DWARAKA DOSS GOVERDHAN DOSS 

VAISHNAV COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS)

Linguistic Minority Institution
College with Potential for Excellence,
Affiliated to University of Madras
Accredited with A+ by NAAC
No.833, Gokul Bagh, E.V.R Periyar Salai
Arumbakkam, Chennai- 600106, Tamil Nadu, India

DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE

Submitted
By
M. RANJINI
20E1607
2013101034161

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
PROJECT REPORT
May-2022
Date of Submission: 31-05-2022
 Dwaraka Doss Goverdhan Doss Vaishnav College (Autonomous)
Linguistic Minority Institution
College with Potential for Excellence,
Affiliated to University of Madras
Accredited with A+ by NAAC
No.833, Gokul Bagh, E.V.R Periyar Salai
Arumbakkam, Chennai- 600106, Tamil Nadu, India

DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
PROJECT REPORT
May-2022

Name : M. RANJINI
Class : II B. Com
Section :A
Sub Code : 2013412
Sub Name : Environmental studies
Date of Submission : 31-05-2022

Faculty Signature Student Signature

(Dr.D. Jayaprakash) (M.RANJINI)
 INDEX
ASSIGNMENT
S.No Table of content Page No
1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 WHAT IS DISASTER? 1
1.2 TYPES OF DISASTER 2
1.3 DEFINITION OF DISASTER MANAGEMENT 2
1.4 DISASTER MANAGEMENT CYCLE 3
1.5 CAUSES FOR NATURAL DISASTERS 4
1.5.1 FLOODS 4
1.5.2 CYCLONE 5
1.5.3 EARTHQUAKE 6
1.5.4 LANDSLIDES 8
1.6 CAUSES FOR MANMADE DISASTERS 10
1.6.1 DEFORESTATION 10
1.6.2 CHEMICAL POLLUTION 11
1.6.3 ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION 12
1.7 AGENCIES INVOLVED IN DISASTER 13
MANAGEMENT
1.8 CONCLUSION 13

FIELD WORK

S.No Table of content Page No.

1 EVS Field Visit 1 Report (Beach Cleaning) 14
2 EVS Field Visit 2 Report (Street Cleaning) 16
3 EVS Field Visit 3 Report (Plantation of trees) 18
 DISASTER MANAGEMENT

INTRODUCTION:

Disaster management is the discipline of dealing with and avoiding both natural and
manmade disasters. It involves preparedness, response and recovery in order to lessen the
impact of disasters. All aspects of emergency management deal with the processes used to
protect populations or organizations from the consequences of disasters, wars and acts of
terrorism. 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. The
whole cycle of Disaster Management can be depicted by following figure 1.1.

Figure 1.1: Etymology

1.1. What is disaster?

Disaster is a sudden, calamitous event bringing great damage, loss, and destruction and
devastation to life and property. The damage caused by disasters is immeasurable and
varies with the geographical location, climate and the type of earth surface/degree of
vulnerability. This influences the mental, socio-economic, political and cultural state of
the affected area. Generally, disasters have the following effects in the concerned areas
i) It completely disrupts the normal day-to-day life.
ii) It negatively influences the emergency systems.
iii) Normal needs and processes like food, shelter, health, etc. are affected and
deteriorate depending on the intensity and severity of the disaster.
It may also be termed as “a serious disruption of the functioning of society, causing
widespread human, material or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected
society to cope using its own resources.”

Thus, a disaster may have the following main features: Unpredictability, Unfamiliarity,
Speed, Urgency, Uncertainty, and Threat.

Thus, in simple terms we can define disaster as a hazard causing heavy loss to life, property
and livelihood, e.g., a cyclone killing 10,000 people, or a crop loss of one crop can be termed
as disaster.

1.2. Types of disaster

Generally, disasters are of two types – natural and manmade. Based on the devastation,
these are further classified into major/minor natural disaster and major/minor manmade
disasters. Some of the disasters are listed in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Types of disaster.

Major Natural disasters Minor Natural disasters

 Flood  Cold wave
 Cyclone  Thunderstorms
 Drought  Heat waves
 Earthquake  Mud slides
 Storm
Major Manmade disaster Minor Manmade disaster
 Setting of fires  Road/train accidents, riots
 Epidemic  Food poisoning
 Deforestation  Industrial disaster/crisis
 Pollution due to prawn cultivation  Environmental pollution
 Chemical pollution
 Wars

1.3 DEFINITION OF DISASTER MANAGEMENT

 The Disaster Management Act of 2005 defines Disaster Management as an integrated
process of planning, organizing, coordinating and implementing measures which are
necessary for-

1. Prevention of threat of any disaster

2. Reduction of risk of any disaster or its consequences
3. Readiness to deal with any disaster
4. Promptness in dealing with a disaster
5. Assessing the severity of the effects of any disaster
6. Rescue and relief
7. Rehabilitation and Reconstruction

1.4 DISASTER MANAGEMENT CYCLE

There are no standardized rules defining the different phases of the disaster management
cycle. Different agencies use different cycles depending upon their objectives. However,
while approaches vary, it is agreed that disaster management activities should be carried out
in a cycle. The following figures illustrates the phases of the disaster management cycle,
which are described as follows:

 Mitigation - Minimizing the effects of disaster.

