Disaster Management
Nepal Earthquake
JK Floods
Uttarakhand Failure
Violation of Nature as the Cause
There is ample scientific evidence that the Himalayan watersheds have witnessed unprecedented deforestation. Vegetative cover slows the speed of falling rain and prevents soil erosion and gully formation. Besides forests and soil soak water from the rain, release it slowly and prevent water flowing as run-off.
There is mounting evidence that global warming is fast catching up with the Himalaya.
While it is important to appreciate the aspirations of locals and economic activities, there cannot be a lack of enforcement of land use laws. Such laws were violated with impunity in Uttarakhand as construction activity came up on the river banks.
Hydel activities cause slope weakening and destabilisation. Similarly sand mining and stone industries also weaken the river system.
Role of Ecological Neglect by the State
It is not as if the state government wasn't unaware of the looming threat. Government reports had warned of the unchecked dangers of urbanisation and from hydel projects. The authorities have always treated environment with scant regard.
The Centre had declared a stretch of 100 km between Gomukh and Uttarkashi along the Bhagirathi river as an eco-sensitive zone. However, the state government is opposing the move, saying this would adversely affect the development in the region.
The fact is that the dams, barrages and embankments on one hand, magnify the enormity of high floods when they come and on the other, instil a false sense of security in minds of those who come to occupy the erstwhile khadar lands that all is well. The truth is the opposite. Only normal and periodic climatic events have been converted into man-made disasters, with man coming to colonise khadar land.
Role of Dams
Big dams, like the one at Tehri, disturb the highly fragile Himalayan tectonic system.
But this time the dam managed to protect big towns like Rishikesh and Haridwar through regulation of the Bhagirathi river waters, most of which were held back in the 42-km long reservoir. Experts have now recommended a big dam across the Alaknanda river also to further manage the flow of water.
Being a hill state, Uttarakhand is ecologically sensitive but its two main sources of income are tourism and hydel energy. The state cannot look away from these two sources.
Construction of hydel dams require rivers to be diverted through tunnels to generate power. The construction of these tunnels unsettles the mountainous terrain and contributes to a greater quantity of rocks and sediment crashing down.
CAG Report on Uttarakhand's Preparedness
It pointed out that the SDMA had remained virtually non-functional.
The state had also failed to incorporate disaster prevention into the development planning.
No thought was given to the fragile ecosystem of the state in the developmental planning process.
Buildings were permitted on floodplains of the rivers.
Such unsafe construction is linked to the religious tourism. Why can't we adopt policies of Bhutan where tourism is regulated to bring it in harmony with the environment?
Construction of hydel dams require rivers to be diverted through tunnels to generate power. The construction of these tunnels unsettles the mountainous terrain and contributes to a greater quantity of rocks and sediment crashing down.
Vulnerability assessment at local level and identification of necessary mitigative action had not been done. Buildings were permitted on floodplains of the rivers.
The disaster management plan was in place but its implementation was absolutely poor.
The communication system was also inadequate, with the delay in sharing of disaster information.
Absence of any guidelines meant the preparedness was almost nil. The disaster struck on June 16 and rescue and relief operations could begin only on June 24 when the Army was called in.
Until then the government had no clue. It had no idea about the magnitude of what had struck the state.
Restoration work undertaken under the Calamity Relief Fund were delayed and violated the guidelines.
Some warning system had been in place, such as radars and climate prediction.
The reports of IMD have always been very imprecise like "heave to very heavy rainfall in some areas in Uttarakhand". No one has any idea of what heavy to very heavy means.
The prediction accuracy and forewarning capabilities of IMD need to be increased. Apart from quantifying the amount of rainfall, spatial distribution information should also be given.
World over such systems are in place and even in our country such systems are in place for cyclones.
National Oil Spill Contingency Plan (NOSDCP)
The idea is to mitigate the impact of all oil spills on the environment by -
Setting specific standards for oil spill equipment stockpiles
Establishing time frames for oil spill response
Increasing collaboration among partner agencies.
Types of Crises
Crises caused by acts of nature. These can further be divided into the following sub-categories:
Climatic events: cyclones and storms (associated sea erosion), floods and drought
Geological events: earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides and avalanches;
Crises caused by environmental degradation and disturbance of the ecological balance;
Crises caused by accidents. These, again, can be further classified into: industrial and nuclear mishaps and fire related accidents;
Crises caused by biological activities: public health crises, epidemics etc;
Crises caused by hostile elements: war, terrorism, extremism, insurgency etc;
Crises caused by disruption/failure of major infrastructure facilities including communication systems, large-scale strikes etc; and
Crises caused by large crowds getting out of control.
