SATRATEGIES FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT TO REDUCE IMPACT OF NATURAL DISASTER IN INDIA

8/13/2019 SATRATEGIES FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT TO REDUCE IMPACT OF NATURAL DISASTER IN INDIA

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IRJMSH Volume 2 Issue 2 onlineISSN 2277 9809

International Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanityhttp:www.irjmsh.com Page 90

SATRATEGIES FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT TO REDUCE IMPACT OF

NATURAL DISASTER IN INDIA

J.BhattacharjeeFormer Jt. Director General (MOD), presently working as Professor in Civil Engineering, Amity

University, Noida

SYNOPSIS

The paper deals with the present state of natural disaster mitigation &

management in India, & the proposed strategy to be followed for reducing impact

of natural Disaster. In last more than twenty years; India has experienced heavy

floods, cyclones, landslides & earthquakes almost every year. Death, destruction

& loss because of natural & manmade disasters are becoming more rather than

less frequent. It has also been experienced that the country is not adequately

prepared to deal with consequences of these disasters. The experience suggests

that there is an urgent need for a proper disaster management strategy that is

focused, well co-coordinated & prepared for all obvious eventualities so that itsimpact is reduced. The paper deliberated on all these issues & has finally

recommended various comprehensive measures to be taken. The author was

actively associated with Rapid assessment of large number of earth quake

affected buildings in Jabalpur & Gujarat. The major reasons leading to failures of

large number of structures have been analyzed, their remedial measures

discussed, & deliberated to take preventive measures for reduction of its impact

in future.

INTRODUCTION

Disaster of all types e.g., earthquakes, floods, cyclones, drought, cloudbursts, accidents

etc. have been occurring since time immemorial. However, their frequency, magnitude & area


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have increased many times in all parts of world, in recent times. Disasters are extreme events &

claim a large proportion of human live & cause huge damage to property throughout the world.

They may be broadly classified as natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, droughts &

cyclones, manmade disasters such as riots, conflicts, refugee situations & environmental

disasters, like fire, epidemics, industrial accidents & environmental fallouts. Often difference

between them is marginal. Natural disasters can be perceived as an extreme natural event,

which, may affect different places singly or in combination (Coast line, hillsides earthquakes

prone areas, etc.) at different times (Season of the year, over varying return period, of Different

duration, etc.). The hazard has varying degrees of intensity & severity. Any natural hazards

become disasters, when they come in contact with vulnerable social setting of human

population. Human settlements, structure & centres of economic activity increase the damages

caused by disasters. Globally, natural disasters account for nearly 80% of all disaster affected

people.

India is one of the worlds major theatres of disasters, both natural & human made.

Floods, draughts, cyclones, & earthquakes coupled with communal riots, conflicts, fire,

epidemics, & other disasters compound the countrys chronic troubles. In the decade 1988-97,

disasters in India affected on an average over 24 million people & killed on an average 5,116

each year. In 1998, disaster affected 34,112,556 people in India & killed 9,846. Between 1985 &

1995, disaster caused an annual economic loss of about us $ 1,883.93 million. During 1996 to

1911, the average annual economic loss has increased only. Over the last century, about 75% of

fatalities attributed to earthquakes have been caused by the collapse of buildings. Indias

substantial percentage (59%) continue to live in the non-engineered weak buildings, due to

absence of knowledge, poverty & awareness about compliance of appropriate buildings

regulations and legislation.

EXIISTING POLICY FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT

Basic Ingredients of Management Strategy

Though the responsibility for undertaking rescue and relief measures in the event of

Natural Calamities is that of State Government concerned; the Central Govt. associates itself

with measures & supplements the States relief efforts by initiating supportive action. Towards


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this end, the Central Govt., with its resources, both physical & financial provides the needed help

& assistance, with the existing policy of financing the relief expenditure, keeping in view the

factors like the gravity of a natural calamity, the scale of relief operation necessary and the

requirements for augmenting the financial resources of the state.

Disaster Management in the Country is essentially rested inter alias, on four major pillars

viz: -

(a)Application of Scientific input to forecasting & relief programmes.(b)Timeliness & dynamism of management of relief delivery.(c) Peoples participation in relief delivery & monitoring.

(d) Contribution of resilience of societies & areas and quality of life.

Despite the recognition of the need to build up a societys capabilities to meet the

challenges of disasters, the thrust of relief efforts was, for a variety of reasons, generally

remained concentrated on the alleviation & restoration aspects. On the occurrence of disasters,

the need for continued vigil, preparedness & conscious efforts to reduce the occurrence and

impact of disasters is generally articulated, only to be buried subsequently, in the sub-conscious

state of the Nation.

