We all know that we cannot prevent most of these disasters but we can certainly prepare ourselves and be

better equipped to withstand these calamities

A review of the headlines from the recent times remind us how often a crisis can strike in the workplace, at
home and in any part of our country. India has been traditionally vulnerable to natural disasters on account of
its unique geo-climatic conditions. Floods, droughts, cyclones, earthquakes and landslides have been recurrent
phenomena. About 60% of the landmass is prone to earthquakes of various intensities; over 40 million
hectares is prone to floods; about 8% of the total area is prone to cyclones and 68% of the area is susceptible
to drought. The super cyclone in Orissa in October, 1999, the Bhuj earthquake in Gujarat in January, 2000, the
Tsunami in the coastal States and the Earthquake in Jammu and Kashmir underscored that even as substantial
scientific and material progress has been made, the loss of lives and property due to disasters has not
correspondingly decreased. In fact, the human toll and economic losses have mounted. At the global level also,
there has been considerable concern over natural disasters.
In view of the increasing importance of disaster management, there is a need for us civil engineers to look into
various aspects of disaster management, with particular emphasis on putting in place an efficient institutional
mechanism, and recommending specific measures that would help in disaster management.
th

As we all know an earthquake of magnitude 7.4 on the Richter scale occurred on 8 October, 2005 at 0920
hours with its epicentre located at Muzaffarabad. Because of its impact, large parts of the State of Jammu &
Kashmir were affected causing loss of lives and extensive damage to property. The earthquake also affected
some parts of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and its impact was felt in most parts of Northern India. The State
of Jammu & Kashmir has been the worst affected. Uri and Tangdhar in Baramulla and Kupwara districts
respectively bore the brunt of the earthquake and reported heavy casualties in terms of human lives and
extensive damage to property. More than 1300 people lost their lives in the State, more than 6000 persons
were injured, and more than 40,000 houses were damaged. The State Governments, Government of India,
Armed Forces and Central Para Military Forces have responded promptly to the situation by providing relief
material for the earthquake affected areas. But let us not forget that it was the local community and the local
administration that provided immediate relief. The State Government of Jammu and Kashmir, our armed
forces, and the voluntary organisations need to be complimented for their efforts, which have won them
international accolades.
Disaster management-the international scenario:
Disasters do not respect national boundaries. Each year there are major natural and man made disasters which
cause heavy loss of human lives and destruction of properties. The international community has also
recognized disaster management as a top priority item. The Yokohama message emanating from the
international decade for natural disaster reduction in May 1994 underlined the need for an emphatic shift in
the strategy for disaster mitigation. It was inter-alia stressed that disaster prevention, mitigation,
preparedness and relief are four elements which contribute to and gain, from the implementation of the
sustainable development policies. These elements along with environmental protection and sustainable
development, are closely inter related. Therefore, nations should incorporate them in their development
plans and ensure efficient follow up measures at the community, sub-regional, regional, national and
international levels. The Yokohama Strategy also emphasized that disaster prevention, mitigation and
preparedness are better than disaster response in achieving the goals and objectives of vulnerability
reduction. Disaster response alone is not sufficient as it yields only temporary results at a very high
cost. Prevention and mitigation contribute to lasting improvement in safety and are essential to integrated
disaster management.
A review of the Yokohama strategy was carried out recently. The review stressed 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 highlighted 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.
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.
The following were the important findings of the review:
The Principles contained in the Yokohama Strategy retain their full relevance in the current context, which is
characterized by increasing commitment to disaster reduction;
An integrated, multi-hazard approach to disaster risk reduction should be factored into policies, planning and
programming related to sustainable development, relief, rehabilitation, and recovery activities in post-disaster
and post-conflict situations in disaster-prone countries;
A gender perspective should be integrated into all disaster risk management policies, plans and decisionmaking processes, including those related to risk assessment, early warning, information management, and
education and training;9 Keeping in view the fact that often children and women suffered the most in such
situations.
Cultural diversity, age, and vulnerable groups should be taken into account when planning for disaster risk
reduction, as appropriate; communities and local authorities should be empowered to manage and reduce
disaster risk by having access to the necessary information, resources and authority to implement actions for
disaster risk reduction;
Disaster-prone developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing States,
warrant particular attention in view of their higher vulnerability and risk levels, which often greatly exceed
their capacity to respond to and recover from disasters;
There is a need to enhance international and regional cooperation and assistance in the field of disaster risk
reduction.
The promotion of a culture of prevention, including through the mobilization of adequate resources for
disaster risk reduction, is an investment for the future with substantial returns. Risk assessment and early
warning systems are essential investments that protect and save lives, property and livelihoods, contribute to
the sustainability of development, and are far more cost-effective in strengthening coping mechanisms than is
primary reliance on post-disaster response and recovery;
There is also a need for proactive measures, bearing in mind that the phases of relief, rehabilitation and
reconstruction following a disaster are windows of opportunity for the rebuilding of livelihoods and for the
planning and reconstruction of physical and socio-economic structures, in a way that will build community
resilience and reduce vulnerability to future disaster risks;

Disaster risk reduction is a cross-cutting issue in the context of sustainable development and therefore every
effort should be made to use humanitarian assistance in such a way that risks and future vulnerabilities will be
lessened as much as possible.
Drawing on the conclusions of the review of the Yokohama Strategy, and on the basis of deliberations at the
World Conference on Disaster Reduction, in 2005 in Kobe, Hyogo Japan the following action points were
identified.
i.
Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a local priority with a strong
institutional basis for implementation.
ii.

Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning.

iii.

Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience

at all levels.
iv.

Reduce the underlying risk factors.

v.

Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels.

The new approach in India:

We in India have also kept pace with the international developments. The Government of India has brought
about a paradigm shift in the approach to disaster management. 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. The new policy also emanates from the belief that investments in mitigation are
much more cost effective than expenditure on relief and rehabilitation.
The changed approach is being put into effect through:
Institutional changes
Enunciation of policy
Legal and techno-legal framework
Mainstreaming Mitigation into Development process
Funding mechanism
Specific schemes addressing mitigation
Preparedness measures
Capacity building
Human Resource Development
Community participation.
The most noteworthy step in this direction has been the passage of the National Disaster Management Act.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) instituted under the Act will work in accordance with all

other institutions spread across the country to anticipate the disaster and prevent it from causing huge
damage. The concept is that disaster should be anticipated and preparation to deal with them should be made
before they occur, through well out policies and institutional arrangements. The change in the policy and
approach to natural calamities has necessitated a shift to pre-disaster aspects of mitigation, prevention and
preparedness. In keeping with this shift, new institutional mechanisms are being put in place.. Such Authorities
are to come up at the State and District levels as well. There are provisions in the Act for the constitution of a
National Institute of Disaster Management, the creation of a National Disaster Response Force, National
Disaster Response Fund and National Disaster Mitigation Fund.
From our past experiences we have learnt many lessons in disaster management. Some of the problems in the
past have been:
i.

Lack of disaster preparedness at all levels.

ii.

Lack of mitigation planning

iii.

Lack of communication networking and dissemination of information among states

iv.
delegation
v.

Delayed response due to mismanagement of

relief, resources, manpower and duty

Lack of Interface and Coordination with State, District Administration & Community

Toning up the cutting edge:

Whatever institutional mechanism we may put in place, whatever technology may be inducted, preventive
measures have to be taken by the community and the local administration, the first response to disaster, that
too in the golden hour comes from the community and the local administration. Therefore our focus in the
workshop was to deliberate on making the field organizations effective and empowering the community in all
aspects of disaster management ranging from preventive measures to rehabilitation. We expect the
deliberations in this workshop would result in practical, solutions. I am sure that there have been several good
practices that have been adopted by various States. We need to learn from them and there is also a need to
upscale them.
Specialised agencies in the field:
The National Disaster Management Act stipulates the setting up of a National Disaster Response Force. This
would certainly help in relief and rescue measures. But at the same time we should be cautious that the
existing agencies like the Civil Defence, Home Guards, Territorial Army, NCC should not be lost sight of.
Earthquakes, the major threat in the region: The entire Himalayan region is seismically very active; as a result
earthquakes and landslides are quite common. The effect of landslides is local but the impact of earthquakes is
quite widespread. But it is worth mentioning that earthquakes by themselves do not kill, it is the collapse of
houses and buildings that leads to casualties. The easiest way to tackle earthquakes is to have buildings that
are earthquake-proof. This is easier said than done. It is here that better building practices, improved
technologies, having suitable building bye-laws etc can be of great help. We can draw lessons from countries
like Japan, where earthquakes are more frequent but because of better planning and preparedness they have
be able to mitigate the hardships caused by earthquakes, to a large extent.
Conclusion: I would conclude my talk by giving some suggestions.
n

A holistic and proactive approach is required towards disaster management.

n Community involvement & awareness generation. Community to be made the first line of defence. Local
Self Governments to play the crucial role.
n

Close interaction between corporate sector, NGO, media and Govt.

n
Youth Organizations and Student Bodies like NCC/NSS/ Scouts & Guides to be provided training in
Emergency Response and Awareness Generation.
n
Disaster Management to be made an essential component of initial training for Government
functionaries.
n Media professionals to be sensitized and encouraged to integrate Disaster Management components in
different programmes for public awareness.
n
All hazard-prone areas to have community-based disaster preparedness plansDisaster Management
Committees [DMCs], Disaster Management Teams [DMTs] and Volunteer Task Forces [VTFs]
n

Roles and responsibilities to be defined in the Disaster Management Plan/code.

Regular training and drills organized through local-self Governments

Preparation of inventory of local resources and their management.

Making realistic disaster management plans. Keeping them updated through mock drills.

Protecting the interests of the vulnerable sections. As it is they who suffer the most.

Also, In the upcoming months, the Civil Engineering dept of NIT Trichy will continue with a number of
initiatives such as its public education and community outreach programmes which include interactive
sessions with the private sector, community groups and educational institutions
I hope the conference delivered valuable suggestions, which would inspire to become the recommendations of
the towards mitigating hardships caused by disasters. I thank one and all for making this conference a grand
success.