Life Cycle Approach to Crisis Management
A crisis does not emerge suddenly; it has a life cycle, which may take days, months or even decades to develop. A crisis, therefore, needs to be examined in terms of its management cycle. This ‘life cycle’ of crisis management may be divided broadly in three phases - pre-crisis, during crisis and post crisis.
World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction, Yokohama, 1994
Risk assessment is an important initial step.
Disaster prevention and preparedness are next important steps and should be included at the planning level itself.
Capacity development is next important step.
Early warning systems should be installed and steps taken for fast and wide warning information dissemination.
Local community involvement is important.
Education and training to the whole community is important.
International sharing of technology is important.
Environmental protection is important and poverty alleviation is imperative.
Needs of developing countries should be kept in mind in disaster management efforts.
Yogyakarta Declaration
Hoyogo Framework for Action: This is the agreement reached in 2005 between countries on disaster management. It runs form 2005 to 2015. It was a roadmap for the government and other players.
Yogyakarta declaration includes calls to integrated local knowledge and climate change into disaster management plans, political commitment, accountability, awareness and education, and to build local capacity.
Disaster Risk Reduction Framework
A policy framework has to be drawn up backed by the legal and institutional mechanisms that focuses on risk reduction as the major priority in disaster management.
Assessment of risk including hazard analysis and community vulnerability.
Risk Awareness and Preparation of Plans for Risk Mitigation.
Implementation of the Plan.
Early Warning Systems.
Development of systems for processing and sharing of disaster related information.
INDIA’S KEY HAZARDS, VULNERABILITIES AND THE CRISIS RESPONSE MECHANISM
Almost 85% of the country is vulnerable to single or multiple disasters and about 57% of its area lies in high seismic zones. Approximately 40 million hectares of the country’s land area is prone to flood, about 8% of the total land mass is vulnerable to cyclone and 68% of the area is susceptible to drought.
There is no reason why so much loss happens in India whereas earthquakes of similar measurements in USA or Japan have had relatively little impact.
Post monsoon cyclones are usually more intense both in numbers and intensity.
Cyclone Shelters
In densely populated coastal areas, where large scale evacuations are not always feasible, public buildings can be used as cyclone shelters.
These buildings can be so designed, so as to provide a blank face with a minimum number of apertures in the direction of the prevailing winds. The shorter side of the building should face the storm, so as to impart least wind resistance.
Green belts can be used in front of these buildings to reduce the impact of the storm.
Traditional Knowledge for Disaster Management
If tribals in the Andamans could survive the tsunami, it was because their existing warning systems worked well in comparison to our non-existent modern systems.
The fact that traditional houses of wood and stone survived the Uttarkashi earthquake not so long ago while modern buildings collapsed offered a similar lesson.
In the flood-prone rural North-East, one can find houses on bamboo stilts that allow flood waters to flow under them rather than through or over!
Flood Control and Management
There should be a master plan for flood control and management for each flood prone basin.
Adequate flood-cushion should be provided in water storage projects. In highly flood prone areas, flood control should be given overriding consideration in reservoir policy even at the cost of sacrificing some irrigation or power benefits.
While physical flood protection works like embankments and dykes will continue to be necessary, increased emphasis should be laid on non-structural measures such as flood forecasting, flood plain zoning and flood proofing.
There should be strict regulation of settlements in the flood plain zones along with flood proofing.
Landslides and Avalanches
The Himalayas comprise of tectonically unstable younger formations and often the slides are huge, and in most cases, the overburden along with the underlying lithology is displaced during sliding. In contrast, the Western Ghats are geologically stable and the slides are usually confined to the over burden without affecting the bedrock beneath.
Structural measures:
Planting (Avalanche Prevention Forest)
Stepped Terraces
Avalanche Control Fence
Other protection structures
Non-structural measures - removing snow deposits on slopes by blasting, predicting avalanches and evacuating people from vulnerable areas.
Industrial Disasters
In the pre-Bhopal Gas Tragedy era, industrial safety was governed by legislations like the Factories Act, 1948 and the Explosives Act, 1884. These laws proved to be inadequate to provide safety to workers as well as to the people living in the surrounding areas. After the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, a new chapter was inserted in the Factories Act, 1948 dealing with hazardous processes. The Environment Protection Act, 1986 was enacted. More importantly, several Rules were promulgated under the Act.