However High Power Committee (HPC) formed by the Government, after deliberating on

existing systems & their upgradeability for serving the purpose of disaster management

approaches and systems, felt the need to lay the foundations of a new culture of disaster

management in the country. Disaster management, & disaster preparedness and mitigation in

particular, are issues that concern the cultural and attitudinal attributes of the Govt., other

organizations, & the public at large. It was felt that a new culture of being prepared for &

managing disasters is needed that permeates all aspects of national life- physical, social &economic. Based on this philosophy, four cultures were identified by the HPC: Culture of

preparedness, quick response, strategic thinking & prevention. These were detailed out to

provide guidance for plan preparation & implementation process to take place in appropriate

accordance.


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A well-formulated disaster management cycle normally comprises six different

components i.e. Disaster preparation, mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery &

development. The preventive measures include all those tasks that can be undertaken to prevent

natural hazards from turning into a disaster. It is clear that not much can be done to prevent

occurrence of natural hazards such as earthquake, cyclones, floods & avalanches etc., but efforts

can be made to prevent their calamitous fall out. Some preventive measures come under the

category of national development & some within specific disaster management programmes. In

India, some-how we have failed to do much on this. There-by Earthquake of similar intensity as

in Gujarat, when stuck in California, USA; there was almost no loss of life, whereas our death

toll exceeded 20,000.

EARTHQUAKE IN GUJARAT & 0THER PLACES AND LESSONS LEARNTEarthquakes are known to occur since time immemorial. As we are aware that out of the

many types of disasters, an earthquake is the most deadly catastrophe, which strikes within

seconds without any warning. The earthquake, which rocked Gujarat on 26 Jan 2001, varying

assessed to measure, 6.9 to 8.1 on richer scale, left behind heavy toll of life & property. At least

20,000 people were killed and 1.66 lakhs injured in the quake, which flattened almost the entire

Kutch region & parts of other districts, extending from Bhuj & Jamnagar in the north to

Ahmedabad & Surat in the south. In Kutch area of Gujarat, many towns were destroyed & some

villages were wiped off the map. Most precious human lives are lost, injured & huge properties

destroyed or damaged, mainly due to not taking into account, the earthquake resistance features,

while constructing the houses. Overall loss of human lives & properties due to this earthquake

has exceeded the loss suffered in any other earthquake in our country in living memory. It was

estimated by the Gujarat Govt. that the total loss of property was to the tune of Rs.20, 875

Crores. However, almost everybody, except those were in power, admits that many more lives &

property could have been saved, provided we would have taken certain preventive measures.

What was especially sad is that while the world was willing to help the victims, the Govt.faltered.

India had experienced five great earthquakes, each with richer magnitude exceeding 8R;

1819 Gujarat, 1897 Assam, 1905 Himachal Pradesh, 1934 Bihar & 1950 Assam. Apart from

these, there have been other divesting earthquakes subsequently in the Indian sub-continent,


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which have created public awareness about this problem. In 1967, earthquake in Koyna (6.3R),

in 1993 earthquake in Latur (6.2R) area of Maharastra surprised everybody, as no such shock

struck until then. In 1991, a damaging earthquake occurred in Utter-kashi (6.5R), in 1997 we had

earthquake at Jabalpur (6R) & in 1999 Garhwal region of Western Himalaya (6.8R). After Bhuj

earthquake (7.6R) on 26 January 2001, we had earthquake (7.6R) in Kashmir & Himachal

Pradesh on 08 Oct 2005; Andaman Islands (7.5R) on 11Aug 2009 and on 18 Sept 2011

earthquakes (6.9R) in Sikkim. In all these earthquakes, the majority of the structural damages

that observed in the affected areas are due to non-compliance of earthquake resistance features,

and poor construction practices using locally available building materials. In Gujarat, also we

have observed similar pattern of destruction of much bigger scale. Having simple and

economical earthquake resistance structure has advantage even over prediction of earthquakes,

which would minimize considerable losses of property & lives. Though number of teams from

foreign countries rushed to India to help, duly equipped with flying hospitals with necessary

medical support, and sniffer dogs etc, but unfortunately coordination from Govt. side was totally

missing.

Based upon the study of Gujarat Disasters and experiences of other disasters in India, the

reasons for unsatisfactory state of affairs & major causes of failures are brought out below: -

(a)

Lack of Effective coordination among various agencies resulting into in-efficientrescue operations and delays in release of relief materials, suffering of people, chaos &

confusion. It is a fact that lot of human life could have been saved, had the Govt. could

pulled the right string timely.

(b) Lack or Complete absence of inter-agency flow of information,pertaining to the officialplan of action, procedures regarding receipt and distribution of material, nature & quantity

of relief material being distributed to the effected people and the place of distribution.(c) Lack of transparency and accountability, regarding the money and material distributed

to the effected people as well as left as unused. Therefore, there is a general lack of trust

between the administration and the people.

(d)Delays in release of relief materials & funds and there-by-ultimate sufferings of the people.


