MISCELLANEOUS GENERAL KNOWLEDGE―4

DEFENCE AND INTERNAL SECURITY

The supreme command of the defence forces is vested in the President of India. However, the responsibility for
Commissioned Ranks
Army Navy Air Force
General Admiral Air Chief Marshal
Lt. General Vice Admiral Air Marshal
Major General Rear Admiral Air Vice Marshal
Brigadier Commodore Air Commodore
Colonel Captain Group Captain
Lt. Colonel Commander Wing Commander
Major Lt. Commander Squadron Leader
Captain Lieutenant Flight Lieutenant Indian Armed Forces Emblem
Lieutenant Sub-Lieutenant Flying Officer

national defence lies with the Cabinet. The Ministry of Defence and the three Service Headquarters exercise all
operational and administrative control.
The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional
uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force. Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces
are supported by the Indian Coast Guard and paramilitary organisations (Assam Rifles, and Special Frontier
Force) and various inter-service commands and institutions such as the Strategic Forces Command,
the Andaman and Nicobar Command and the Integrated Defence Staff. The President of India is the Supreme
Commander of the Indian Armed Forces.

Army
The Indian Army originated from the armies of the East India Company, which eventually became the British
Indian Army, and the armies of the princely states, which finally became the
national army after independence. The primary objective of the navy is to
safeguard the nation's maritime borders, and in conjunction with other Armed
Forces of the union, act to deter or defeat any threats or aggression against the
territory, people or maritime interests of India, both in war and peace. Through
joint exercises, goodwill visits and humanitarian missions, including disaster relief,
Indian Navy promotes bilateral relations between nations.
No. of Commands Indian Army Crest
S.No. Command Headquarters
1 Western Command Chandimandir 10 Divisions, 3 Corps and 5 Brigades
2 Eastern Command Kolkata 10 Divisions and 3 Corps
3 Northern Command Udhampur 7 Divisions, 3 Corps and 1 Brigade
4 Southern Command Pune 7 Divisions, 2 Corps and 2 Brigades
5 Central Command Lucknow Currently no units assigned
6 Training Command Mhow Nodal Agency for all institutional training in Army
7 South Western Command Jaipur 7 Divisions, 2 Corps and 3 Brigades

Tanks
1. T-90 Bhishmna (Main Battle Tank – MBT) 2. DRDO Arjun (Lion) MDT 3. DRDO Tank EX.MDT Ex
(Karna) 4. T-90 Main Battle Tank (MBT)5. BMP-2 (BpyevayaMashinaPekhoty) 6. Infentary Fighting
Vehicle (IFV) 7. T-72 (Ural) MBT 8. BMD-1 (BoyevayaMashibaDesanta)9. BMP-1
(BpyevayaMashinaPekhoty) 10. Vickers MBT (VMBT) 11. T-55 Medium Tank/MBT 12. PT-76
Amphibious Light Tank Combat Vehicle
Indian Navy
The Indian Navy traces its origins back to the East India Company's Marinewhich was founded in 1612 to
protect British merchant shipping in the region. In 1793, the East India Company established its rule over
eastern part of the Indian subcontinent i.e. Bengal, but it was not until 1830 that the colonial navy was titled
as His Majesty's Indian Navy.
No. of Commands
S.No. Command Headquarters
1 Western Naval Command Mumbai
2 Eastern Naval Command Vishakhapatnam
3 Southern Naval Command Cochin

Andaman and Nicobar (under Joint Command)

Naval Fleets
There are two fleets, the Western and Eastern Fleet consisting of two aircraft carriers, viz:
INS Vikramaditya (formerly AdmirialGorshikov): is a modified Kiev-
classaircraftcarrier procured at a total cost $2.3 billion from Russia in December 2013. Indian Navy Crest
INS Viraat : largest and recently acquired aircraft carrier commissioned in 1987 and
decommissioned in 2017.
Submarines and Missile Boats.
INS Chakra, India’s first nuclear powered sub-marine which was on lease from former USSR, has been
decommissioned and returned.
INS Arihant commissioned in 2016, fitted with nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines.
INS Vighuti, India’s first indigenously built missile boat was launched on April 26, 1990 at Mazagon docks,
Mumbai.
INS Shalki, India’s first indigenously built submarine was commissioned on February 7, 1992.
INS Shankul, the second submarine was launched on an March 21, 1992.
Other important submarine areSindughosh (Soviet Kilo), Sishumar (German T-209/1500) Kursura (Soviet
Foxtrot)

