Introduction to Disaster Management | Additional Study Material for UPSC PDF Download

Natural and human-made disasters are widespread all over the world.
It is thought that their magnitude, sophistication, frequency, and economic effect have increased in recent years.
India is the country most vulnerable to natural disasters in the world.

What is a Disaster?

• The term disaster owes its origin to the French word "Desastre" a combination of two words' des' meaning evil and 'aster' meaning star. Thus the term refers to 'Bad or Evil star'. 
• A disaster can be defined as "A serious disruption in the functioning of the community or a society causing widespread material, economic, social or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected society to cope using its resources".
• Disaster impact is the total effect, including negative effects (e.g., economic losses) and positive effects (e.g., economic gains), a hazardous event or a disaster. 
• The term includes economic, human and environmental impacts, and may include death, injuries, disease and other negative effects on human physical, mental and social well-being.
• A disaster results from the combination of hazard, vulnerability and insufficient capacity to reduce the potential chances of risk.

What is a Hazard?

The word 'hazard' owes its origin to the word 'hasard' in old French and 'az-zahr' in Arabic, meaning 'chance' or 'luck'. Hazard may be defined as "a dangerous condition or event, that threat or have the potential for causing injury to life or damage to property or the environment." 

• Any hazard - flood, earthquake or cyclone, and greater vulnerability (inadequate access to resources, sick and older people, lack of awareness, etc.) would lead to disaster, causing greater loss to life and property.
• For example; an earthquake in an uninhabited desert cannot be considered a disaster, no matter how strong the intensities produced. 
• An earthquake is disastrous only when it affects people, properties, and activities. Thus, disaster occurs only when hazards and vulnerability meet. Also, with greater capacity of the individual/community and environment to face these disasters, the impact of a hazard reduces.

What is Vulnerability?

Vulnerability is characterized as "conditions determined by physical, social, economic, and environmental factors or processes that increase a community's susceptibility to hazards' effect."
The vulnerability may be of different forms, such as:

• Economic Vulnerability: Poorer families may live in squatter settlements because they cannot afford to live in safer (more expensive) areas.
• Physical Vulnerability: Wooden homes are less likely to collapse in an earthquake, but are more vulnerable to fire.
• Social Vulnerability: When flooding occurs some citizens, such as children, elderly and differently able, may be unable to protect themselves or evacuate if necessary.

What is Risk?

Risk is a "measure of the expected losses due to a hazard event occurring in a given area over a specific period. Risk is a function of the probability of a particular hazardous event and the losses each would cause."
Risk = Hazard x Vulnerability
The level of risk depends upon the nature of the hazard, the vulnerability of the elements affected, and the economic value of those elements.

What is Capacity?

• Capacity can be defined as combining all the strengths, attributes, and resources available within an organization, community or society to manage and reduce disaster risks and strengthen resilience. Capacity may include infrastructure, institutions, human knowledge and skills, and collective attributes such as social relationships, leadership and management.
• Coping capacity is people, organizations, and systems' ability, using available skills and resources, to manage adverse conditions, risk or disasters. The capacity to cope requires continuing awareness, resources and good management, both in normal times as well as during disasters or adverse conditions. Coping capacities contribute to the reduction of disaster risks.

Classification of Disasters

• Disasters can be grouped into two broad categories namely natural and manmade.
• Natural disasters are caused by natural phenomena (meteorological, geological or even biological origin). Examples of natural disasters are cyclones, tsunamis, earthquake and volcanic eruption exclusively of natural origin. 
• Landslides, floods, drought, fires are socio-natural disasters since their causes are both natural and manmade. For example flooding may be caused because of heavy rains, landslide or blocking of drains with human waste.
• Manmade disasters are disasters which occur due to human negligence. These are associated with industries or energy generation facilities and include explosions, leakage of toxic waste, pollution, dam failure, wars or civil strife etc. 
• Many occur frequently while others take place occasionally. However, based on their genesis, they can be categorized as follows:

Disaster Management Cycle

Disaster Risk Management includes sum total of all activities, programs and measures which can be taken up before, during and after a disaster.
A typical disaster management continuum consists of:

• A Pre-disaster risk management phase which includes prevention, mitigation and preparedness.
• Post-disaster crisis management phase which includes relief, response, rehabilitation, reconstruction and recovery.

The three key stages of activities that are taken up within disaster risk management are:

1. Before a disaster (pre-disaster)
   It includes activities taken to reduce human and property losses caused by a potential hazard. For example, it is a way to carry out awareness campaigns, strengthen the existing weak structures, prepare disaster management plans at the household and community level, etc. Such risk reduction measures are termed as mitigation and preparedness activities under this stage.
2. During a disaster (disaster occurrence)
   Initiatives taken to ensure that victims' needs and provisions are met and suffering is minimized. Activities taken under this stage are called emergency response activities.
3. After a disaster (post-disaster): 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.