Institutional arrangements for disaster preparedness, response and mitigation

INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

The term, Institutional arrangements in the context of disaster management refers to formal or informal institutional, legal and procedural agreements between the lead agency (NDMA - National Disaster Management Authority) and other institutions involved in response, relief and rehabilitation processes that take place after the occurrence of any disaster.

Disaster preparedness

• NDMA and NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) are the primary institutional arrangements in India regarding disaster preparedness
• Disaster preparedness includes organizational activities that ensure that the systems, procedures and resources required in the event of a disaster are readily available to provide timely assistance to those affected.
• This is made possible by training, creation of awareness, establishment of disaster plans, evacuation plans, pre-positioning of stocks, early warning mechanism and strengthening of indigenous knowledge.
• Disaster preparedness is an umbrella concept including risk assessment, disaster prevention and disaster mitigation
• Analysis of a disaster response at an earlier date or different location is a useful test of preparedness.
• Institutional arrangement for disaster preparedness consists of :
• The National Crisis Management Committee
• A High Level Committee headed by the finance minister 
• A crisis management group headed by the home secretary and comprising of ministers from various departments
• The NDMA is responsible for laying policies and guidelines for disaster risk reduction

Disaster response

• The vice-chairman of the NDMA is responsible for laying out the policies, plans and guidelines for disaster management and ensuring an effective and timely response to a disaster.
• NDMA is assisted by a national executive committee comprising of secretaries to the Government of India heading various departments
• The national Executive committee is responsible for preparing and updating a national plan for disaster management
• The state disaster management committee is headed by the Chief minister and is assisted by the state executive committee headed by the chief secretary of the state to prepare a state plan comprising of vulnerability to different forms of disasters, mitigation measures, capacity building and role of state government
• At the district level disaster management activities are supervised by the District Disaster Management Agency
• The local authorities ensure capacity building for managing disasters and carrying out relief and reconstruction in the affected areas.

Disaster mitigation

• The NDMA, SDMA and DDMA are responsible for strengthening the disaster mitigation efforts at the national, state and district levels respectively
• The NDMA is responsible for preparing a National Response Plan and a National mitigation plan
• The vision of the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) is to create a dedicated body for mitigation of disasters at the district level
• The DDMA should ensure that areas in the district vulnerable to disasters are identified and mitigation measures are taken up by the concerned authorities
• The guidelines for disaster mitigation are laid out by NDMA, SDMA, DDMA and local authorities
• The concerned authorities in the government at the national, state and district levels should lay down guidelines and provide technical assistance for disaster mitigation in their development plans and projects
• Community training and awareness programs for disaster mitigation should be provided by local authorities, Government and NGOs
• The Emergency Support Agencies (ESAs) meet regularly under the chairmanship of the central disaster management officer to review the progress of disaster mitigation efforts

Components of disaster relief

COMPONENTS OF DISASTER RELIEF

Relief is a transitionary phase that occurs response and short-term recovery operations. Relief activities should be undertaken in such a way that maintains the dignity of the individual and encourages self-reliance. Relief includes the immediate provision of basic human needs immediately following disaster events. It focusses on reducing and stabilising current impacts to prevent the impact of secondary hazards. For effective relief measures, there must be coordination and collaboration between the community, government, NGOs and private sectors. Relief is the provision of immediate shelter, life support and human needs of a person affected by Communities affected by a disaster, require immediate relief such as shelter, food, protection, security, water and sanitation. Each of these components are discussed in detail below:

WATER
Water is essential for all living organisms. During disaster relief operations:

• Arrangements for at least three and a half litres (3.5l) of potable water per person per day should be made
• At least 3 days of water supply should be available and a supply enough for two weeks is desirable
• Replace stored water every six months
• The water should be disinfected with liquid household chlorine bleach.
• The bleach should be stored at a temperature around 21C
• Since the amount of active chlorine in bleach decreases over time due to normal decay, it should be replaced every year

