Disaster Management in India: challenges and suggestions
In India, there is a need to examine the following challenges:
1. Urban vulnerability and disasters
Rapid urban growth, as a result of the sharp economic development, is one of the main factors contributing to increased vulnerability to natural hazards in India. Unplanned urban growth results in a generalized increase in damage in case of earthquakes, floods and similar disasters. Once a disaster occurs, its direct and secondary impacts can become enormous. It is recognized that sustainable development, whether it is a developing country or an industrialized country, has to rely also on measures to counter urban vulnerability to natural disasters. Therefore, it is indispensable to undertake risk assessments based on vulnerability indicators, to build cities with reduced vulnerability, as well as to build capacity to recover from disasters and to reconstruct the affected urban areas rapidly.
2. Response to climate change
Additionally, it is necessary to respond to the effect of extreme climate fluctuations. For example, due to rise in average temperature caused by global warming, the number and intensity of cyclones and typhoons, or El Nino related disasters, such as droughts and floods, are anticipated to increase. In addition, it is pointed out that rise in sea level and temperature will increase the risk of storm surge in island and low-lying coastal countries and extend the liquefaction of alluvial lands in time of earthquakes. In this regard, it is suggested to carry out a research on the correlation between climate change and disasters with a long-term view as well as to strengthen international cooperation to establish and improve early warning systems at national, regional, and international levels.
3. Multi-disciplinary and inter-sectoral cooperation to address emerging challenges
In order to confront the problems mentioned above, it is vital to strengthen cooperation among various sectors, including some whose primary mandate may not explicitly include disaster reduction. Considering that social aspects as poverty and environmental degradation are the main factors to increase vulnerability, it is crucial to involve in disaster reduction actors of various fields, such as education, the media, environment, science and technology, and development planning. In addition, cooperation with academic and scientific sectors is relevant for the study on the correlation between climate and disasters and the development of improved early-warning systems.
4. Enhancement of Information Management Capacity
It is necessary to improve the collection, organization and dissemination of data (statistics and other relevant data) on the human, social, economic and environmental impact of disasters in order to demonstrate to policy and decision makers that disaster reduction is cost effective and conducive to sustainable development. The sharing of information and the networking among relevant actors in the information field is essential to ensure wider involvement and a greater impact in policy and decision making.
Suggestions
1. Urban vulnerability and disasters
- Promotion of disaster reduction strategies at the community level, in particular, to reduce vulnerability in urban areas and to promote activities to ensure safety through the development of culture of prevention.
- Promotion of risk assessment based on vulnerability indicators, to build cities with reduced vulnerability, as well as to build capacity to recover from disasters and to reconstruct the affected areas rapidly.
2. Response to climate change
- Promotion of research on the correlation between climate change and disasters with a long-term view.
- Establishment of improved early warning systems to reduce disasters caused by extreme events, such as floods and droughts.
3. Cooperation to address emerging challenges
- Establishment and strengthening of cooperation between various sectors of the community, such as education, the media, environment, development planning, science and technology in order to reduce the negative impacts of disasters.
- Participation of all sectors at the community level, such as the local governments, the private sector, NGOs, and other driving actors.
4. Enhancement of information management capacity
- Improvement of data collection and dissemination.
International Conferences on Disaster Management
The two major confrences that has been instrumental is suggesting guidelines and framework for Disaster Management, are Hyugo Framework and Yokohama strategy.
Hyogo Framework for Action
The UN World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR) was held from 18-22 January 2005, at the in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. Approximately 4,000 participants attended the WCDR, including representatives from 168 governments including more than 40 ministers, 78 UN specialized agencies and observer organizations, 161 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and 562 journalists from 154 media outlets. The WCDR aimed to increase the international profile of disaster risk reduction, promote its integration into development planning and practice, and strengthen local and national capacities to address the causes of disasters that hamper development in many countries.
The World Conference on Disaster Reduction was held from 18 to 22 January 2005 in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan, and adopted the present Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters (here after referred to as the “Framework for Action”).
The Conference provided a unique opportunity to promote a strategic and systematic approach to reducing vulnerabilitiesand risks to hazards.It underscored the need for, and identified ways of, building the resilience of nations and communities to disasters. The newly outlined Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) 2005-2015, aims at guiding stakeholders towards “Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters”, It also focuses on Disaster Risk Reduction through five priorities for action:
- Ensure that Disaster Risk Reduction is a national and a local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation.
- Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning
- Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels
- Reduce the underlying risk factors
- Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels.
