Disaster Management can be defined as the organization and management of
resources and responsibilities for dealing with all humanitarian aspects of
emergencies, in particular preparedness, response and recovery in order to
lessen the impact of disasters.
For India, the major hazards are earthquakes, landslides, drought,
cyclones, floods, forest fires, fire accidents etc. Rapid growth in the
population rate has certainly triggered the level of disasters. Natural
disasters can only be mitigated but the man-made disasters can be prevented to
a certain limit. India has taken many steps and has formed many organizations
in order to mitigate, reduce and avoid the hazards of the disasters.
In India, the role of emergency management falls within the jurisdiction
of the national disaster management authority of India (NDMA), which is doing a
great job in reducing the hazardous impacts of the disaster and is
operating from a government-centered approach to decentralized community participation.
But it needs much more sustained efforts to come out with a well-thought
out strategy and response to minimize the colossal damage caused by disasters
whenever a calamity has struck, for instance tsunami and Uttarakhand floods in
recent times. We have not been able to mount adequate rescue and rehabilitation
efforts to effectively deal with the situation.
Types of Disasters
There are two majorly
two types of disasters:
1. Natural disasters
2. Man-made disasters
Natural
disasters are the disasters caused due to natural reasons which are beyond
the control of humans including floods, hurricanes, earthquakes and volcano
eruptions that have immediate impacts on human lives.
Man-made
disasters also known as the complex emergencies are the disasters caused
due to major accidents like fires, the breakdown of authority, looting and
attacks, including conflict situations and war.
Disaster
management is a continuous phenomenon of mitigating the impact of the
disasters. Disaster management calls for collective and co-ordinated efforts. A
number of activities need to be undertaken in the event of disaster. These
include co-ordination, command and control, rapid assessment of damage,
restoration of power, tele-communication and surface transport, deployment of
search and rescue teams, medicals and Para-medical teams, arrangements for
drinking water and food material, setting up of temporary shelters, sanitation
and hygiene identification and earmarking of resources, last but not the least,
maintenance of law and order is equally important.
The most vulnerable
sections in these disasters are the poor. Hence it is necessary to mobilize
them towards preparedness for any emergency. Quick and timely response is the
essence in providing immediate relief and rescue operations, to save human
lives and mitigate miseries as soon as possible.
India has set up many
departments and organizations for the same i.e. National disaster management
authority (ndma), national remote sensing centre (nrsc), central water
commission (cwc) etc. And due to the presence of so many authorities it is not
feasible for all of them to take steps in a single direction.
Conclusion
Disaster management
has assumed great importance in recent times. To handle any unforeseen
situation efficiently, we need to be well-equipped with latest technologies. It
cannot avert the outbreak of disaster, but can mitigate its impact to a large
extent.