FOOD

• A disaster can easily disrupt the food supply at any time. Hence plans must be made to have atleast three days of food readily available
• The type of foods that should be stored should:
• have long storage life
• require little or no cooking, no refrigeration
• meet the needs of ALL family members especially those on special diet (babies or elders)
• foods should not be salty or spicy as these foods need more water that may be in short supply during disasters
• Packaged foods should be checked for their expiration date
• Foods ahould be stored away from petroleum products
• Foods should be protected from rodents an insects by storing them in boxes or in water proof, air-tight containers
• The water storage containers should be washed and sanitized
• The container used for storing drinking water should be:
• tightly sealed
• not made of glass (as it can break and hurt people)
• should not have been used to store toxic chemicals earlier
• not be made of plastic, cardboard bottles, jugs and containers used for milk or fruit juices

SANITATION

• Sanitation is an essential component during relief since disasters pose significant health threats in the form of contaminated drinking water and spread of infectious diseases.
• Sanitation is the hygenic way of promoting health through prevention of human contact with the hazards of waste
• Waste that can cause problems are human and animal feces, solid waste, domestic wastewater (sewage, sullage, greywater), industrial wastes and agricultural waste.
• The term 'hygenic' refers to use of engineering solutions (sewerage and wastewater treatment systems), simple technologies (latrines, septic tanks) or even simple personal hygiene practices (washing hands with soap), etc
• Adopting alternate methods of sanitation must be a priority after a disaster.
• In urban areas, the households do not have individual water sources and sanitation outlets but are connected by common water and sewer infrastructure.
• One of the major relief components involves creation of rudimentary sanitation infrastructure.
• Certain circumstances increase the chance for disease transmission.
• Most common instances of disease are caused by fecal contamination of water and food supplies. Outbreaks of communicable diseases are directly linked with population density and displacement.
• Disruption of sanitation services lead to a disease outbreak
• Open defecation in the area affected by disaster can be prevented by installation of mobile latrines
• Safe disposal of human excreta is a challenge that can be met by incorporating the latest technologies in environmental engineering
• Sanitation is an essential component in emergency response and rehabilitation efforts to limit the spread of diseases in the region.

SHELTER

• In the event of a disaster, the agency responding to the disaster should make arrangements to provide temporary shelter to the affected community 
• The emergency shelters should be easily erected with simple tools and minimum lifting gear.
• Emergency relief structures should be such that they can be erected in a few hours and re-deployed to meet other emegencies at another location at another date. (the relief shelters should be fully air transportable)
• Shelters provide a safe environment for affected people
• Community halls, cyclone shelters, tempporary structures, tents may be used as shelters in case of disasters
• Disaster shelters play a vital role in large-scale disasters and form an important part of disaster response and recovery
• Disaster relief shelters are used to provide private and secure places to people who have lost their usual accomodation due to some form of disaster
• Disaster relief shelters not only provide immediate and short-term shelter for victims of a disaster but also help them to recover from the trauma of a disaster and provide a base to start the process of rehabilitation
• The disaster relief shelters should be designed such that they should be capable of being stored and put to future use

HEALTH

• Disasters cause disruptions to health care infrastructure
• Hospitals may suffer structural damage or health personnel may be among the casualties thereby limiting the ability to provide health services to disaster victims
• Survivors of natural disasters need immediate care for injuries and disease
• Emergency health kits containing essential medical supplies and drugs are provided to victims as part of immediate response to disasters
• Disease instances are caused by fecal contamination of water and food supplies
• If disaster victims live in overcrowded conditions, the risk of disease outbreak increases
• Existing primary health care centers provide an opportunity to integrate and mainstream disaster response services.
• Integrating disaster management with primary health care provides optimal low-cost emergency medical assistance by utilizing existing primary health care network
• The risk of an epidemic after a disaster is related to the endemic levels of diseases in the population
• A few common communicable diseases in case of disasters are - dysentry, cholera, measles, whooping cough, meningococcal meningitis, tuberculosis, malaria, intestinal parasites, scabies, skin diseases, louse borne typhus and relapsing fever
• Natural disasters may alter the potential for disease transmission by altering the ecological conditions
• Most diseases transmitted in disasters are due to disease vectors and water
• A reliable disease reporting system shouuld be set-up to identify outbreaks and initiate control measures