Air Force
It was officially established on 8 October 1932 as an auxiliary air force of the British
Empire which honoured India's aviation service during World War II with the
prefix Royal. After India gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, the
name Royal Indian Air Force was kept and served in the name of Dominion of India.
With the government's transition to a Republic in 1950, the prefix Royal was removed.
No. of Commands
There are five operational and two supporting commands, viz:

S. Command
No.
Indian Air Force Crest
1 Western Air Command (WAC) New Delhi
2 South-Western Air Command (SWAC) Gandhinagar, Gujarat
3 Central Air Command (CAC) Allahabad, UP
4 Eastern Air Command (EAC) Shillong, Meghalaya
5 Southern Air Command (SAC) Thiruvanthapuram, Kerala

Functional Commands:
6 Training Command (TC) Bangalore, Karnataka
7 Maintenance Command (MC) Nagpur, Maharashtra
Combat Aircrafts
Within each operational command are anywhere from nine to sixteen bases or stations, each commanded by
an air commodore. A station typically has one wing and one or two squadrons assigned to it. These are:

Combat Aircrafts
Combat Aircrafts―MiG-21; MiG-29; Sukhoi Su-30; HAL Tejas; Mirage 2000, and DassaultRafale.
Attack Aircrafts―SEPECAT Jaguar; Mig-27
Trainer Aircrafts―MiG21, MiG-23, SEPECAT Jaguar; Mirage 2000; BAE Hawk; HAL Kiran; Pilatus PC-7.
AWACS―EMB-145; Beriev A-50
Electronic Warfare―Gulfstream III
Reconnaissance―Boeing 707, Global 5000, Gulfstream G100; Pipistrel Virus
Transport―Boeing 737; Boeing C-17; Ilyushin Il076; Antonov An-32; Embraer Legacy 6000; Dornier Do 228;
C-130J Super Hercules; Hawker Siddeley HS 748.
Helicopters―Mil Mi-17; CH-47 Chinnok; Mul Mi-26; HAL Dhruc; HAL Chetak; HAL-Cheetah; Mil Mi-24;
Boeing AH-64
Army Aviation Corps
HAL Dhruv―total 145 in service
HAL Chetak―total of 4 in service, licence-built versions of Abouette III
HAL Cheetah―total of 32 in service.

Coast Guard Regions

The Indian Coast Guard was formally established on 18 August 1978 by the Coast
Guard Act, 1978 of the Parliament of India as an independent Armed force of
India. It operates under the Ministry of Defence. The establishment of the Indian
Coast Guard was first proposed by the Indian Navy to provide non-military
maritime services to the nation.
The Coast Guard works in close cooperation with the Indian Navy, the Department
of Fisheries, the Department of Revenue (Customs) and the Central and State
police forces.
There are five Regional HQs viz:
Indian Coast Guard Crest
S.No. Regional HQs Location
1. Western Region (W) Mumbai
2. North East Region (NE) Kolkata
3. Eastern Region (E) Chennai
4. Andaman & Nicobar Region (A&N) Port Blair
5. North West Region (NW) Gandhi Nagar