Examples: building codes and zoning; vulnerability analyses; public education.
 Preparedness - Planning how to respond.
Examples: preparedness plans; emergency exercises/training; warning systems.
  Response - Efforts to minimize the hazards created by a disaster.
Examples: search and rescue; emergency relief.
 Recovery - Returning the community to normal.
Examples: temporary housing; grants; medical care.

1.5. CAUSES FOR NATURAL DISASTERS

1.5.1. Floods

A flood is an expanse of water submerging land. A flood is caused by excess water in a

location, usually due to rain from a storm or thunderstorm or the rapid melting of snow. A
flood happens when an area of land, usually low-lying, is covered with water. The worst
floods usually occur when a river overflows its banks. The flood is constituted not only of the
overflowing water but also of all other waters that are unable to drain off into water channels.

Causes of floods

1) When snow on a mountain melt or when a river or a lake of some sort overflows
2) Flooding from water displacement, such as in a landslide,
3) The failure of a dam,
4) An earthquake induced tsunami
5) A hurricane’s storm surge or melt water from volcanic activity.
6) Flooding of Coastal areas by high tides or by tsunami waves caused by undersea
earthquakes.
7) A flood that rises and falls rapidly with little or no advance warning is called a flash
flood. Flash floods usually result from intense rainfall over a relatively small area.
Elements at risk

1) Buildings built of earth (mud), weak foundation and water-soluble material.

2) Basement of buildings.
3) Utilities such as sewerage, water supply.
4) Agricultural equipment and crops, vehicles, fishing boats etc.

Flood management

Flood management involves the following activities

1) Mapping- of the flood prone area

2) Land use control- no major development should be permitted in the areas subjected to
flooding.
3) Construction of engineered structures- strong structures to withstand flood forces.
Moreover, the buildings should be constructed on an elevated area and if necessary
should be built on stilts
4) Flood control- it aims to reduce flood damage. It includes: a) Flood reduction b) Flood
diversion c) Flood proofing

1.5.2. Cyclone
 The name cyclone was first coined by Captain Henry Piddington, Chairman of
Marine Court, Calcutta in 1848. It is derived from Greek word means coil of a snake.
Cyclone is a meteorological phenomenon in which an area of low pressure characterized
by inward spiralling winds that rotate counter clockwise in the northern hemisphere and
clockwise in the southern hemisphere of the earth. Near the places of their origin, they
are only 80 Km in diameter, but well-developed cyclones have their diameter ranging
from 300 to 1500 km. They move at faster rate over the oceans than over the land
because the irregularities of the land surface retard their speed. The six main types of
cyclones are polar cyclone, polar low, extra tropical, subtropical, tropical and
mesoscale.

1.5.3. Earthquakes and Mitigation Measures

Earthquake is those movements of the earth crust which make the ground vibrate and shake
backward and forward. The shaking of earth crust proceeds in the form of waves from the
centre of disturbance. Longitudinal waves, transverse waves and surface waves are the 3
types of waves. Earthquake may be caused by two types of forces.

1) Tectonic occurrence: tectonic occurrence like faulting, breaking of rocks, raising or

sinking of layers of the earth, folding of the strata or vapour seeking to escape from the earth.

2) volcanic activity: violent eruptions and intrusion of igneous magma from below the earth.
Types of earthquakes:

Volcanic earthquake: are associated with the flow of hot magma interrupting volcanoes.
These happen to be localized and seldom cause any extensive damage

Tectonic earthquake: are those

which result from structural and
judgments inside the earth.
Plutonic earthquake: are those
which have their origin at greater depths.
They may also be generated in the
same manner as the tectonic earthquake
far below the surface of the earth.

Effects of earthquake:

• Collapse of manmade structure like building, bridges, towers etc

• Roads get affected due to subsidence of the ground and enormous fissures appear
on land.

• Extensive landslides in hilly regions and rocky debris come down to block the path
of streams.

• When earthquake is accompanied by volcanic activity, the destruction is very

enormous.

Mitigation measures:

• Damage to structure can be avoided by prohibiting restriction on such earthquake

prone zones.

