Disaster Management Cycle - Phases

1. Prevention : Activities aimed at trying to prevent future disasters occurring, such as building
dykes or a dam to control flooding.

2. Mitigation : Activities aimed at trying to mitigate the impact of a disaster if prevention is not
possible, such as building schools to be more earthquake resistant.

3. Preparedness : Activities aimed at trying to prepare communities for a disaster, such as

emergency drills or pre-stocking relief items in logistic hubs.

4. Disaster : An event that causes significant damage to people, property and infrastructure.

5. Response : Activities aimed at understanding needs and responding to them, including rapid
assessments, provision of food and non-food items, provision of water, sanitation and hygiene
services, and health and shelter interventions.

In the immediate hours and days after a disaster, when search-and-rescue activities are critical, it
is most often local actors who are first to respond. Information is often patchy and confused;
there can be significant damage to infrastructure, and large movements of people.

6. Recovery : Activities aimed at trying to return communities to normal life, such as

livelihoods development or formal education.

Recovery activities can start when the disaster has stabilized, and the affected population has
access to food and water and some form of transitional shelter. This stage is sometimes divided
into two : early recovery and medium-term recovery.

7. Reconstruction : Activities aimed at rebuilding infrastructure and housing. This can often
take years and many activities may also blend back into mitigation, such as retrofitting schools
to make them more earthquake resistant.

Disaster risk management includes sum total of all activities, programs and measures which can
be taken up before, during and after a disaster with the purpose to avoid a disaster, reduce its
impact or recover from its losses.
Stages of Disaster Management

(1) PREVENTION
Prevention consists of actions that reduce risk from natural or manmade disaster incidents. It is
required to list and elaborate all types of measures (like - building codes, floodplain
management, storm water management, coastal area zoning and management plan, etc.) –
planned and implemented by the districts as a part of prevention measures.

It is good to have long term mitigation goals in place and connect these goals with measures that
district has planned and implemented.

These goals may include (but not limited to):

1. Provide better early warning methods for flood, storms, cyclone

2. Reduce the destruction and loss of life within buildings
3. Provide for safer environments for transportation systems
4. Eliminate flooding in populated areas
5. Ensure redundant water supply systems
6. Reduce environmental degradation and restoration of livelihood
7. Reduce effects of the natural environment on the infrastructure
8. Ensure redundant power systems on critical facilities
9. Ensure adequate materials available for road maintenance

Protection reduces or eliminates a threat to people, property and the environment. Primarily
focused on adversarial incidents, the protection of Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources
(CIKR) is vital to local districts, national security, public health & safety and economic vitality.
Protection includes actions or measures taken to cover or shield assets from exposure, injury or
destruction. Protective actions may occur before, during or after an incident and prevent,
minimize or contain the impact of an incident.
(2) MITIGATION
Mitigation activities actually eliminates or reduce the probability of disaster occurrence or
reduce the effect of unavoidable disaster. Mitigation measures include: Building codes ,
preventive healthcare and public education.

Major mitigation measures

a) Disaster resistant house construction

Hazards like earthquake and cyclones do not kill people , but inadequately designed and badly
constructed buildings do. One of the major mitigation measure is the construction of disaster
resistant house by adopting safe construction practices and technology , the possibility of
disaster risk can be minimized to a great extent.

b) Population reduction in vulnerable area

There is relation between the number and magnitude of losses from a disaster and the size of the
population. If there are more people and structures, there will be more of the Impact. Population
growth means more people will be forced to live and work in unsafe areas and that more people
are competing for limiting number of resources which may lead to conflict. So, the authorities
have to take measures to reduce population in vulnerable areas.

c) Awareness

Cooperation among disaster response agencies and the public is essential for the success of
response operation. The foundation of such cooperation can be made during the disaster
preparedness stage. Agencies involved in the response operation lead to inform the public in the
risk area about the official response plans as well as educate them about basic local
preparedness measures that can be taken to reduce the impact of the disaster.

Mitigation, with its focus on the impact of a hazard, encompasses the structural and
nonstructural approaches taken to eliminate or limit a hazard‘s exposure; impact on people,
property and the environment. Besides flood proofing, river desiltation, change in land use
pattern and shelter belt plantation, examples of mitigation activities also include:

1. Town Planning Act: Planning, adopting and enforcing stringent building codes, flood-
proofing requirements, seismic design standards and cyclone wind-bracing requirements for
new construction or repairing existing buildings.

