damage to, and destruction of property, or damage to, or degradation of,
environment and is of such nature or magnitude as to be beyond the coping
capacity of the affected area”.
Disasters are divided into two
categories. Natural Disaster and Man Made Disasters. Earthquakes, floods,
cyclones, tsunami and landslides & avalanches are categorized under natural
disasters as these are supposed to be due to natural causes and not directly
attributable to human actions although human activities are indirectly
responsible for many of them by contributing in the environmental degradation.
The second category is the Man-Made Disasters and includes those types of
disasters which take place directly due to human actions. These include nuclear
disasters, chemical disasters and biological disasters.
India is a vast country with diverse
geographical and climatic conditions and hence different parts are vulnerable
to different types of disasters. As per National Disaster Management Policy,
2009, 58.6% of the landmass is prone to earthquakes of varying intensity; over
40 million hectares (12% of land) is prone to floods and river erosion; out of
our 7516 Km long coastline, about 5700 Km is prone to cyclones and tsunamis;
68% of the cultivable land is prone to drought and hilly areas are prone to
landslides and avalanches. Further, possibility of man made disasters like
chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear disasters also exists.
Disaster Management
Disaster management means a
systematic response to a disaster. Earlier the approach to disaster was relief
centric and was limited to providing relief to the disaster affected area. For
the first time, the tenth five year plan devoted a chapter to disaster
management. The approach subsequently changed and pre-empting the disaster,
assessing disaster risk and taking preventive measures has also become a part
of disaster management. The Disaster Management Act was notified on 26th
December 2005 which defines disaster management as “a continuous and integrated
process of planning, organising, coordinating and implementing measures which
are necessary or expedient for-prevention of danger or threat of any disaster;
mitigation or reduction of risk of any disaster or its severity or
consequences; capacity building; preparedness to deal with any disaster; prompt
response to any threatening disaster situation or disaster; assessing the
severity of magnitude of effects of any disaster; evacuation, rescue and
relief; and rehabilitation and reconstruction.” The Act provided for a
dedicated and institutionalized framework to coordinate various aspects of
disaster management. A National Policy on Disaster Management, which provided
detailed guidelines on disaster management, was announced in 2009.
National Disaster Management
Authority (NDMA)
The Disaster Management ACT, 2005
provides for setting up of a National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) with
the Prime Minister as Chairperson. Apart from him there are members whose
number shall not exceed nine. One of these can be nominated as Vice-Chairperson
of the Authority. Presently, Sh.M. Shashidhar Reddy, a sitting member of Andhra
Pradesh Legislative Assembly is the Vice-Chairman of the Authority. NDMA is responsible for laying down policies,
plans and guidelines for disaster management for ensuring timely and effective
response to disaster.
NDMA is to be assisted by a National
Executive Committee which comprises of Secretaries to the Government of India
heading various Ministries or Departments having administrative control over Agriculture,
Atomic Energy, Defence, drinking water supply, environment and forests,
finance, health, power, rural development, science and technology, space,
telecommunication, urban development and water resources. Chief of the
Integrated Defence Staff of the Chiefs of Staff Committee is also a member of
the Executive Committee.
National Executive Committee is
responsible for preparing and updating a National Plan for disaster management.
The Plan includes measures to be taken for prevention of disasters or the
mitigation of their effects; measures to be taken for the integration of
mitigation measures in the development plans; measures to be taken for
preparedness and capacity building to effectively respond to any threatening
disaster situation or disaster; and defining the roles of various departments
in respect of these measures.
State Disaster Management
Authority (SDMA)
The Disaster Management Act 2005
also provides for setting up of Stage Disaster Management Authorities under the
Chairpersonship of the Chief Minister.
State Authority is to be assisted by a State Executive Committee under
the Chairpersonship of the Chief Secretary of the State. The Committee shall
prepare a State Plan which would include assessment of vulnerability of
different parts of the State to different forms of disasters; measures to be
adopted for prevention and mitigation of disasters; capacity building; and role
of departments of State Government. Apart from the planning aspect it is also
involved in taking up and supervising relief and rescue operations at the time
of disaster and in disseminating information about any impending disaster.