Major Defence Establishment

Military Training Institutes
1. National Defence Academy, Khadakvasla
2. Indian Military Academy, Dehradun
3. National Defence College, New Delhi
4. Defence Service Staff College, Wellington, Tamil Nadu
5. Air Defence and Guided Missiles School, Gopalpur, Orissa
6. Rashtriya Indian Military College, Dehradun
Air Force Training Centres
1. Air Force Flying College, Jodhpur
2. Air Force School, Tambaram
3. Air Force Administrative College, Coimbatore
4. School of Aviation Medicine, Bangalore
5. Air Force Technical College, Jalahalli
6. Air Force School, Jalahalli
7. Jet Training Wing and Transport Training Wing, Hakimpet and Begumpet (Hyderabad)
8. I.A.F. Paratroopers’ Training School, Agra
Naval Training Centres
1. INS Valsura, Jamnagar
2. INS Garuda, Cochin
3. INS Venduruthy, Cochin
4. INS Shivaji, Lonabala, Maharashtra
5. INS Angre, Mumbai
6. INS Kunjali, Mumbai
7. INS Circars, Vishakhapatnam
8. INS Hamla, Mumbai
9. Indian Naval Academy, Cochin

CENTRAL ARMED POLICE FORCES

Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)―CRPF is the largest Central Armed Police Force of the country
entrusted with the responsibility of enabling the Government in maintaining rule of law, public order and
internal security effectively and efficiently and to preserve national integrity and promote social harmony &
development by placing service and loyalty above self.
Assam Rifles (AR)―the oldest parliamentay force of India. It today perform many roles including the
provision of internal security under the control of the army through the conduct of counter insurgency and
border security operations, provision of aid to the civilians in times of emergency, and the provision of
communications, medical assistance and education in remote areas.
Border Security Forces (BSF)―It is a Central Armed Police Force charged with guarding India's land border
during peacetime and preventing transnational crime. It is a Union Government Agency under the administrative
control of Ministry of Home Affairs.
Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)―Central Industrial Security Force is a premier multi-skilled
security agency of the country mandated to provide integrated security cover to major critical infrastructure
installations of the country in diverse areas.
Indi-Tibetan Border Force (ITBP)―ITBP Force is a border guarding Force under Ministry of Home Affairs,
(GOI) and assigned to guard the India- China border.
National Security Guard (NSG)―It is a counter terrorism organiation raised in 1984 after the assissination of
Indira Gandhi for combating terrorist activities with a view to protect sttes against internal disturbances and
terrorist attacks.
Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB)―SSB guards 1751 Km Indo-Nepal and 699 Km of Indo-Bhutan Border. SSB is a
people friendly force laying emphasis on managing perception of the border population through civic action
plan.

INDIA’S MISSILE DEVELOPMENT

India launched the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP) in 1983 to concurrently develop
and produce a wide range of missiles for surface-to-surface and surface-to-air roles. The IGMDP mandate
development of the Agni, Prithvi, Trishul, Akash, Nag and Astra missile systems is managed by the DRDO.

Agni: Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) manufactures the various Agni missiles and has the capacity to
manufacture 18 missiles per year. A small number (less than five) of Agni-II (range 3300 km; payload 1000kg)
missiles were believed to be operational in late 2000, and a production rate of 15 to 20 missiles per year has
been suggested.
Agni Variants available
Agni-IMRBM700 – 900 km (Operational)Agni-IIMRBM2,000 – 3,000 km (Operational)Agni-
IIIIRBM3,500 – 5,000 km (Operational)Agni-IVIRBM3,000 – 4,000 km (Operational)Agni-VICBM5,000 –
8,000 km (Testing)Agni-VIICBM8,000 – 10,000 km (Under development)

Prithvi―Nuclear, Hem Submunitions, FAE, Chemical. It comes in four variants:

―SS-150/Prithvi-I is a battlefield support system for the army (range 150km, 1000 kg payload). It is a single
stage, dual engine, liquid fuel, road-mobile, short-range surface-to-surface missile;
―SS-250/Prithvi-II is dedicated to the Indian Air Force (range 250 km, 500-750 kg payload). DRDO has
decided to increase the payload capability of the SS-250/Prithvi-II variant to 1000 kg by using boosted liquid
propellant to generate higher thrust-to-weight ratio;
―SS-350/Prithvi-III and a 1000 kg payload. Sagarika and Prithvi-III are two different acronyms for the same
missile. A related program, known as Project K-15, is in development and will enable the missile to be launched
from a submerged submarine;
―Dhanush: The system can fire either the SS-250 or the SS-350 variants and are the naval variant.