The Yokohama Strategy
The Yokohama Strategy for a Safer World: Guidelines for Natural Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Mitigation and its Plan of Action (“Yokohama Strategy”), adopted in 1994, provides landmark guidance on reducing disaster risk and the impacts of disasters.
The review of progress made in implementing the Yokohama Strategyidentifies major challenges for the coming years in ensuring more systematic action to address disaster risks in the context of sustainable development and in building resilience through enhanced national and local capabilities to manage and reduce risk.
The review stresses the importance of disaster risk reduction being underpinned by a more pro-active approach to informing, motivating and involving people in all aspects of disaster risk reduction in their own local communities. It also highlights the scarcity of resources allocated specifically from development budgets for the realization of risk reduction objectives, either at the national or the regional level or through international cooperation and financial mechanisms, while noting the significant potential to better exploit existing resources and established practices for more effective disaster risk reduction.
Specific gaps and challenges are identified in the following five main areas:
(a) Governance: organizational, legal and policy frameworks;
(b) Risk identification, assessment, monitoring and early warning;
(c) Knowledge management and education;
(d) Reducing underlying risk factors;
(e) Preparedness for effective response and recovery.
These are the key areas for developing a relevant framework for action for the decade 2005–2015.Strengthening of information sharing and networking.
Disaster, Poverty and Development
Research and practice support the theory that there exists a strong correlation between disasters and poverty. It is well documented that those developing countries repeatedly subject to disasters experience stagnant or even negative rates of development over time. Hurricane Mitch, which destroyed as much as 70% of the infrastructure in Honduras and Nicaragua, is a prime example, having been blamed with reversing the rates of development in these and other Central American countries by at least a decade (and as much as 20 and 30 years in some areas). The same effect also has been witnessed in many of the areas affected by the 2004 tsunami and earthquake events in Southeast Asia and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. For countries with developing economies, the financial setbacks these events inflict can be ruinous, in contrast to their industrialized counterparts where a robust economy absorbs such impacts. In 2001, for example, earthquakes occurred both in El Salvador and in the United States (Seattle), each causing approximately $2 billion in damages. While this amount had little or no noticeable impact on the U.S. economy, the financial consequences in El Salvador amounted to 15% of that country's GDP.
The aftermath of a disaster exacerbates the debilitating causes of poverty in developing countries. Each disaster is unique in its consequences, so there is no single formula that can be used to characterize precisely how these problems will play out. Within minutes of the December 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean, much of the economic and social progress in the Maldives was washed away. According to government officials, the tsunami caused a 20-year setback in the development of this small country, an island nation off the coast of India, which only 6 days before the disaster had been removed from the UN's list of least-developed countries. In particular, the tsunami and its resulting floodwaters dealt a serious blow to the tourism sector, the country's main source of income. Nearly one-fourth of the 87 resorts in the Maldives were severely damaged and declared unable to operate. Tourism directly accounts for one-third of the country's economy, with the resorts alone providing between 25,000 and 30,000 jobs. When tourism-related tax and customs revenues are included, tourism contributes up to 70% of the economy, with the sector expanding each year. These earnings had helped to improve living standards in the Maldives, including increased school enrollment, lower unemployment, and more students seeking higher education abroad.
The Maldivians hope to get their fair share of the international aid pledged to help tsunami-affected countries. But most of all they hope to see tourists returning, as this is key to getting their country's socioeconomic development back on track. Schools, health clinics, jetties, power stations, and telephone lines were all badly damaged due to the tsunami, and repairing them will put a strain on the state budget for years to come.
Increased accuracy in the reporting of disaster statistics has helped to provide both greater visualization and confirmation of something many scientists and disaster managers have been warning of for decades; the nature of disasters is rapidly changing. These changes are generally regarded as a result of human actions and development patterns. What is troubling is that these trends indicate that more disasters are occurring each year, with greater intensity, and that a great many more people are affected by either indirectly or directly. And while these disasters are becoming less deadly worldwide, they are causing a much greater financial impact on both affected and unaffected nations. Finally, and what may be the most disturbing of these trends, is that the poor countries of the world and their citizens are assuming a much greater proportion of the impacts of disasters. In sum, recent trends indicate that
1. The number of people affected by disasters is rising.
2. Overall, disasters are becoming less deadly.
3. Overall, disasters are becoming more costly.
4. Poor countries are disproportionately affected by disaster consequences.
5. The number of disasters is increasing each year.
