Syllabus: GS 3 – Disaster and Disaster Management
Source: The Hindu – 1/09/2023
Content
Disaster
- A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society at any scale due to hazardous events interacting with conditions of exposure, vulnerability and capacity, leading to one or more of the following: human, material, economic and environmental losses and impacts.
Natural and man-made disasters
Causes of Disasters
- Some major causes of disasters include Global warming,Tectonic movement ,Mining, Deforestation, Soil erosion, Seismic activity, Pollution etc.
After Effects of Disasters
To what extent are natural disasters Man-made?
Human activities can increase the likelihood of natural disasters occurring and can also make them worse.
- Deforestation can increase the risk of landslides and flooding.
- Human induced Climate change can lead to more frequent and severe natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods, and droughts.
- Urbanization can increase the risk of flooding by reducing the amount of land available for water absorption.
- Agricultural activities like Overgrazing and overfarming can lead to soil erosion and landslides.
- Mining activities can cause landslides and soil erosion.
- Construction of Buildings on floodplains can increase the risk of flooding.
- Dams can increase the risk of flooding downstream.
- Poorly maintained infrastructure such as dams and levees can increase the risk of failure during natural disasters.
- Oil drilling and fracking can cause earthquakes.
Examples of ‘Man-made’ natural disasters in the Indian context
- Recent Delhi floods (2023) due to unplanned urbanization
- Forest fires in Odisha due many natural as well as man made reasons like stubble burning.
- Land subsidence in joshimath (2023) might have occurred because of unplanned construction, over-population, obstruction of the natural flow of water and hydel power activities.
Vulnerability profile of India
- About 59% of the Indian landmass is prone to earthquakes of moderate to very high intensity.
- 12% of its land is prone to floods and river erosion.
- 5,700 kms of its coastline is prone to cyclones and tsunamis.
- 68% of its cultivable area is vulnerable to droughts.
- India is among the top 3 nations with the most natural disasters. Nearly 80,000 lives lost and more than 100 crore affected in India due to natural disasters in 20 years.
Disaster management challenges in India
- Unsafe building practices in rapidly growing urban settlements constitute one of India’s greatest challenges for disaster management.
- Poor coordination between stakeholders results in inadequate access to risk assessment, monitoring, early warning, disaster response, and other disaster-related activities.
- Investment in building disaster-resilient strategies is insufficient, with the private sector contributing the least.
- Lack of awareness among people regarding disaster mitigation is another major challenge.
- Lack of political will is another reason that adversely impacts the effectiveness of disaster management policies.
- Issues that plague India’s Early Warning Systems (EWS) including Lack of impact-based forecasts that identify risks, poor dissemination of information to people, lack of scientific data on the effectiveness of warning systems and lack of localized action plans to follow warnings
- Climate change has far-reaching implications for managing disaster risk in India, as the frequency and intensity of flash floods, landslides, droughts, cyclones, and storm surges are expected to increase in upcoming decades.
Govt Initiatives
The Indian government has taken several initiatives for disaster management both nationally and globally:
National Initiatives
- The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), headed by the Prime Minister of India, is mandated to lay down the policies, plans, and guidelines for Disaster Management.
- The National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) provides an excellent planning framework for the whole country.
- Through Early Warning Systems (EWS) ,people can easily access early warning information through a mobile or telephone connection.
Global Initiatives
- India has aligned its National Plan with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, to which India is a signatory.
- India presented a practical approach and roadmap with the launch of a global Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) to make the infrastructure resilient in the face of disasters.
- India’s adherence to SDG goals is also in line with mitigation of disasters.
Way forward
- Disaster management policies must incorporate programs to protect the most vulnerable segments of society—the poor, marginalized, women, children, disabled, and elderly.
- Mechanisms must be designed and adopted for transferring lessons learned for pre- and post-disaster management between communities.
- Cross-boundary issues of disaster management should be addressed through enhanced regional cooperation.
- Sustained and collective efforts of all Government agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations, and People’s participation.
Related topics
Disaster Management Cycle
Disaster mitigation
Disaster mitigation refers to the efforts taken to reduce or prevent the impact of disasters
SDGs in line with disaster management
- Goal 1.5 By 2030, build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters.
- Goal 2.4 By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production.
- Goal 3.d Strengthen the capacity of all countries, in particular developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks.
- Goal 9.1 Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all.
- Goal 11.3 By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries.
- Goal 13 Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
- Goal 15 Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.
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