Akash: It is a medium-range, theatre defence, surface-to-air missile. It operates in conjunction with the
Rajendra surveillance and engagement radar. The Akash system meant for the Army uses the T-72 tank chassis
for its launcher and radar vehicles. The Rajendra derivative for the Army is called the Battery Level Radar-
III. This system will replace the SA-6/Straight Flush in Indian service and is also expected to be integrated with
the S-300V (SA-10 Grumble) low-to-high altitude SAM in an integrated air defence system to counter
SRBM/IRBM threats along the Pakistani and Chinese boarders.

Astra: It is a state-of-the-art beyond visual range air to air missile (BVRAAM) designed for a range of over 80
km in head-on mode and 20 km in tail-chase mode. It can engage highly manoeuvring targets. The goal of Astra
missile programme is to provide the Indian Air Force (IAF) with an indigenously-designed BVRAAM to equip
the IAF’s Mirage 2000, MiG-29, Su-30MKI and the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA). A model of the Astra missile
was first shown to the public at Aero India’98.
Nag: It is a tbird generation, all wather, top-attack fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile. It is one of five
missile system developed by the (DRDO) under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP).
Design work on the missile started in 1988 and the first tests were carried out in November 1990. Full-scale
production commenced in 2003.

Trishul: It is a short range, quick reaction, all weather surface-to-air missile designed to counter a low-level
attack. It has been flight tested in the sea-skimming role and also against moving targets. It has a range of 9 km
and is fitted with a 5.5 kg HE-fragmented warhead. It’s detection of target to missile launch is around 6 seconds.
The missile can engage targets like aircraft and helicopters, flying between 300 m/s and 500 m/s by using its
radar command-to-line-of-sight guidance. It operates in the K-band (20-40 GHz), which makes it difficult to
jam.

Brahmos: It is a Supersonic Cruise Missile that can be launched from submarine, ship, aircraft and land based
Mobile Autonomus Launchers (MAL). The missile is launched from a Transport-Launch Canister (TLC), which
also acts as storage and transportation container. Primarily BRAHMOS is an anti-ship missile. It has the
capability to engage land based targets also. The missile can be launched either in vertical or inclined position
and will cover 360 degrees.

INDIAN RAILWAYS
Indian Railways has grown into Asia’s largest and the world’s fourth largest railway system. It is the biggest
nationalized undertaking and the largest single employer in India. It was founded in 1845 and is presently
headquartered in New Delhi.
Indian Railway in Numbers
 Route Length: 67,360 kms of route length  Total Track Length: 1,21,400 km  1.308 million employees 
Transports 1.16 billion tonnes of freight annually  Transports 8.26 billion passengers annually  11450+
locomotives  70900+ passenger coaches  275000+ freight wagons 