• Power lines and pipelines can be built with extra slack where they cross such
earthquake prone zones.

• New buildings should be constructed with proper earthquake resistant measures.

They require secure anchoring and tight bonding of foundations, frame, outer and
inner walls, floors and roofs.

• Vulnerable older building located in high-risk areas might be rebuilt to withstand

anticipated earth quake.

1.5.4. Land Slides and Mitigation Measures

In the recent years, intensive construction activity and the destabilizing forces of nature have
aggravated the land Slide problem. Landslides refer to the downward sliding of huge
quantities of land masses. Sliding occurs along steep slopes of hills of mountains. The rate of
movement of such a mass is never constant. Landslides occur as a result of changes on a
slope, sudden or gradual, either in its composition, structure, hydrology or vegetation. The
changes can be due to geology, climate, weathering, changing land use and earthquakes.

The causes of landslides may be grouped into two types:

• Inherent or internal causes.

• Immediate causes

Effect of landslides:

Landslides are not only destructive to the man but also to the structures. One of the most
disastrous landslides occurred in Switzerland in 1806, when great masses of loose rock and
soil suddenly slide down into the valley form the mountainside. It resulted in killing of 800
persons. Initially the Vajont 19 Dam, was the highest arch failed due to landslide on October
9, 1963, when a rock mass of about 600 million tons slides down into the lake.

• A significant reduction in hazards caused by landslides can be achieved by prevention of

the exposure of population and facilitates by physically controlling the landslides.

• Development programs that involve modification of the topography, exploitation of natural

resources and change in the balance load on the ground should not be permitted.

• Some critical measures that could be undertaken to prevent further landslides are drainage
measures, erosion control measures such bamboo check-dams, terracing, jute and coir netting
and rock control measures such as grass plantation, vegetated dry masonry walls, retaining
walls and, most importantly, preventing deforestation and improving afforestation.

• Disasters cannot be totally prevented. However, early warning systems, careful planning
and preparedness on part of the vulnerable community would help in minimizing the loss of
life and property due to these disaster

1.6. CAUSES FOR MANMADE DISATERS

1.6.1. DEFORESTATION

 Deforestation is a man-made threat to the mankind. Deforestation refers to cleaning the

forest land for other uses of humankind. Rain forests are the worst affected in this process,
owing to the land they clear, and the valuable ingredients they provide. Cutting, cleaning and
removal of trees or related grasslands like cropland, plantations on a massive scale build a
pathway to deforestation.

Effects of Deforestation

 Climate Imbalance and Climate

Change
 Increase in Global Warming.
 Increase in Greenhouse Gas Emissions.
 Soil Erosion.
 Floods.
 Wildlife Extinction & Habitat Loss.
  Acidic Oceans.

How to Reduce and Prevent Deforestation

 Plant a tree.
 Use less paper.
 Recycle paper and cardboard.
 Use recycled products.
 Buy only sustainable wood products.
 Don't buy products containing palm oil.
 Reduce meat consumption.
 Do not burn firewood excessively.

1.6.2. CHEMICAL POLLUTION

Chemical pollution is defined as the presence or increase in our environment of chemical

pollutants that are not naturally present there or are found in amounts higher than
their natural background values.

Effects of Chemical pollution

 Respiratory and Heart Problems

 Global Warming.

 Acid Rain.
 Infertile land
 Eutrophication.
 Effect on Wildlife.
  Depletion of the Ozone Layer.

How to Reduce Chemical pollution

1) Avoid single use plastics and try to limit your consumption and unnecessary waste.
2) Properly dispose of chemicals and toxic waste.
3) Reduce levels of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).
4) Filter your drinking water.
5) Use chemical free cleaning products.
6) Reduce toxins in your garden.
7) Reduce Vehicle Pollution. Use fuel efficient vehicles, carpool or ride a bike.
8) Use Less Energy. Choose energy efficient light bulbs and don't overset your thermostat.

1.6.3. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION

Environmental pollution is defined as “the contamination of the physical and biological
components of the earth/atmosphere system to such an extent that normal
environmental processes are adversely affected.
Air pollution, water pollution, and land pollution are three major forms of environmental
pollution.

 Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the
atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living things.
EFFECTS - respiratory infections, heart disease and lung cancer.

 Water pollution is the contamination of water sources by substances which make the
water unusable for drinking, cooking, cleaning, swimming, and other activities.
Pollutants include chemicals, trash, bacteria, and parasites.
 EFFECTS - cholera, dysentery, diarrhoea, tuberculosis, jaundice, etc. About 80 per
cent of stomach diseases in India are caused by polluted water.

