MODULE 5 DISASTER MANAGEMENT
DISASTER
A sudden occurrence of an accident that causes huge loss of life and property is called as
a disaster. It is also called as a calamity. the Disaster Management Act, 2005 defines disaster as
“a catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence in any area, arising from natural or
manmade causes, or by accident or negligence which results in substantial loss of life or human
suffering or damage to, and destruction of, property or damage to, or degradation of,
environment, and is of such a nature or magnitude as to be beyond the coping capacity of the
community of the affected area”.
TYPES OF DISASTER
There are two types of disaster: natural and man-made.
1. Natural Disaster: A disaster caused by natural factors called as a natural disaster e.g.,
earthquake, flood, cyclone etc.
2. Man-made disaster: A disaster caused due to the human activities e.g., wars, fire accidents,
industrial accidents
1.Natural Disaster divided into three types
a) Meteorological disaster-Meteorological hazards are caused by changes to the Earth's
atmosphere, especially the weather. Meteorological natural disasters can include:
Cyclones. Droughts. Floods, Blizzards, Hailstorms, Thunderstorms.
b) Geophysical disaster- A natural disaster due to geological disturbances, often caused by
shifts in tectonic plates and seismic activity. Examples Earthquakes, tsunami, volcanic
eruptions, avalanches.
c) Biological disasters - are natural scenarios involving disease, disability, or death on a
large scale among humans, animals, and plants due to micro-organisms like bacteria, or
viruses, or toxins. Malaria, Dengue fever , Meningitis, influenza.
d) Environmental disasters- An environmental disaster is an incident which takes place due
to naturally or human actions, results in a harmful impact upon the natural environment.
Wild fires, landslides, floods, earthquakes, droughts, tornadoes.
2. Man-made Disaster divided into three types
a.Industrial disasters -Accidents are caused by a combination of factors and their causes
are rooted in the products or processes of industry.
Bhopal gas tragedy, 1984 (Official death toll: 5,295)
Bombay docks explosion, 1944 (Official death toll: 800)
Chasnala mining disaster, 1975 (Official death toll: 372)
Korba chimney collapse, 2009 (Official death toll: 45)
b.technological disaster - A technological disaster is an event caused by a malfunction
of a technological structure and/or some human error in controlling or handling the
technology. Technological disasters can be considered a man-made disaster meaning
there is an "identifiable cause" characteristic. Examples include bridge collapses, dam
failures, and industrial, maritime, and aviation accidents.
c.Terrorism warfare disaster – Terrorism is the use of force or violence against persons
or property. terrorists often use threats to create fear among the public to try to convince
citizens that their government is powerless to prevent terrorism and to get immediate
publicity for their causes. War is defined as a conflict between to large groups of
population, which involves physical force, violence and the use of weapon. examples of
man-made disasters are crime, arson, civil disorder, terrorism, war, biological/chemical
threat, cyber-attacks.
Stages in disaster
1.pre-disaster stage- Preparedness
2.during the disaster- Response
3. post-disaster stage- recovery, Rehabilitation/Reconstruction and mitigation
1.Pre-disaster (Before a disaster):
It includes the activities taken to reduce human and property losses caused by a potential
hazard. For example carrying out awareness campaigns, strengthening the existing weak
structures, preparation of the disaster management plans at household and community
level etc. Such risk reduction measures taken under this stage are termed as mitigation
and preparedness activities.
2.Disaster occurrence (During a disaster):
It includes the initiatives taken to ensure that the needs and provisions of victims are met
and suffering is minimized. Activities taken under this stage are called emergency
response activities.
3.Post-disaster (After a disaster): It includes the initiatives taken in response to a disaster
with a purpose to achieve early recovery and rehabilitation of affected communities,
immediately after a disaster strikes .These are called as response and recovery activities.
characteristics of disaster
(1) degree of uncertainty
(2) urgency
(3) development of an emergency consensus
(4) scope
(5) intensity
Disaster Management
Disaster Management: As per Disaster Management Act, 2005, “disaster management” means a
continuous and integrated process of planning, organizing, coordinating and implementing
measures which are necessary or expedient for:
(i) Prevention of danger or threat of any disaster;
(ii) Mitigation or reduction of risk of any disaster or its severity or consequences;
(iii) Capacity-building;
(iv) Preparedness to deal with any disaster;
(v) Prompt response to any threatening disaster situation or disaster;
(vi) Assessing the severity or magnitude of effects of any disaster; evacuation, rescue and relief;
(vii) Rehabilitation and reconstruction;
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.
Emergency managers think of disasters as recurring events with four phases:
1) Preparedness
2) Response
3) Recovery
4) Mitigation
1) Disaster Preparedness-
"The knowledge and capacities developed by governments, professional response and
recovery organizations, communities and individuals to effectively anticipate, respond to,
and recover from, the impacts of likely, imminent or current hazard events or conditions".
According to ICRC, Disaster Preparedness refers to measures taken to prepare for and
reduce the effects of disasters, be they natural or man-made. This is achieved through
research and planning in order to try to predict areas or regions that may be at risk of
disaster and where possible prevent these from occurring and/or reduce the impact those
disasters on the vulnerable populations that may be affected so they can effectively cope.
Disaster preparedness activities embedded with risk reduction measures can prevent
disaster situations and also result in saving maximum lives and livelihoods during any
disaster situation, enabling the affected population to get back to normalcy within a short
time period.
Minimization of loss of life and damage to property through facilitation of effective
disaster response and rehabilitation services when required. Preparedness is the main way
of reducing the impact of disasters. Community-based preparedness and management
should be a high priority in physical therapy practice management.
2) Disaster Response / Relief-
"The provision of emergency services and public assistance during or immediately after a
disaster in order to save lives reduces health impacts, ensure public safety and meet the
basic subsistence needs of the people affected".
Focused predominantly on immediate and short-term needs, the division between this
response/relief stage and the subsequent recovery stage is not clear-cut. Some response
actions, such as the supply of temporary housing and water supplies, may extend well
into the recovery stage. Rescue from immediate danger and stabilization of the physical
and emotional condition of survivors is the primary aims of disaster response/relief,
which go hand in hand with the recovery of the dead and the restoration of essential
services such as water and power.
Coordinated multi-agency response is vital to this stage of Disaster Management in order
to reduce the impact of a disaster and its long-term results with relief activities including:
Rescue
Relocation
Provision Food and Water
Provision Emergency Health Care
Prevention of Disease and Disability
Repairing Vital Services e.g. Telecommunications, Transport
Provision Temporary Shelter
3) Disaster Recovery-
Vulnerability of communities often continues for long after the initial crisis is over.
Disaster Recovery refers to those programmes which go beyond the provision of
immediate relief to assist those who have suffered the full impact of a disaster and
include the following activities.
Rebuilding Infrastructure e.g. Homes, Schools, Hospitals, Roads
Health Care and Rehabilitation
Development Activities e.g. building human resources for health
Development Policies and Practices to avoid or mitigate similar situations in
future
4) Mitigation
Mitigation embraces measures taken to reduce both the effect of the hazard and the
vulnerable 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 to the threat.
Examples of mitigation measures which are hazard specific include water management in
drought prone areas, relocating people away from the hazard prone areas and by
strengthening structures to reduce damage when a hazard occurs. In addition to these
physical measures, mitigation should also aim at reducing the economic and social
vulnerabilities of potential disasters.