Zones of Indian Railways

S.No. Zone Headquarters Divisions

1 Central Railway Mumbai VT 1) Mumbai
2) Nagpur
3) Bhusawal
4) Pune
5) Sholapur
2 East Coast Railway Bhubaneswar 1) Khurda Road
2) Waltair (Vizag)#
3) Sambhalpur
3 Eastern Central Railway Hajipur 1) Danapur
2) Mugalsarai
3) Dhanbad
4) Sonpur
5) Samastipur
4 Eastern Railway Kolkata 1) Howrah-I
2) Howrah-II
3) Sealdah
4) Malda
5) Asansol
6) Chitaranjan
7) Kolkata Metro
5 North Central Railway Allahabad 1) Allahabad
2) Jhansi
3) Agra
6 North Eastern Railway Gorakhpur 1) Izzatnagar
2) Lucknow
3) Varanasi
4) DLW
7 North Western Railway Jaipur 1) Jaipur
 2) Jodhpur
3) Bikaner
4) Ajmer
8 North-East Frontier Railway Maligaon- 1) Kaithar
Guwahati 2) Alipurduar
3) Rangiya
4) Lumding
5) Tinsukia
9 Northern Railway New Delhi 1) Delhi-I
2) Delhi-II
3) Ambala
4) Moradabad
5) Lucknow
6) Firozpur
10 South Central Railway Secunderabad 1) Secunerabad
2) Hyderabad
3) Guntakal*
4) Vijaywada*
5) Nanded
11 South East Central Railway Bilaspur 1) Bilaspur
2) Nagpur
3) Raipur
12 South Eastern Railway Garden Reach, 1) Kharagpur
Kolkata 2) Adra
3) Chakradharpur
4) Ranchi
5) Shalimar
13 South Western Railway Hubli 1) Bangaluru
2) Mysore
3) Hubli
4) RWF/YNK
14 Southern Railway Chennai 1) Chennai
2) Madurai
3) Palghat
4) Trichy
5) Trivandrum
15 West Central Railway Jabalpur 1) Jabalpur
2) Bhopal
3) Kota
16 Western Railway Mumbai 1) BCT
Churchgate 2) Vadodara
3) Ahmedabad
4) Ratlam
5) Rajkot
6) Bhavnagar
17 South Coast Railway Visakhapatnam 1) Vijayawada*
(It is the new zone created by shifting Vijayawada 2) Guntur
and Guntakal divisions form South Central Zone. 3) Guntakal*
Also, Waltair (Vizag) division form East Coast
Zone was merged into Vijayawada division)
*There is an another zone that is directly administered under Indian Railways is Kolkatta Metro.

DISASTER AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT

Disaster
A catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence in any area, arising from natural or man-madecauses, or by
accident or negligence which results in substantial loss of life or human suffering ordamage to, and destruction
of property, or damage to, and degradation of environment and is of sucha nature or magnitude as to be beyond
the coping capacity of the community of the affected area.
Disaster Management
A continuous and integrated process of planning, organising, coordinating and implementing measureswhich are
necessary or expedient for prevention of danger or threat of any disaster; mitigation or reduction of risk of any
disaster or its severity or consequences; capacity building; preparedness todeal with any disaster; prompt
response to any threatening disaster situation or disaster; assessingthe severity or magnitude of effects of any
disaster; evacuation, rescue and relief; and rehabilitationand reconstruction.