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(e) Bureaucratic management approach that is top-down, non-integrated & piecemeal.There was generally no devolution of authority to take decisions at mid & lower levels.

Roles & responsibilities were not clearly specified. As a result there was a general lack

of confidence among staff to handle post- disaster situations.

(f) Past Experience in disaster management was not institutionalizedand documented foruse. It was lost with the individual, when he left the assignment on normal transfer.

(g) Lack of comprehensive Disaster Mitigation Plan(DMP) at national, state, district &local levels. The Contingency Action Plan available with some states was not effective.

(h) Lack of public participation in reconstruction programmes,because of which, thehouses constructed is not getting adequate acceptance of the people and failed to serve

the desired purpose.

(i) Lack of effective rehabilitation policies & programmes as a consequence, a largesection of the people is left to fend for themselves & struggle to rehabilitate their family.

(j) Peoples attitude & behavioris casual & directed to short-term personal gains. Theydo not take early warning seriously & are caught in disaster situation/ conditions. In

most states, it is reported that the people insisted on cheaper buildings even at the cost of

construction quality.

(k)Failures of Professionals (architects & engineers) in advising the people on magnitude ofdamage, if quality of building is compromised for cost considerations. Engineers do not feelaccountable for damage to the buildings due to their faulty design or supervision. There is

no regulation in this respect.

(l) Builders are not accountable for quality of construction once building is handed over &mandatory six/ twelve-months period is over. There are no laws to regulate builders & their

performance.

(m)Failures of Plannersto evolve rural housing models acceptable to the localPeople & commensurate with their community living pattern where both Animals &

people live on the same compound.

In addition to above findings, the major observations made during survey of various types

of earthquake-affected buildings in Gujarat and other places are as under: -


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(a)The simple load bearing brick masonry buildings (constructed up to three stories) had aminimal damage, in comparison to multi- storied RCC framed structure with stilt (for

parking vehicles), which had suffered heavy damages including collapses. There was

no causality of the residence of brick masonry buildings.

(b) At Ahmedabad ,Gujarat the multi storied RCC buildings collapsed (60 no), low rise(G+4) & high rise (G+10), were all having stilt at ground floor for parking (there-by no

walls were there in ground floor). Further, another 74 no low & high rise multi-storied

buildings suffered extensive damages (demolished subsequently) were also mostly on

stilt. Heavy causality was there of the residences of those buildings, who could not

come out of the houses, during Earthquake.

(c)Poor maintenance of most of the old buildings/structures was observed & there-bydamages were more on those structures.

(d)Major failure at beam column junction/joints & improper design and detailing practicesin multi-storied buildings was evident from pattern of collapsed/heavily-damaged

buildings.

(e) In villages & under developed areas , where construction was mostly on locallyavailable square rubble masonry in mud mortar or lime mortar had converted into

rubble & there-by there was very heavy causality during natural calamity.

LESSONS LEARNT

The Challenges, which are responsible for heavy losses occurred during various earthquakes,

are listed below: -


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(a) Lack of efficient organizational set up, particularly at state level.

(b) Lack of effective Administration to deal with Earthquake issues from all angles.

(c) Apathy on the part of top Bureaucracy & key political Elite.

(d) Lack of effective leadership & communication to deal with disaster issues.

(e) Total Lack of Co-ordination among all Agencies engaged in Relief works.

(f) Lack of positive interest among Universities, Research institutes & UN system inDissimination of Disaster Management knowledge, based on Research, practical

Experience & observations.

(g)No attempt by Govt. & Urban authorities to make safe buildings to withstand the effectsof Earthquake (as already brought out earlier).

(h) Lack of utilization of Multi-national Assistance available through UN system.

(i) Lack of action in Right Earnest: Mere paper planning to impress the press & people.

(j)

No sincere efforts & attention to post Recovery Earthquake other disaster victims.

(k)No sincere effort to keep up the morale of the community, so that they can take care ofthemselves.


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I n addit ion to above, other lessons learn t f rom various earthquakes, regarding

construction of bui ldings, are brought out below: -

(a) The construction of multi-storied buildings with open space (in earthquake proneareas), meant for parking vehicles will need reconsideration. Such buildings will

require particular care in Architectural/Structural (including foundation of the

building) & proper construction detailing, which has often been ignored. The

mandatory provision of some shear walls in stilt portion, to avoid similar destruction,

needs proper deliberations.

(b) Zoning & provision made in latest IS code (based on which design of building beingmade) already reviewed in design considering the lessons learnt in intervening period.

is to be strictly followed

(c) As no place in India is now deemed to be totally free from earthquake hazard, thebuildings are to be designed/ checked according to latest Code and there has to be

new awareness about some earthquake Engineering practices not only for the New

construction, but also for the existing buildings, where some sort of

retrofitting/rehabilitation may be essential for facing future divesting earthquake.