 Land pollution refers to the deterioration of the earth's land surfaces, at and below
ground level. The cause is the accumulation of solid and liquid waste materials that
contaminate groundwater and soil.
EFFECTS- Chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer, heart disease, and even brain
damage are all long-term health consequences.
1.7. AGENCIES INVOLVED IN DISASTER MANAGEMENT

 National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA): - The National Disaster

Management Authority, or the NDMA, is an apex body for disaster management,
headed by the Prime Minister of India. It is responsible for the supervision, direction,
and control of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).

 National Executive Committee (NEC): - The NEC is composed of high-profile

ministerial members from the government of India that include the Union Home
Secretary as Chairperson, and the Secretaries to the Government of India (GOI)like
Ministries/Departments of Agriculture, Atomic Energy, Defence, Drinking Water
Supply, Environment and Forests, etc. The NEC prepares the National Plan for
Disaster Management as per the National Policy on Disaster Management.

 State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA): - The Chief Minister of the

respective state is the head of the SDMA. The State Government has a State
Executive Committee (SEC) which assists the State Disaster Management Authority
(SDMA) on Disaster Management.

 District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA): - The DDMA is headed by the

District Collector, Deputy Commissioner or District Magistrate depending on the
situation, with the elected representatives of the local authority as the Co-Chairperson.
The DDMA ensures that the guidelines framed by the NDMA and the SDMA are
followed by all the departments of the State Government at the District level and the
local authorities in the district.

 Local Authorities: - Local authorities would include Panchayati Raj Institutions

(PRI), Municipalities, District and Cantonment 11 Institutional and Legal
Arrangements Boards, and Town Planning Authorities which control and manage
civic services.
1.8. CONCLUSION:

Disasters are inevitable. The fact lies in stating “we must all be prepared to try to survive
the current and the forthcoming disasters.” We cannot rule the nature but we can at least
be watchful and vigilant. The structured and pre planned preparedness and the healthy
response to the disaster will help save the lives. Our success lies in, as is preached by the
great people that existed and exist on earth “unity and unanimity devoid of discords.”

EVS FIELD VISIT REPORT 1

BEACH CLEANING

DATE: 20th March, 2022

VENUE: Thiruvanmyur Beach, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

TIME: 6:30 AM To 9:30 AM

On March 20, 2022, I cleaned the beach which is located at thirumanmyur,Chennai

between 6.30 am and 9.30 am. I went with my friends. This initiative was taken by the
Bhumi organization. We joined with them and we cleaned the beach together.

I started collecting waste especially plastics which are non-degradable into the trash bag
and we requested the people to put the waste into the garbage and we created awareness
among them. We advised them to maintain the beach clean.

And as a result, by seeing us the public took initiative and joined with us and started
cleaning the beach. So successfully we cleaned the beach.
AFTER CLEANING:
 EVS FIELD VISIT REPORT 2

STREET CLEANING

DATE: 12th May, 2022

VENUE: 6th Avenue Road, Anna Nagar West, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

TIME: 6:30 AM

On 12th May 2022, I Cleaned the street which was located at 6th Avenue Road, Anna
Nagar West, Chennai in the morning at 6.30am. before the cleaning the street was full
of dry fallen leaves, plastics etc… I was able to collect most of the plastic wastes and I
cleaned the street as best as I could. An individual is not only responsible for keeping his
house clean but he is also responsible for keeping the society clean especially, public
areas such as street, parks, temples, beach etc...

BEFORE CLEANING:

FIELD VISIT REPORT 3

PLANTATION OF TREES
DATE: 5th March, 2022

VENUE: 6th Avenue Road, Anna Nagar West, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

TIME: 5:00 PM

I have a planted a tree called Indian Mulberry in the side of my apartment on 5th March
2022. Its botanical name is Morinda Tinctoria. It is also called as Nuna leaves,
Manjanathi. It is a medical plant which grows as tree. It is a tender plant but its fibre
part is hard and strong. In the past, the hand plow structure used to be of this tree only.
Cots were also made of this tree and it is recommended for good slumber. Further,
handicrafts items including tiny articles and God’s idols are also made of this tree.

Its leaves would resemble mango leaves and the flowers would be pure white in colour.
The fruits would appear to be knotted ones and once they ripen, it would become black
in colour. When it grows to be a tree, it will measure 15 ft. approximately and inside
part of this tree would be yellow in colour which is why this tree takes the
nomenclature, ‘manjanathi’. It contains the minerals such as selenium and zinc. Its
fruits are edible but it would darken our tongue.

USES OF THIS TREE:

 It will reduce the inflammation in the body

 Gastric condition will also be solved
 It is used to resolve Dermatological issues