WASTE MANAGEMENT

• Waste management and disposal services form an integral part of disaster relief operations
• The process of waste management does not occupy the top priority during disaster management operations. The top priority is to rescue the affected population
• During disaster management operations, the waste is of two types:
• Primary waste that is generated due to the disaster and
• Secondary waste that is generated by relief efforts
• Primary waste consists of debris containing concrete, various types of roofing material, wood, insulation, mud, large amount of plastic, trees, branches, leaves, vegetation and foliage, petroleum products, combustible fuels and their residue, furniture and other household goods, Electricity poles: transformers and other Wasted Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) related to electrical transmission and communication lines, Hospital waste:Corpses and dead animals, Sewage from burst municipal lines and garbage from temporary site, Items containing Poly Chlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), asbestos and other hazardous substances, metal scrap from damaged buildings, industrial structures and vehicles.
• Secondary disaster waste contains municipal waste and sewage generated at relief centres housing large populations, packaging material received from relief agencies, medical waste from field hospitals that contain people and animals suffering from disease or injury, municipal waste and sewage from towns and cities where existing sewage systems have been damaged and people continue to live
• In order to plan for disaster waste management, the magnitude and composition of disaster waste must be estimated and plans should be developed for waste collection and disposal
• Designated resources (field workers) should be employed for primary disaster waste collection, segregation and disposal
• Steps should be taken to minimize secondary disaster waste as it adds up to clean-up efforts
• Hazardous site should be cleaned to minimize long term impact.
• Outsourcing disaster waste management should be considered if manpower available on site is insufficient
• Trained manpower will be needed to handle waste in the context of a CBRN disaster
• Disaster waste management should be given adequate importance at the planning stage to develop a professional and systematic  waste management action plan

Institutional Arrangements

INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT

Institutional arrangements are formal or informal institutional, legal or procedural agreements between the national disaster management agency and other governmental institutions. They play an essential part in the entire process of disaster management. Institutional arrangements refer to the policies, systems and processes used by organizations to legislate, plan and manage their activities efficiently and effectively coordinate with supporting agencies thereby fulfilling the purpose of their creation.

In India, the Disaster Management Act, 2005 (DMA) set institutional and coordination mechanisms for effective disaster management at the national, state and district levels. By this act, the Government of India (GoI) created a multi-tiered institutional system consisting of the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) headed by the Prime Minister, State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA's) headed by the chief ministers and the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA's) by the district collectors and co-chaired by elected representatives of the local authorities of the respective districts. All these bodies have been setup to facilitate the fundamental shift from relief-centric approach to a proactive, holistic and integrated approach of strengthening disaster preparedness, mitigation and emergency response.

1. At the national level, the ministry of home affairs is the primary point of contact for all matters concerning disaster management
1. Under the MoHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) the NDMA has been constituted for coordination of disaster management at the national level under the Disaster Management act of 2005
2. The Prime Minister of India is the chairperson of the NDMA
3. NDMA is the apex body for management of disasters in India
4. The National Response Plan and National Mitigation Plan are prepared by the GoI.
5. Various Ministries and departments also prepare their own response plans that are approved by the NDMA
6. A National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) functions in the MoHA with sophisticated equipment and most modern technology for disaster management
2. The Crisis Management Group (CMG) consists of officers from various ministries.
1. The functions of the CMG are reviewed every year and contingency plans are formulated by various departments/ministries/organizations in their respective sectors along with required measures to handle disasters
2. The CMG coordinates activities of central ministries and state governments in relation disaster preparedness and relief
3. In the event of a natural disaster, the CMG meets frequently to review relief operations and extend all possible to overcome the situation effectively
4. All the secretaries of concerned ministries are its members
5. CMG implements the decisions of the cabinet committees 

