Disaster Management

Name: Pavani Yerribandi

Grade: X
Section: A
School: The Global Edge School
Topic: Disaster Management – Alternative communication methods
Acknowledgement
I am very thankful to all those who supported me in completing this project, that too on time. I am
extremely grateful to my subject teacher’s name for providing me with support and guidance and to
my parents for their undying help and encouragement. Thanking you,

Pavani.Y

Certificate
This is to certify that Pavani.Y of grade 10 section A has successfully completed her project on
‘Disaster Management’ as prescribed by ___ during the academic year of 2022-23.
Signature of teacher

Index
Body
Introduction to Natural Disasters
Natural disaster – a natural event that causes great damage to societies and causes loss of life.

Time and time again we see natural disasters wreak havoc over big cities and remote towns alike.
They take a terrible toll on lives, properties and livelihoods of people. This extensive damage to the
societies, economies and environment has turned back the development clock of many
communities.

In the recent years, the rate of occurrence of these disasters has also increased and so has the
impact caused by them. Disasters can no longer be seen as ‘acts of God’ or ‘acts of nature’. With
advancements being made in technologies and our bettering knowledge about the world, we are
able to make stronger efforts to manage such conditions. It is high time we take responsibility and
make the world a safer place to live for the future generations.

A Brief on Disaster Management in India

India envisions the development of an ethos of Prevention, Mitigation, Preparedness and Response
for handling disaster management. The Indian government aims to tackle destruction and damage
caused by natural as well as man-made disasters by adopting a Technology-Driven, Pro-Active, Multi-
Hazard and Multi-Sectoral strategy.

The Four Phases of Disaster Management in India:

Prevention: This phase includes taking the necessary actions to reduce the chances of witnessing a
disaster.
Mitigation: This phase includes actions taken to prevent or reduce the cause, impact, and
consequences of disasters.
Preparedness: This phase includes planning, training, and educational activities for events that
cannot be mitigated.
Response: The response phase occurs in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. It includes
implementing disaster response plans, conducting search and rescue missions, distribution of
assistance and relief, etc.

Damaged communication networks

Case study

In Monsoon 2004m severe flood situations in the states of Assam and Bihar caused major
devastation. Many district head quarters got totally cut-off from the state head quarters and
neighboring districts due to submerged telephone exchanges or damaged cables and disrupted
roads and railways communication. In the worst affected districts, the need for relief and rescue
operation could not be communicated to the state headquarters. Realizing this, the state
governments requested national Disaster Management Division of the Government of India to
immediately send the emergency coordination kits containing satellite phones to establish
communication links among the severely affected districts and state headquarters.

From the above case study, we can see that natural disasters cause damage to communication
networks. Most natural disasters like floods, earthquakes, landslides, cyclones and even fires badly
damage communication systems. But in such emergency situations functional communication
networks are critical for proper management, resource distribution and providing care.

Therefore, we need to be better prepared in advance with alternative communication methods to

avoid rush hour confusion and chaos.

Causes of unresponsive communication system:

1) Physical damage: Damage to radio and T.V. stations, telephone exchanges and lines, cell
phone towers, and disruption of power supply.
2) Overload: All types of communications have a certain threshold for relaying signals after
which they lose their effectiveness or simply become malfunctional. During emergency time,
the heavy usage of communication services causes long delays and jamming of signals.
3) Unavailability of staff: During disaster times, people do not report for work due to the dire
conditions or because they themselves have been affected by the disaster.

Need for Alternative Communication Systems

From the previously mentioned topics, we can see the obvious need for alternative communication
systems. Let’s see a few more reasons on why we need them:

1. Search and rescue: Communication is required during search operations for missing of dead
persons. Information needs to be relayed between teams and from teams to a head
organization. If timely help is provided, injured people may still be saved.
2. Coordination: Coordination between all the people involved in providing relief during a
disaster helps increase the efficiency and speed of recovery and prevents confusion and
unequal distribution of helping hands.
i. To establish link between affected people and relief providing staff.
ii. To coordinate channeling of government assistance as per norms laid down
from time to time.
 iii. Establish connection between National Core Groups for hazard risk
management (vulnerability risk reduction) and First Responders (those who first
react to emergencies, like police, firefighters, etc.)
iv. Reliable communication links are needed to determine the role of players at
different levels involved in disaster management.

Modes of emergency communication

In the scenario where normal telephone and mobile phone network is disrupted or such services
have never existed in the disaster affected area, we need to find out other reliable means of
communicating urgent messages from the sites to shorted and longer distances.

Here are a few forms of emergency communication:

1. Radio communications: Radio wave is an electromagnetic wave propagated by an antenna.

The have different frequencies and by tuning a radio receiver to a specific frequency you can
pick up a specific signal.
This form of communication has several advantages during disaster times, one being it is a
wireless form of communication. It is also relatively cheap and easy to use. Handheld
wireless sets called ‘walkie talkies’ work on radio waves and are suitable for local
communication in case of emergencies.
2. Amateur Radio (HAM): Amateur radio or HAM radio is a non-commercial but licensed radio
service which consists of some allocated frequencies which are not used by things like FM
and AM. They allow radio enthusiasts and hobbyists to experiment with radios, for research
and education and in some cases provide emergency care.
Amateur Radio does not use any ground-based radio infrastructure and has limited power
requirements which can be easily met by batteries. They are also simple to use and cheaper.
Thus, they work successfully during emergencies.
Licensed Amateur Radio Operators, also known as Amateurs or Hams, are expected by
governments to come forward and provide emergency communication support in case of
emergencies or disasters. They help in establishing crucial communications among the
emergency response managers.
(Usages of ham radio one page)
3. Fax: Facsimile transmission or Fax is a process for transmitting photographs and documents
over long distances. On one end, a scanner scans a document/photograph and converts it
into electrical data which is then sent to a fax receiver. The receiver converts the electrical
data into printable form and prints it.
In times of disasters written information…
4. Satellite based communication systems: A satellite is a self-contained communications
system with the ability to receive signals from Earth and to retransmit those signals back
with the use of a transponder. The transponder is the main feature of a satellite. It receives
the signal and creates the response. The conversation is received at one frequency, then
amplified and retransmitted back to earth on another frequency.
Present operational satellite systems:
i. INSAT: The Indian national Satellite is one of the largest satellite
communication systems in Asia. They are used for many services like
communication, television broadcasting, meteorology and disaster
warnings.
ii. IRS: Indian Remote Sensing Satellite is dedicated to resources monitoring
and management, and is also used for forecasting natural phenomena.
 iii. Satellite phones: Phones which have the ability to connect to other phones
and telephone networks through orbiting satellites instead of terrestrial cell
sites are called satellite phones. They can be of four types:
1. INMARSAT phones
2. IRIDIUM phones
3. THURAYAL phones
4. Portable satellite phones

Bibliography
1. Together Towards a Safer India – Part III (CBSE Publication)
2. Ndma.gov.in
3. www.britannica.com