Important Terms related to Disasters

Afforestation―Systematic plantation in a deforested area to increase its forest cover.
Cloudburst―Rain storm of great intensity usually over a small area for a short duration.
Co-Seismic Landslides―Landslides triggered or induced by earthquakes.
Creep―Any extremely slow slope movements which are imperceptible except through long-
periodmeasurements.
Debris―The slope forming material that contains a significant proportion of coarse material; 20 per cent to
80per cent of the particles are larger than 2mm; the remainder less than 2mm in size.
Debris Avalanche―A debris avalanche is an extremely rapid downward movement of rocks, soil, mud and
other debrismixed with air and water.
Debris Flow―A mixture of water and clay, silt, sand and rock fragments that flows rapidly down steep slopes.
Adebris flow is slower than a mudflow.
Debris Slide―A debris slide is a jumble of material (clay, silt, sand and rock fragments) that moves downhill.
Deforestation―Removal of a forest by human activity.
Earthquake―An earthquake is a series of vibrations on the earth’s surface caused by the generation of
elastic(seismic) waves due to a sudden rupture within the earth during release of accumulated strain energy.
Elements at Risk―The population, properties, economic activities, including public services, etc., that are at
risk in agiven area.
Factor of Safety―Factor of safety for a slope or a landslide, irrespective of the shape of the failure surface, is
expressedin terms of the proportion of the measured shear strength that must be mobilised to just
maintainlimiting equilibrium. At limit equilibrium, the factor of safety of a slope in a deterministic analysis is
unity.
Fall―The more or less free and extremely rapid descent of masses of soil or rock, of any size from steepslopes
or cliffs is called a fall.
FlashFlood―Very fast rise and recession with characteristics of small volume flow and high discharge, which
causeshigh damage because of suddenness and force.
Flow―The downward movement of a loose mixture of debris, water and air that moves in a fluid like manner.
Gravity―Gravity is a constant force exerting a pull on everything on or above the earth’s surface in a
directiontowards the centre of the planet.
Hazard―A threatening event or the probability of occurrence of a potentially damaging phenomenon (e.g.,
anearthquake or a large flood) within a given time period and area.
High Risk Area―Geographical area which falls under seismic zones III, IV and V, vulnerable to the potential
impact ofearthquakes, landslides, rock falls, and mudflows.
Landslide―Landslides are downward and outward movement of slope materials such as rock debris and earth,
under the influence of gravity.
LandslideDam―When landslides occur on the slopes of a river valley, the sliding mass may reach the bottom
of thevalley and cause partial or complete blockage of the river channel. This accumulated mass of
landslidedebris resulting in blockage of a river is commonly termed as landslide dam.
Landslide Hazard Map―Map of spatial and temporal extent of landslide hazard. It indicates those areas that
are, or could be,affected by landslides, assessing the probability of such landslides occurring within a specific
periodof time.
Landslide Inventory―Documentation of all the known landslide incidences including stabilised, dormant,
reactivated, andmost recent slides.
Landslide Risk Map―A map that integrates landslide hazard, landslide vulnerability and quantification of
elements at risk.
Landslide Susceptibility Map―A map that ranks slope stability of an area. It shows locations where landslides
may occur in future(without a definite time frame). These maps go beyond an inventory map and depict areas
that havethe potential for landsliding.
Liquefaction―Liquefaction is a phenomenon in which the shear strength and stiffness of a soil is reduced by an
earthquake or other rapid loading due to collapse of soil structure and temporary increase in porewaterpressure.
Local Authority―It includes panchayati raj institutions, municipalities, a district board, cantonment board,
town planningauthority or Zilla Parishad or any other body or authority, by whatever name called, for the time
being
invested by law, for rendering essential services, or, with the control and management of civic services,within a
specified local area.
Mitigation―Measures aimed at reducing the risk, impact or effects of a disaster or threatening disaster
situation.
Mudflow―A fast flow of a mixture primarily of the smallest silt and clay particles oversaturated with water. A
mudflow has the consistency of newly mixed concrete.
Non-Structural Measures―Non-engineered measures to reduce or avoid possible impacts of hazards which
include education,training, capacity development, public awareness, communication, etc.
Preparedness―The state of readiness to deal with a threatening disaster situation or disaster and the effects
thereof.
Resilience―The capacity of a system to tolerate perturbation or disturbances without collapsing into a
qualitativelydifferent state, to withstand shock and rebuild whenever necessary.
Risk―The anticipated number of lives in danger, damage to property and disruption of economic activitydue to
a particular natural phenomenon.
RiskAssessment―The determination of the nature and extent of risk by analysing potential hazards and
evaluating existingconditions of vulnerability that could pose a potential threat or harm to people, property,
livelihood,and the environment.
RiskManagement―The systematic process of using administrative decisions, organisation, operational skills,
and capacitiesto implement policies, strategies, and coping capacity of the society and communities to lessen
theimpact of hazards.
SeismicHazard―In the context of engineering design seismic hazard is defined as the predicted level of ground
acceleration which will be exceeded by 10 per cent over the probability of hazard at the site underconstruction
due to occurrence of earthquake, anywhere in the region, in the next 50 years.
SeismicRetrofitting―The structural modifications to upgrade the strength, ductility and energy dissipating
ability ofseismically deficient or earthquake-damaged structures.
Snow Avalanche―Snow Avalanche is a slide of snow mass down a mountainside. It is a rapid, down slope
movement oflarge detached mass of snow, ice and associated debris such as rock fragments, soil and vegetation.
SpecificRisk―The expected degree of loss due to a particular natural phenomenon.
StateAuthority (SDMA)―State Disaster Management Authorities established under sub-section (l) of section
14 of the DisasterManagement Act, 2005, and includes the disaster management authorities of union territories.
StateGovernment―The department of the state government having administrative control of disaster
management andincludes the administrator of a union territory appointed by the President of India under article
239 ofthe Constitution.
StructuralMeasures―Any physical construction to reduce or avoid possible impact of hazards, which include
engineeringmeasures and construction of hazard-resistant, protective structures and infrastructure.
Vulnerability―The degree of loss to a given element at risk or set of such elements resulting from the
occurrence
of a natural (or man-made) phenomenon of a given magnitude and expressed on a scale from 0 (nodamage) to 1
(total loss).