2. Zoning Regulations: Planning and adopting zoning ordinances that steer development away
from areas subject to flooding, storm surge or coastal erosion.

3. Development Control Regulations: Incorporate the disaster management concerns into

development. This should include all Government Sponsored Developmental Programs and
Schemes.

4. Undertaking retrofitting work on public buildings to withstand ground shaking or cyclone-

strength winds.

5. Specificity of disaster:
5.1 Cyclone: In areas prone to cyclones, critical infrastructure, school and other community
buildings to be built at elevated places. Keep trees and shrubs trimmed. Remove damaged and
decayed parts of trees to make them resist wind and reduce the potential for damage. Removal
of hoardings before specified period of cyclone.

6. Land use regulation: Planning and building community shelters and cyclone safe rooms to
help protect people in their homes, public buildings and schools in hurricane and tornado-prone
areas.

7. Safety norms for economic and social infrastructures including places of worships and crowd
management: Steps taken for developing and implementing public safety norms for critical
infrastructures and places of worships.

8. Capacity Building for Mitigation: Steps taken for human resource development and capacity
building for effective disaster mitigation at District Level.

9. Awareness generation on disaster mitigation.

10. DRR in all developmental activities.

(3) PREPAREDNESS
Disaster preparedness refers to the activities taken to prepare for and reduce the effects of
disaster. It involves the measures to predict and prevent disaster , mitigate the impact on
vulnerable population , and respond to and effectively cope with the consequences.

Disaster preparedness provide a platform to design effective , realistic , and coordinated

planning, reducing the duplication of efforts , and increase the overall effectiveness. Disaster
preparedness activities consist of risk reduction methods that can prevent disaster situations and
also result in saving maximum lives and livelihood. This enables the affected population to get
back to normalcy within a short period of time.

Disaster preparedness consists of a set of measures undertaken by governments, organisations,

communities or individuals to better respond and cope with the immediate aftermath of a
disaster, whether it be human-made or caused by natural hazards.

Disaster preparedness
• Preparedness should be in the form of money, manpower and materials
• Evaluation from past experiences about risk
• Location of disaster prone areas
• Organization of communication, information and warning system
• Ensuring co-ordination and response mechanisms
• Development of public education programme
• Co-ordination with media
• National & international relations
• Keeping stock of foods, drug and other essential commodities

Objectives of disaster preparedness

1. Increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of disaster emergency response mechanism.

2. The development and regular testing of warning mechanism.

3. The education and training of officials and population at risk.

4. The establishment of emergency response policies, standards, organizational arrangements

and operational plans to be followed after a disaster.

5. Strengthening community based disaster preparedness.

6. Developing activities that are useful for communities addressing everyday risk and for
responding to emergency situations

Structural and non-structural measures in disaster prevention and preparedness planning

Structural measures

• Any physical construction to reduce or avoid possible impacts of hazards, or application of

engineering techniques to achieve hazardresistance and resilience in structures or systems;

Non-structural measures
• Any measure not involving physical construction that uses knowledge, practice or agreement
to reduce risks and impacts, in particular through policies and laws, public awareness raising,
training and education.

Disaster preparedness measures

Disaster preparedness is a broad term that describes a set of measures that minimizes the
adverse effect of a hazard including loss of life and property and disruption of livelihood.
Disaster preparedness is achieved partially through the readiness measures and also through
community based approaches and activities.

Disaster preparedness involves the following activities:

1. Preparing hazard zonation maps.

2. Predictability (forecasting) and warning

3. Preparing disaster preparedness plan

4. Land use zoning

5. Preparedness through I.E.C( information , education and communication)

a) Preparing hazard zonation maps

Maps are easy to read and understand and provide quick information in an emergency .Hazard
zonation maps can be useful for showing the general pattern of risk threatening a certain
population and the capacities they possess for overcoming those risk. These maps can be used to
highlight local resources and capacities such as skills, food reserves, emergency housing options
, businesses , community and social organizations , local leaders , transportation sources etc.
The following are the different types of hazard zonation maps:

 Bathymetric maps: These maps shows the depth and slope of ocean floor near the shore and
are used to assess the potential impact of sudden changes of sea level on coastal areas.

 Epicenter maps: These maps shows the location of earthquake epicenter.

 Desertification maps: These maps identify areas currently or potentially subject to

desertification.

 Landslide maps: These maps shows the areas where landslides have occurred.

 Volcano maps: These maps identify the location of volcanic activity can be observed or
inferred.

