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Disaster Mitigation and Management
Disaster Mitigation and Management
Disaster Mitigation and Management
Introduction:
The earth has been an unstable proposition
throughout its existence. Man who entered
the scene has been exploring during his
short existence to unravel the various
mysteries which are mysteries till date.
These mysteries have been understood by
and confined to the intellectual community.
What is a Disaster?
According to each, disaster is defined as
many ways, so, there is no particular
definition for a Disaster.
Overall, disaster is defined as:
Disaster is a sudden, calamitous
event bringing great damage, loss,
and destruction and devastation to
life and property.
WHO defines Disaster as "any
occurrence that causes damage,
ecological disruption, loss of human
life, deterioration of health and
health services, on a scale sufficient
to warrant an extraordinary response
from outside the affected community
or area.
Unpredictability,
Unfamiliarity,
Speed,
Urgency,
Uncertainty and
Threat
Types of Disasters:
Disasters are simply defined as any over
helming ecological disruption which
disturbs environmental and economical
positions.
Disasters are mainly divided as two types:
Damages by Disasters:
Damages done by disasters are inevitable
and they cannot be reduced and predicted
and only method is to manage them and
mitigate them. The damage caused by
disasters is immeasurable.
The damage caused by disasters depends on:
Artificial Disasters.
Tsunami,
Forest Fires etc
Artificial Disasters:
Nuclear Disasters,
Chemical Disasters,
Mine Disasters,
Biological Disasters.
These are an example of manmade disasters.
Natural Disasters:
Earthquakes:
Earthquakes are nothing but any sudden
movement over the surface of the Earth
which shakes Earth vigorously that destroys
the structures resting on the Earth.
Cyclone:
Cyclone is defined as:
Rapid inward
circulation of air masses about a low
pressure centre; circling counter clockwise
in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in
the southern.
During a Landslide:
During a Cyclone:
Floods:
During Floods:
Stay alert and awake. Many debrisflow fatalities occur when people are
sleeping. Listen to a Weather Radio
or portable, battery-powered radio or
television for warnings of intense
rainfall. Be aware that intense, short
bursts of rain may be particularly
dangerous, especially after longer
periods of heavy rainfall and damp
weather.
If you are in areas susceptible to
landslides and debris flows, consider
leaving if it is safe to do so.
Remember that driving during an
intense storm can be hazardous. If
you remain at home, move to a
second story if possible. Staying out
of the path of a landslide or debris
flow saves lives.
Mitigation
Preparedness
Response
Recovery.
Mitigation:
Mitigation efforts attempt to prevent
hazards from developing into disasters
altogether, or to reduce the effects of
disasters when they occur. The mitigation
phase differs from the other phases because
it focuses on long-term measures for
reducing or eliminating risk.
Mitigative measures can be structural or
non-structural. Structural measures use
technological solutions, like flood levees.
Non-structural measures include legislation,
land-use planning and insurance. Mitigation
is the most cost-efficient method for
reducing the impact of hazards; however it
is not always suitable. Mitigation does
include providing regulations regarding
evacuation, sanctions against those who
refuse to obey the regulations (such as
mandatory evacuations), and communication
of potential risks to the public. Some
structural mitigation measures may have
adverse effects on the ecosystem.
A precursor activity to the mitigation is the
identification of risks. Physical risk
assessment refers to the process of
Preparedness:
Preparedness is a continuous cycle of
planning, organizing, training, equipping,
exercising, evaluation and improvement
activities to ensure effective coordination
and the enhancement of capabilities to
prevent, protect against, respond to, recover
from, and mitigate the effects of natural
disasters, acts of terrorism, and other manmade disasters.
In the preparedness phase, emergency
managers develop plans of action to manage
and counter their risks and take action to
build the necessary capabilities needed to
implement
such
plans.
Common
preparedness measures include:
Response:
The
response
phase
includes
the
mobilization of the necessary emergency
services and first responders in the disaster
area.
This is likely to introduce:
1.
2.
3.
4.
firefighters
police
ambulance
disaster
relief
operation(military)
5. Non combatant evacuation
operation
6. Special rescue teams
at the site of the disaster prone areas.
A well rehearsed emergency plan
developed as part of the preparedness
phase enables efficient coordination of
rescue. There is a need for both
Recovery:
The aim of the recovery phase is to
restore the affected area to its previous state.
It differs from the response phase in its
focus; recovery efforts are concerned with
issues and decisions that must be made after
immediate needs are addressed.
Recovery efforts are primarily concerned
with actions that involve rebuilding
destroyed property, re-employment, and the
repair of other essential infrastructure.
Efforts should be made to "build back
better", aiming to reduce the pre-disaster
risks inherent in the community and
infrastructure.
An important aspect of effective recovery
efforts is taking advantage of a window of
opportunity
for the implementation of mitigative
measures that might otherwise be unpopular.
In the United States, the National Response
Plan dictates how the resources provided by
the Homeland Security Act of 2002 will be
used in recovery efforts.
It is the Federal government that often
provides the most technical and financial
assistance for recovery efforts in the United
States.
India
Reduction = Mitigation
Readiness = Preparedness
Response
Recovery
Risk Assessment
Analyses of climatologically
records to determine how often
tropical cyclones have strucktheir intensities and locations.
a) An Integrated Warning/Response
System
Specific preparedness measures to counter
the impact of tropical cyclones may be
classified into two categories:
10
11
12
13
Conclusion:
We cannot predict any of the disasters, but we can prevent them by mitigation and
management techniques.
So, to keep INDIA safe from all the disasters, we should have minimum knowledge about
disasters and their mitigation and management techniques.
Save greenery and Mother India from all the disasters.