District Disaster Management
Authority (DDMA)
The
structure of disaster management institutions goes down to the district level
where the responsibility is given to DDMA which is headed by the
Collector/District Magistrate with elected representative of the local authority
as co-chairperson. DDMA will act as the planning, coordinating and implementing
body for disaster management at the district level. It will prepare the
District Plan for disaster management in accordance with instructions by NDMA
and SDMA. The DDMA will also ensure that the guidelines for prevention, mitigation, preparedness and response measures laid
down by the NDMA and the SDMA are followed by all the Departments of the State
Government at the District level and the local authorities
in the District.
Local Authority
For the purpose of disaster
management, local authorities would include Panchayati Raj institutions and
those agencies which control and manage civic services. These bodies are
required to ensure capacity building of their employees for managing disasters
and carrying out relief and reconstruction activities in the affected areas.
National Institute of
Disaster Management (NIDM)
Capacity building is an important aspect
of disaster management. This requires developing human resources to handle
disaster management work and undertake studies and research on the subject.
Disaster Management Act gives this mandate to the National Institute of
Disaster Management. The institute was formed as National Centre for Disaster
Management (NCDM) in 1995 but was re-designated
as National Institute of Disaster Management in 2005 after the enacting of
the Disaster Management Act. The institute is headed by the Union Home Minister
and Vice-Chairman, NDMA also acts as the Vice-President of the Institute. Day
to day works are looked after by the Executive Director. The institute has five
divisions i.e Geo-Hazard Division; Hydro-Met Hazard Division; Policy Planning
and Cross Cutting Issues Division; Response Division; and Administrative and
Finance Division.
National Disaster Response
Force(NDRF)
NDRF was constituted in 2006 with 8
battalions drawn from the paramilitary forces. Presently it has strength of 10
battalions. General superintendence of the force vests in NDMA and the force is
headed by the Director General of NDRF and Civil Defence. These battalions are
positioned at different locations to provide timely response to disaster
situations and are available to State Governments at the time of need. The
force provides specialized response during disasters, is pro-actively deployed
in impending disaster situations, imparts training to state disaster response
force personnel and conducts programmes for creating awareness and community
capacity building.
Integrated Data Resource Network(IDRN)
Integrated Data Resource Network is
a database in the electronic form maintained by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The data enlists inventory of equipments and human resources relevant to
disaster management. Organizations related with the work update the inventory
of equipments, skilled human resources and critical supplies for emergency
response. Idea is to make available the information on availability of
equipments and human resources required to combat any emergency situation. This
database also helps the policy makers to assess the level of preparedness for
specific vulnerabilities.
Other Institutional
arrangements
- Cabinet Committee on Management of Natural Calamities (CCMNC) has been constituted to oversee all aspects relating to the management of natural calamities.
- National Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF) was created in 2000-01 by the Govt of India with a corpus fund of Rs.500 crores with an objective of providing assistance to disaster affected states. The fund was replenished with the National Calamity Contingent Duty on certain items such as tobacco products etc. and was operated through a High Level Committee (HLC) which had Finance Minister, as Chairman and the Home Minister, Agriculture Minister & Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission as members. Since 2010, this find has been merged with National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) which is also operated by a High Level Committee with similar composition.
- Armed Forces are called upon to assist the civil administration only when the situation is beyond their coping capability. In practice, however, the armed forces form an important part of the Government’s response capacity and are immediate responders in all serious disaster situations. They have played a major role in emergency support functions like communication, search and rescue operations, medical facilities and transportation.
- Central Paramilitary forces also play a key role at the time of immediate response to disasters. Besides contributing to the NDRF, they are also required to develop adequate disaster management capability within their own forces and respond to disasters which may occur in the areas where they are posted.
- State Police and Fire Services are crucial immediate responders to disasters are required to improve their response capabilities.
- Civil Defence Act has been amended in 2009 to bring disaster management in the area of operation of civil defence agencies.
- International agencies also play a role in disaster management. UNDP alongwith NDMA took up Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Urban Risk Reduction programmes. World Bank is associated with National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP) being taken up in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. Red Cross Society also provides valuable support during relief operations.
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