 

Climate change adaptation

CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION

Climate change adaptation is a response to global warming in order to reduce the vulnerability of social and biological systems to relatively sudden change and thus offset the effects of global warming. Global warming and its effects are bound to last many years, and adaptation would be necessary to the resulting changes in climate. Adaptation is especially important in developing countries since those countries are predicted to face the effects of global warming. This capacity and potential for humans to adapt is unevenly distributed across different regions and populations. The developing countries generally have less capacity to adapt. Adaptation requires the situational assessment of sensitivity and vulnerability to environmental impacts.

Adaptive capacity is closely linked to social and economic development. The economic costs of adaptation to climate change are likely to cost billions of dollars annually for the next several decades.  The 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference, called COP 16 was held in Cancún, Mexico where several donor countries promised an annual $100 billion by 2020 through the Green Climate Fund for developing countries to adapt to climate change. However, although the fund set up during COP16 in Cancún, concrete pledges by developed countries have not been readily available as major donors like the USA have decided to stop contributing to the fund.

However, the adaptation challenge grows with the magnitude and the rate of climate change. In another response to climate change called climate mitigation suggests reduction of Green House Gases (GHG) emissions or removal of these gases from the atmosphere through carbon sinks. It is now evident that reduction in emissions would not prevent further climate change impacts. Hence climate adaptation is the only option left.

In the absence of mitigation efforts, the effects of climate change would make adaptation for some natural ecosystems impossible. Climate adaptation programs may interfere with existing development programs leading to unintended consequences for vulnerable groups. Some examples of climate change adaptation are-

• Prioritizing adaptation efforts in communities that have higest vulnerability
• Predicting climate change related trends based on assessment of current risk, vulnerability and climate variability
• Integrate long-term sustainable development and poverty reduction strategies
• Strengthening existing capacities
• Developing robust mobilization mechanisms and ensure financial and technical support to local disaster management officials
• Arrange improved and tested early warning systems, contingency plans along with integrated response to ensure effective community based adaptation and risk reduction
• Disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation cannot managed as individual events. They are inevitably interlinked
• The community should be aware of relevant risks thatt should be quantifiable
• Climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction should be factored in all divisions
• Capacity building efforts should take place at local, regional, national and international levels
• Workers at the site help in achieving rescue efforts on the ground while international donors, agencies along with national governments play an important role in establishing an environment conducive to channel resources and technical support wher it is required.
• International agencies like the red cross, help at the local level by their extensive volunteer base and long presence in communities

Hazard and vulnerability profile of India

HAZARD AND VULNERABILITY PROFILE OF INDIA

Indian sub-continent has unique geo-climatic and socio-political conditions that make it vulnerable to both the natural as well as manmade disasters. Around 6% of the population of India is impacted annually by the exposures to disasters. They Key natural disasters in India include floods, droughts, cyclones, earthquakes, landslides and avalanches that have resulted in loss of lives and livelihoods.

The key vulnerabilities of India include-

Coastal States, particularly in the East Coast and Gujarat on west coast are vulnerable to cyclones

 

4 crore hectare land mass is vulnerable to floods and river erosion.
 

68 per cent of net sown area is vulnerable to drought.
 

55 per cent of total area is in Seismic Zones III-V and vulnerable to earthquakes of moderate to high density. 

Vulnerability to disasters or emergencies of Chemical, Biological Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) origin has increased on account of socioeconomic development. The changing climate also worsens the vulnerabilities. The occurrence of heat waves, cold waves, floods, droughts, intense cyclones and flash floods is getting increased due to climate change and global warming.