 Wind storm maps: These maps include information on wind direction and velocity of past
hurricanes.

 Flash flood maps: These maps contain information about areas historically affected by
flashflood.
b) Predictability and warning

The purpose of early warning system is to detect, forecast and when necessary issue alerts
related to hazards about to happen, in order to fulfill a risk reduction function .Early warning
needs to be supported by information about the actual and potential risk that a hazard cause as
well as the measures people can take to mitigate and prepare for its adverse impact .Early
warning information comes from a number of sources:

Eg: meteorological officers, ministers of health and agriculture, local and indigenous sources,
media sources etc.

Early warning system has limitation in terms of saving lives, if they are not connected to people
centered network. To be effective early warning system must be understandable, trusted by
relevant to the communities that they serve. It focuses on establishing and utilizing local
networks to raise awareness and educate community to take actions to ensure their safety.

c) Disaster preparedness plan

A disaster preparedness plan is an arrangement that helps organizations ensure readiness in the
event of disasters such as drought, flood, tropical cyclone, wildfire, winter storm, and others. It
is a guide on processes and procedures on how to evacuate, recover, and continue operations
should a disaster strike. It is used to protect employees and business operations in preventing
severe business damages.

The concept of preparedness planning is very important and for those involved in the disaster
management during actual emergency quick and effective action is required , This action
depends on preparedness.

Disaster preparedness planning involves identify organizational resources , determining roles

and responsibilities , developing policies and procedures and planning preparedness activities
aimed at ensuring timely disaster preparation and effective emergency response.

Features of a Disaster Preparedness Plan

(i) Create a Team

Appoint a team that will manage and communicate the disaster preparedness plan to all
responsible personnel. Make sure responsibilities are clear and precise to avoid any
miscommunication.

(ii) Assess the risk

Every business has different vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Determine the possibilities of
disasters that are most likely to affect the business and assess how to return to operations in the
quickest time possible.

(iii) Develop a plan

Address immediate priorities including escape routes, first aid, and disaster preparedness kits.
Ensure emergency equipment such as generators and emergency lights are reliable and efficient.
Focus on a recovery plan to be able to run a continuous operation even when disaster strikes.

(iv) Provide Training

Set a practice drill to execute the plan together with all employees to ensure readiness when a
disaster occurs. It is recommended to set up training courses such as evacuation plan strategy to
boost employee awareness and accountability.

(v) Understand emergency alerts

Check the possible type of disasters that may occur in the business area and understand each
alert level. Identify the process of how to keep informed and updated about the disaster during
and after it strikes.

(vi) Communicate

Collaborate with other organizations to have a unified plan when a disaster occurs. Prepare
contact details of government authorities for immediate reference when help is needed.

d) Land use zoning

Land use zoning is concerned with the segregation of land into different area for each type of
use such as agriculture, industrial, recreational and residential. This decides what kind of
structure and activities are allowed in certain zones.

Zoning and subdivision controls are the means by which government can regulate and control
both land pattern and development in both rural and urban area. It can take the following forms:

 Land use macro zoning Macro zoning is the establishment of land planning at regional level.
Such zoning is an effective tool to control overall location of various human activities.

 Land use micro zoning Macro zoning is the detailed preparation of land maps by the local
bodies and public authorities fixing specific land areas for each purpose such as residential,
educational, commercial etc.

e) Preparedness through I.E.C (Information , Education and communication)

Disaster preparedness and response depends upon gathering , analyzing and acting on timely
and accurate information before , during and after a disaster. This involves public education
campaigns , training of response team etc. It aims to promote an informed and alert and self
reliant community capable of disaster management activity.

Planning is the one of the key elements in the Preparedness cycle. Preparedness cycle illustrates
the way the plans are continuously evaluated and improved through a round of planning,
organizing, training, equipping, exercising, evaluating and taking corrective actions.

1. IRT: As per NDMA‘s IRS guidelines which prescribe Incident Response Team (IRT) at
District, Sub-Division, Tehsil and Block level should be constituted under the written directives
of District Magistrate (DM). These teams will include experienced officers / employees at all
levels and respond to all natural and man-made disasters. The lowest administrative unit (Sub-
Division, Tehsil or Block) will be the first responder as the case may be. IRT at all levels will
have same structure, i.e. IC supported with Operation, Planning and Logistic sections. The IRTs
are to be predesignated at all levels.

