What is Disaster Management ?

Different Names Around the World
Depending where in the world they’re located, hurricanes have different names. The name hurricane is given to systems that develop over the Atlantic or the eastern Pacific Oceans. In the western North Pacific and Philippines, these systems are called “typhoons” while in the Indian and South Pacific Ocean, they are called “cyclones”.

The super cyclone in Odissa in October, 1999 and the Bhuj earthquake in Gujarat in January, 2001 underscored the need to adopt a multi-dimensional endeavour involving diverse scientific, engineering, financial and social processes; the need to adopt multi disciplinary and multi-sectoral approach and incorporation of risk reduction in the developmental plans and strategies.

Typhoon John
Typhoon John formed during the 1994 Pacific hurricane season, and is both the longest-lasting and second-farthest traveling typhoon ever observed. It followed an 8,000-mile path and lasted 31 days in total. It was also one of the few number of tropical cyclones to ever be designated as both a hurricane and a typhoon.

Over the past 2 years, the Government of India have brought about a paradigm shift in the approach to disaster management.

The Carrington Event
In 1859, the planet recorded the largest solar storm on record. A solar storm is caused by the outer layer of the Sun ejecting a massive quantity of charged particles, or radiation, towards the Earth. The Carrington Event, named for the British Astronomer Richard Carrington, caused geometric disturbances that damaged telegraph systems around the world. The storm passed within a few days, but were the event to occur today, it could disrupt telecommunications and cause trillions of dollars in damage.

The new approach proceeds from the conviction that development cannot be sustainable unless disaster mitigation is built into the development process. Another corner stone of the approach is that mitigation has to be multi-disciplinary spanning across all sectors of development.

Ice Storm of 1998
The Ice Storm of 1998 was one of the largest natural disasters in Canadian History. Quebec, Ontario, and some north-eastern staes were struck by the storm. Multiple layers of freezing rain caked everything with thick, heavy ice, causing tremendous damage. The storm was blamed for 35 deaths, and millions of people were without power for weeks.

The new policy also emanates from the belief that investments in mitigation are much more cost effective than expenditure on relief and rehabilitation.

Covered in Glaze
Another name for ice storms are Glaze Storms, because the landscape becomes covered with a smooth, transparent layer of ice called a glaze. The glaze is so heavy that it can split trees, down power lines, and shut down entire cities with damage.

Disaster management occupies an important place in this country's policy framework as it is the poor and the under-privileged who are worst affected on account of calamities/disasters.

Destructive Walls of Water
As eapproach the shore, the ocean floor creates friction. This causes the waves to slow down and build up from behind, creating a more cohesive wall of water. The sea floor also forces the wall of water upwards from the depths, creating the wave’s incredible height.

Sailors Don’t Notice Them
On the surface of the open ocean, a tsunami wave may be less than a foot tall, and are usually not noticed by sailors. This is because the wave is contained within the depths of the ocean.

The steps being taken by the Government emanate from the approach outlined above.

Faster than a speeding bullet
Tsunamis move across the sea at a speed of up to 500 mph, which is about as fast as a jet plane. Moving at that pace, they can cross the Pacific Ocean in less than a day without much energy loss.

The approach has been translated into a National Disaster Framework [a roadmap] covering institutional mechanisms, disaster prevention strategy, early warning system, disaster mitigation, preparedness and response and human resource development

Wave Train
A Tsunami is not actually a single wave, but is a series of waves known as a “wave train”. Many people have described Tsunamis as sounding like a freight train.

The expected inputs, areas of intervention and agencies to be involved at the National, State and district levels have been identified and listed in the roadmap.

The Fire Triangle
More than 100,000 wildfires occur in the United States each year. Natural Wildfires occur when lightning strikes dry/dead wood or plants creating a spark, and wind and air make the fire spread. Because of the water shortages, wildfires have been particularly common in recent years.

Super Volcano
If the Yellowstone Caldera (super volcano) were to erupt again, effect would be so devastating that it could cause global temperatures to plummet which would lead to famine. The most devastating effect would be the wind-flung ash. Everything within 500 miles surrounding Yellowstone might be covered in over 4 inches of ash.

This roadmap has been shared with all the State Governments and Union Territory Administrations. Ministries and Departments of Government of India, and the State Governments/Union Territory Administrations have been advised to develop their respective roadmaps taking the national roadmap as a broad guideline

One Person Displaced Every Second
Since 2008, it’s estimated that 26.4 million people have been displaced from their homes by natural disasters, which is the equivalent of about 1 person per second.

There is, therefore, now a common strategy underpinning the action being taken by all the participating organisations/stakeholders.

The Disaster Management Act, 2005 (23 December 2005), was passed by the Rajya Sabha on 28 November, and by the Lok Sabha, on 12 December 2005. It received the assent of The President of India on 9 January 2006.

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is an agency of the Ministry of Home Affairs whose primary purpose is to coordinate response to natural or man-made disasters and for capacity-building in disaster resiliency and crisis response

NDMA was established through the Disaster Management Act enacted by the Government of India in December 2005