HAZARDS
Hazard may be defined as “a dangerouscondition or event, that threat or have thepotential for causing injuryto
life or damageto property or the environment.” The word‘hazard’ owes its origin to the word ‘hazard’in old
French and ‘az-zahr’ in Arabicmeaning ‘chance’ or ‘luck’. Hazards can begrouped into two broad categories
namelynatural and manmade.
1. Natural hazards are hazards which arecaused because of natural phenomena(hazards withmeteorological,
geological oreven biological origin). Examples of naturalhazards are cyclones, tsunamis, earthquakeand
volcanic eruption which areexclusively of natural origin. Landslides,floods, drought, fires are socio-
naturalhazards since their causes are both naturaland man-made. For example, flooding maybe caused because
of heavy rains, landslideor blocking of drains with human waste.
2. Manmade hazards are hazards whichare due to human negligence. Manmadehazards are associated with
industries orenergy generation facilities and includeexplosions, leakage of toxic waste, pollution,dam failure,
wars or civil strife etc.Various types of hazards
Geological Hazards Water & Climatic Environmental Hazards Accident related
1. Earthquake Hazards 1. Environmental 1. Boat/Road/Train accidents/
2. Tsunami 1. Tropical Cyclone pollutions air crash Rural/Urban fires
3. Volcanic eruption 2. Tornado and 2. Deforestation 2. Forest fires
4. Landslide Hurricane 3. Desertification 3. Building collapse
5. Dam burst 3. Floods 4. Pest Infection 4. Electric Accidents
6. Mine Fire 4. Drought 5. Festival related Bomb/serial
5. Hailstorm bomb disasters blasts
Chemical, Industrial 6. Cloudburst Biological 6. Mine flooding
and Nuclear 7. Landslide 1. Human / Animal
Accidents 8. Heat & Cold Epidemics
1. Chemical disasters wave 2. Pest attacks
2. Industrial disasters 9. Snow Avalanche 3. Food poisoning
3. Oil spills/Fires 10.Sea erosion 4. Weapons of Mass
4. Nuclear Destruction

DISASTER RISK REDUCTION

It can take place in the following ways:
Preparedness
lThis protective process embraces measures which enable governments, communitiesand individuals torespond
rapidly to disaster situations to cope with them effectively.Preparedness includes the formulation of viable
emergency plans, the developmentof warning systems, the maintenance of inventories and the training of
personnel.
lIt may also embrace search and rescue measures as well as evacuation plans forareas that may be at risk from a
recurring disaster.
lPreparedness therefore encompasses those measures taken before a disaster eventwhich are aimed at
minimising loss of life, disruption of critical services, and damagewhen the disaster occurs.
Mitigation
lMitigation embraces measures taken to reduce both the effect of the hazard and thevulnerable conditions to it in
order to reduce the scale of a future disaster. Therefore, mitigation activities can be focused on the hazard itself
or the elements exposed tothe threat.
lExamples of mitigation measures which are hazard specific include watermanagement in drought prone areas,
relocating people away from the hazard proneareas and by strengthening structures to reduce damage when a
hazard occurs.
lIn addition to these physical measures, mitigation should also aim at reducing theeconomic and social
vulnerabilities of potential disasters.

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