(d) The banning of construction of load bearing random rubble heavy structure requiresserious consideration, particularly in severe earthquake Zones.

(e) To ensure quality of original construction as per various Codal provisions/ BuildingBye-laws & proper maintenance of building during passage of time, as only well


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designed, built & properly maintained buildings have a chance of surviving a major

earthquake at any point of time.

(f) Training of building professionals including inclusion of subject of disastermanagement at various levels requires serious consideration. Further, involvement of

qualified structural engineers in designing/construction is necessary for avoiding

similar type of disaster in future.

PROPOSED STRATEGY & RECOMMENDENDATION FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT

Based on the study carried out after analysing various aspects, the following

Measures are recommended: -

(a) A comprehensive National Policy framed on disaster management after

considering the various recommendations made by the HPC &

suggestions made in this paper, is to be implemented on ground. The culture of

preparedness, quick response, strategic thinking & prevention, as brought out by

the HPC, should be evolved and implemented on ground. The Centres role in

combating disasters needs to be enhanced.

(b) A separate Union Ministry for disaster management, which should adopt

Pro-active approach is to be established. Similarly at the state level, a

Separate Department of Disaster Management & Mitigation needs to be

Established.

(c) The Home guards and NCC personnel should be trained in disaster

Management, along with some Armed forces personnel & local


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Panchayat members.

(d) Disaster management aspects like preparedness, community response etc

Should form part of curriculum in primary, high schools and colleges.

Education and training in disaster prevention, preparedness and

Mitigation is necessary for minimizing effect of disaster.

(e) Identification and net- working of existing Centers of Excellence is to bedone, so as to enhance disaster prevention, reduction and mitigation

activities. A National Institute for Disaster Management (NIDM) needs to be

strengthened as a centre of excellence. NIDM is to be geared up towards emerging

as Centre of Excellence at National and International level.

(f) Involvement and active participation of the community in combating disaster needs tobe increased. The local bodies must be given additional role in this regard. The

local level plans need to be prepared in detail and rehearsed in the Disaster prone

areas; all state Govt. should reorganize their disaster management mechanisms

taking into account the Maharashtra model. Panchayat and village disaster

Management communities should be established.

(g) A formal mechanisms to co-ordinate activities of NGOs to be evolved, to avoidduplication of work and formalized, as has been done US model for Disaster relief

operations.


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(h) Alternative means of communications/stand-by communication System should begiven high priority.

(i) There is an urgent need for careful study of all existing structures in

Earthquake prone areas specially, based on various Indian Codal requirements and

identifies the structures, which do not conform to Engineering requirements.

The strengthening measures are to be incorporated for all future constructions and

also for existing structures, without any further loss of time.

(j) The use of Indian Standard codes of practices & building byelaws in

the Construction of Government & private buildings is to be made compulsory and

enforced properly. The hazard zonation map of the country need to be upgraded

regularly.

(k) To establish a creditable R & D organizations, under the new Ministry to

develop modern mechanisms, in the field of disaster management. Further, as

recommended by eleventh Finance Commission, National Centre for

Calamity Management (NCCM) should be set up at the earliest.

(l) The Central Govt. should publish & circulate all the lessons learnt in the

Post disaster, to the states that are prone to specific disasters. This can be done by

NDMA.

(m) The existing warning systems, including infrastructure in disaster prone areas

should be improved.


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system to combat disasters and to reduce impact of natural disasters. Now a dedicated

organization NDMA is already working, which needs to be strengthened further and the centre

should assumes more responsibility, so that we would be able to fully cope with the challenges

posed by the effects of disasters in 21st century. There is an urgent need of nationwide mass

awareness generation activities as a foundation layer of earthquake & other disaster preparedness

in the country, so that the impact of disaster can be reduced substantially.

REFERANCES

1. High Powered Committee on Disaster Management Report (2001) Ministry ofagriculture, Government of India, Oct. 2001.

2. National Disaster Response Plan (2001) Ministryof agriculture, Government of India, Oct.2001.

3. Culture of prevention (1999) by Sinha Anil & prof. Sharma Vinod Kumar, NaturalDisaster management Division, Government of India Publication.1999

4. IDNDR-Indian Experiences & Initiatives (1999) Ministry of agriculture,Government of India, July 1999.

5. Bhatacharjee J (2001) Earthquakes effect on various types of Buildings -Lessons learntfrom recent earthquake in Gujarat in Indian Building Congress (IBC) National Seminar on

Earthquakes on Built Environment,at New Delhi, 24-26 May 2001.

6. Internet; NDMA, NDM, G of I; FEMA, USA, EM, Australia.

SATRATEGIES FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT TO REDUCE IMPACT OF NATURAL DISASTER IN INDIA

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