Disaster Management in

India
Past, Present and Future
BY :ANKUR DWIVEDI
CLASS : IX ‘A’
CENTRAL ACADEMY
C.H.B.,JODHPUR
 Disasters in India
Moving away from the Great Bengal famine of
1769-1770 in which a third of the population
perished.
The Chalisa famine of 1783, the Doji Bara or
Skull famine of 1790 to 1792, the North West
Provinces famine of 1838, the North West India
Famine of 1861, the Bengal and Orissa famine of
1866, the Rajputana famine of 1869, the famine
of 1899 to 1901, the Bengal famine of 1943ä

The drought years of 1965, 1972, 1979,

1987, 2002
 Indiaπs Vulnerability to
Disasters
57% land is vulnerable to earthquakes. Of
these, 12% is vulnerable to severe
earthquakes.
68% land is vulnerable to drought.
12% land is vulnerable to floods.
8% land is vulnerable to cyclones.
Apart from natural disasters, some cities in
India are also vulnerable to chemical and
industrial disasters and man-made disasters.
Seismic Activity in India
180 AD - 2004
 Areas of Concern
Mechanisms for integrating the scientific,
technological and administrative agencies for
effective disaster management
Activating an Early Warning System network
and its close monitoring
Terrestrial communication links which collapse
in the event of a rapid onset disaster
Vulnerability of critical infrastructures
(power supply, communication, water
supply, transport, etc.) to disaster events
 New Directions for Disaster
Management in India
The National Disaster Management Authority
(NDMA) has been set up as the apex body for
Disaster Management in India, with the Prime
Minister as its Chairman.
Disaster Management Authorities will be set up at
the State and District Levels to be headed by the
Chief Ministers and Collectors/Zilla Parishad
Chairmen respectively.
 Future Directions
Encourage and consolidate knowledge networks
Mobilise and train disaster volunteers for more
effective preparedness, mitigation and response
(NSS, NCC, Scouts and Guides, NYK, Civil Defence,
Defence
Homeguards)
Increased capacity building leads to faster
vulnerability reduction.
Learn from best practices in disaster preparedness
mitigation and disaster response
 Future Directions
Mobilising stakeholder participation of Self Help Groups,
Womenπs Groups, Youth Groups, Panchayati Raj
Institutions
Anticipatory Governance: Simulation exercises, Mock
drills and Scenario Analysis
Indigenous knowledge systems and coping practices

Living with Risk: Community Based Disaster Risk

Management
Inclusive, participatory, gender sensitive, child
friendly, eco-friendly and disabled friendly disaster
management
Technology driven but people owned

Knowledge Management: Documentation and

dissemination of good practices
Public Private Partnership
 Invest in Preparedness
Investments in Preparedness and
Prevention (Mitigation) will yield
sustainable results, rather than
spending money on relief after a
disaster.
Most disasters are predictable,
especially in their seasonality and the
disaster-prone areas which are
vulnerable.
Communities must be involved in
disaster preparedness.
 Best Practices
On 12 November, 1970 a major cyclone hit the
coastal belt of Bangladesh at 223 km/hr. with a
storm surge of six to nine meters height, killing
an estimated 500,000 people.
Due to the Cyclone Preparedness Program, the
April 1991 cyclone with wind speed of 225
km/hr. killed only 138,000 people even though
the coastal population had doubled by that time.

In May 1994, in a similar cyclone with a wind

speed of 250 km/hr. only 127 people lost their
lives.
In May 1997, in a cyclone with wind speed of
200 km/hr. only 111 people lost their lives.
 New possibilities
National Urban Renewal Mission for 70
cities: recent experience of
≥unprecedented≤ extreme weather
conditions in a few major metros and
megacities
100,000 Rural Knowledge Centres

( IT Kiosks): Need for Spatial e-Governance

for informed decision making in disaster-prone
areas: before, during and after disasters
Disaster Management in India
Presentation by
Ankur Dwivedi
Under Secretary
Govt. of India
Ministry of Home Affairs
Vulnerability
54% of land mass prone to earthquakes
40 million hectares(8%) of landmass prone to floods
8000 Km long coastline with two cyclone seasons
Drought – low and medium rainfall region which
constitute 68% of the total area vulnerable to
drought

Hilly regions vulnerable to avalanches

landslides/Hailstorms/ cloudbursts
Man-made disasters including those linked to
terrorism
Role of Central and State
Govts.

Basic responsibility for rescue, relief and rehabilitation

with the State Governments .
Central Govt. supplements the efforts of State Govts.
by
providing financial and logistic support in case of major
disasters.
Central Govt. Departments/Agencies
with nodal/coordinating responsibility
Ministry of Home Affairs for
natural disasters
(excluding drought and epidemics),
and

man made disasters including those related to use of

radiological, biological and chemical material by
terrorists.

Ministry of Agriculture for

drought management.
 Govt.’s approach to Disaster Management
Change in orientation from a primarily relief-centric
approach to a holistic approach emphasising mitigation,
prevention and preparedness besides strengthening
response, relief and rehabilitation mechanisms.
Creation of institutional mechanisms at National and
State levels to provide appropriate coordinating
platforms keeping in view the multi-disciplinary nature of
the activities required to be undertaken to reduce and
manage the risk from natural hazards.
Govt.’s approach to Disaster Management (contd.)
Tackling the problem of terrorism by adopting a multi-
pronged approach which inter alia includes :
strengthening and modernisation of security
arrangements and intelligence
diplomatic initiatives
encouraging a dialogue redressal of public grievances
accelerating economic development to provide
avenues for gainful employment
building up physical and social infrastructure
assistance for psychological and economic
rehabilitation of the victims of terrorist violence
Institutional / Policy framework
A National Framework for Disaster Management drawn
up focusing on institutional mechanisms, coordination,
monitoring, capacity building and human resource
development, mitigation measures, legal and policy
framework, preparedness and response, early warning
systems
States in the process of drawing up State level
frameworks. A National policy emphasizing
mainstreaming of disaster mitigation in the development
process particularly in areas with a high degree of
vulnerability to natural hazards.
 State level policies/legislations in the process of being
adopted/developed.
Preparedness to speed up Response
 Specialist emergency response teams of Central Para-

Military Forces being

trained and equipped for search & rescue in case of natural
disasters and for handling of radiological, biological and chemical
emergencies.
Creation/strengthening of specialist search & Rescue capability
at the level of States.
 14 Regional Response Centres being set up with caches of
equipment including boats etc.
Establishment of web enabled centralised inventory of resources
for disasters managers at District/State and National level to
minimise response time.
 Establishment/strengthening of Emergency Operation Centres
with hazard resistant structural features and failsafe
communication facilities at National, State and District levels.
National,
State and District level nodal points and
disaster/emergency sites.
 An Incident Command System being introduced to
professionalise the management of response to
disasters.
 Advance action by the relevant Ministries/Departments
at the National and State level by way of drawing up
Department specific Emergency Support Function
Plans, constituting response teams and designating
resources to be made available during an
emergency/disaster
 Laying down Standard Operating Procedures for
specific disasters