Rail Disaster Management
It is an integral part of railway safety. However, earlier the disaster management was confined to reacting to the railway accidents. After the NDMA, 2005 the Railway ministry has developed an integrated disaster management plan. As per this plan,
The railway zones and railway divisions have been made the nodal agencies for planning, mitigation and relief within their zones.
The Plan is not focused towards reacting to the accidents only, but it also includes, terrorist attacks, natural disasters affecting the railways, crowd management during festivals or natural calamities. It heavily relies on modern technology like CCTVs, ACDs, satellite communications, upgraded signaling systems, self propelled accident relief vans, modern cranes, luggage scanners.
It emphasizes in relief during golden hours (first hour of the accident) i.e. reach the spot within 1 hour. Training is done at Bangalore in the disaster relief operations.
The Railway Protection Force is developing a rapid action team to be trained by NSG to respond to the terrorist attacks on railway trains and assets.
Railway officials to maintain contact with the general administrative authorities in their areas for prompt relief in case of the disasters.
Creeping Emergencies
Disasters can also be classified as ‘slow onset’ disasters and ‘rapid onset’ disasters. Earthquakes, cyclones, floods, tsunamis would fall under the category of rapid onset disasters; climate change (global warming), desertification, soil degradation, and droughts, would fall under the category of slow onset disasters. Slow onset disasters are also termed as ‘Creeping Emergencies’.
Sea Erosion
The landward displacement of the shoreline caused by the forces of waves and currents is termed as erosion.
The impact of the event is not always seen immediately, but it is equally important when we consider loss of property that it causes. It takes months or years to note the impact. So, this is generally classified as a “long term coastal hazard”.
Anthropological effects that trigger beach erosion are: construction of artificial structures, mining of beach sand, offshore dredging, or building of dams.
Traditional Disaster Management Architecture in India
The Response Mechanism
Field level response
The community is the first responder in a disaster. Field level response in rural areas is by the nearest police station and the revenue functionary; in urban areas the response is by agencies like the civic authorities, the fire brigade and the local police station.
At present, panchayats do not have the capacity to react in any effective manner and it is the district administration with the Collector playing a pivotal role. He has the authority to mobilize the response machinery and has been given financial powers to draw money.
All departments including the police, fire services, public works, irrigation etc. work under the leadership of the Collector during a disaster, except in metropolitan areas where the municipal body plays a major role.
The District Collector also enjoys the authority to request for assistance from the Armed Forces if circumstances so demand.
Role of state government
The basic responsibility to undertake response measures rests with the State Governments.
The entire structure of crisis administration in the State Governments has been oriented towards post disaster relief and rehabilitation.
Most of the states have Relief Commissioners. The Relief Commissionerate is usually an adjunct of the Revenue Department. In some states, the Revenue Secretary is also the ex-officio Relief Commissioner.
This has the advantage of providing a direct chain of command to the district Collectors and the Tehsildars, but the focus on crisis prevention and mitigation or even of preparedness is missing.
Every state has a Crisis Management Committee under the Chief Secretary, consisting of secretaries of concerned departments, which reviews crisis situations on a day-to-day basis, coordinates the activities of all departments and provides support to the district administration.
At the ministers’ level, a Cabinet Committee on Natural Calamities under the Chief Minister takes stock of situations and is responsible for all important policy decisions.
Role of Union Government
It plays a key supportive role with resources and providing complementary measures such as early warning and co-ordination of efforts of all Union ministries, departments and organizations.
At the apex level, a Cabinet Committee on Natural Calamities reviews the crisis situations.
A High Level Committee of Ministers under the chairmanship of Minister of Agriculture deals with the issue of financial support to be provided to the State Governments.
Matters relating to nuclear, biological and chemical emergencies are looked after by the Cabinet Committee on Security.
The Cabinet Secretary heads the National Crisis Management Committee. Secretaries of ministries and departments concerned and heads of other organizations are members, which reviews and monitors crisis situations on a regular basis and gives directions to the Crisis Management Group.
The Central Relief Commissioner in the Ministry of Home Affairs is the Chairman of the Crisis Management Group (CMG) consisting of nodal officers from various concerned ministries. The CMG’s functions are to review annual contingency plans formulated by various ministries, measures required for dealing with a natural disaster, coordinate the activities of the Union Ministries and State Governments. In the event of a disaster, the CMG meets frequently to review relief operations and extends assistance required by the affected states.
The Finance Mechanism
Schemes for financing expenditure on disaster management are governed by the recommendations of the Finance Commission.
Under the existing scheme, each state has a Calamity Relief Fund (CRF) administered by the Chief Secretary. The size of the corpus is determined with reference to the expenditure normally incurre