2. District Emergency Operations Centre (DEOC): District Emergency Operations Centre

becomes a nodal point for overall coordination of planning and response. Its main duty is to
ensure that the EOC facility has required communication (connecting all stakeholders vertically
and horizontally), Decision support system, alert and warning system in working conditions.
EOC SOP

1. Emergency numbers existing for Police, Fire and Medical support etc. are linked to the EOC
for response, command and control under an SOP. For e.g., if there is any fire incident, the
information should not only reach the fire station but also the EOC and the nearest hospital to
gear up the emergency medical service.

2. NGOs carry out their activities in an equitable and non-discriminatory manner. Set up
wherever possible an NGO Coordination Centre.

3. Ensure that telephone directory of all ESF is prepared and available with EOC and members
of IRTs.

4. Ensure that adequate exercises are conducted for testing the plan and gaps analyzed.

5. Outline plan to receive support from State and Central Government in a major disaster (e.g.
helipads, evacuation, food distribution, medical support).
(4) RESPONSE/ RELIEF

Disasters affect the entire community .The immediate effects include the loss of lives, and
damage to property and infrastructure, with the survivors , some of whom may have been
injured in the disaster, they are left without adequate shelter, food and water and other
necessities to sustain life. Rapid action is required to prevent further loss of life .The primary
aim of disaster response are rescue from immediate danger and stabilization of physical and
emotional condition of survivors. The social, economic and physical consequences of disaster
are complex. Some of them are:
 Disrupt vital community self-help networks, further increasing vulnerability.
 Disrupt market over a wide area reducing the availability of food and opportunities for income
generation.
 Destroy essential health infrastructure such as hospitals, resulting in a lack of emergency and
long term medical care for affected population.
 The situation may be compounded by secondary threats such as earthquake aftershocks,
epidemics etc.

Emergency Response
When disaster strikes the first response is to save lives. While each disaster creates unique
circumstances, the following general areas will form part of the response.

a) Search and rescue : Finding those who may be trapped under affected areas.
b) Assessment of needs : Finding out what is required, in what quantities and for whom.
c) Health : Providing medical care and preventing the spread of diseases through immunization,
Provision of safe water and food, waste disposal etc.
d) Basic needs : Procuring a distributive food, shelter and clothing.
e) Livelihood and economic : Helping people to earn a living to speed their recovery.
f) Emotional support : Counseling and reuniting separated families.
g) Logistics : Transporting people and equipment.
h) Finance Obtaining, allocating and accounting for money.
i) Communication : Providing affected people with information.
j) Infrastructure : Re-building roads, electricity, telephone networks, water pipe lines and waste
disposal system.

(5) RECOVERY
It refers to those programs which go beyond the provision of immediate relief to assist those
who suffered from the impact of disaster. As the emergency is brought under control, the
disaster affected population is capable of undertaking activities aimed at restoring their lives and
infrastructure that support them.

Recovery activities continue until all systems return to normal or better. Recovery measures
includes returning vital life supporting system, temporary housing, public information, health
and safety, education, reconstruction, counseling programs and economic studies
(6) RECONSTRUCTION & REHABILITATION
Immediately after relief activities, post disaster rehabilitation is carried up to restore the normal
functions of public services, business and commerce to repair housing and other structures and
to return production facilities to operation.

Recovery encompasses both short-term and long-term efforts for the rebuilding and
revitalization of affected communities. Recovery planning must provide for a near-seamless
transition from response activities to short-term recovery operations—including restoration of
interrupted utility services, re-establishment of transportation routes and the provision of food
and shelter to displaced persons. Planners should design long-term recovery plans to maximize
results through the efficient use of resources and incorporate national recovery doctrine.
Following should form a part of this section: -

1. Damage assessment mechanism

2. Restoration of basic infrastructure Short term - Restoration of Basic Infrastructure including

roads, bridges, drinking water supply, electricity, communication network and roads/ paths
leading to the villages; Restoration/ Repair of the lifelines/critical buildings – repair/reconstruct
the lifeline buildings /critical buildings which are necessary for treating the affected people or
rehabilitation in these buildings as shelters.

3. Reconstruction and Repairs

4. Recovery program (both short and long term)

The nodal departments are to be assigned the responsibilities of reconstruction and restoration
activities, perform these activities diligently and restore the minimum basic infrastructure in the
area which is vital for sustaining human life in the area. These departments are PWD, Health &
family welfare, Electricity Boards, Development authority, Roads and Buildings, water supply
and sanitation departments.