 India's hazard profile


India is prone to disasters due to a number of factors; both natural and human-induced, including adverse geo-climatic conditions, topographic features, environmental degradation, population growth, urbanisation, industrialisation, non-scientific development practices etc. Various hazards to which India is prone to can be broadly divided into three categories-

1.  Hydrological or climate related
2. Geological and 
3. Technological hazards.

Hydrological or climate related hazards

FLOODS
Floods can be caused by heavy rainfall, inadequate capacity of rivers to carry the high flood discharge, inadequate drainage to carry away the rainwater quickly to streams/ rivers. ice jams or landslides blocking streams, typhoons and cyclones etc. Further, flash floods occur because of high rate of water flow particularly in areas with less permeability of soil.
Over 40 million hectare of landmass in India is prone to floods. Nearly 75% of the total annual rainfall is concentrated over a short south-west monsoon season of three to four months from June to September. As a result there is a very heavy discharge from the rivers during this period causing widespread floods. Flood problem is chronic in at least 10 states. From October to December each year, a very large area of South India, including Tamil Nadu, the coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh and the union territory of Puducherry, receives up to 30 percent of its annual rainfall from the northeast monsoon (or winter monsoon). These have caused devesatiing floods in Chennai in 2015. Most devastating floods in recent times have been the 2013 Assam floods, 2013 Uttarakhand Floods, 2012 Brahamputra Floods etc.

CYCLONES

India has a very long coastline which is exposed to tropical cyclones arising in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. Indian Ocean is one of the six major cyclone-prone regions in the world. In India cyclones occur usually in April-May, and also between October and December. The Eastern coastline is more prone to cyclones as about 80 percent of total cyclones generated in the region hit there.  The worst hitting cyclones have been the Andhra Pradesh cyclone of November 1977 and the super cyclone of Odisha in the year 1999. The impact of the cyclones is mainly confined to the coastal districts, the maximum destruction being within 100 Km. from the centre of the cyclones and on either side of the storm track.  The principal dangers from a cyclone include the gales and strong winds; torrential rain and high tidal waves (storm surges). Most casualties are caused by coastal inundation by tidal waves and storm surges.

HEAT WAVES, COLD WAVES and FOG

Heat waves refer to the extreme positive departure from the maximum temperature in summers. The fatalities caused by heat waves have increased in recent decades.  The problem of heat wave is compounded by a decrease in diurnal temperature Range (DTR). In urban areas, the heat wave is increasing gaining notoriety for more and more fatalities. Cold waves occur mainly due to the extreme low temperature coupled with incursion of dry cold winds from north-west. Most affected areas of country due to the cold waves include the western and north-western regions and also Bihar, UP directly affected by the western disturbances.


THUNDERSTORM, HAILSTORM and DUST STORM
India’s central, north-eastern, north-western and northern parts are generally affected by these. The southern coastal areas are less prone to thunderstorms, hailstorms and dust storms. The hailstorms are more frequent in Assam, Uttarakhand and some parts of Maharashtra. Dust storms are common in Rajasthan, MP and Haryana. Tornadoes are rare in India.

DROUGHTS


Drought refers to the situation of less moisture in the soil (which makes the land unproductive) and scarcity of water for drinking, irrigation, industrial uses and other purposes, usually caused by deficient/less than average rainfall over a long period of time. Some states of India feature the perennial drought such as Rajasthan, Odisha, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh etc.
Sixteen percent of the country’s total area is drought-prone and approximately 50 million people are affected annually by droughts. In India about 68 percent of net sown area in the country is drought-prone. Most of the drought-prone areas identified by the Government of India lie in arid, semi-arid and sub-humid areas of the country. In the arid and semi-arid zones, very severe droughts occur once in every eight to nine years.

GEOLOGICAL DISASTERS

EARTHQUAKES

Earthquake is almost impossible to be predicted, so it is the most destructive of all natural disasters. It is almost impossible to make arrangements and preparations against damages and collapses of buildings and other man-made structures hit by an earthquake. More than half of India’s total area is vulnerable to seismic activity of varying intensities.
The most vulnerable regions are located in the Himalayan, Sub-Himalayan belt and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The Himalayan ranges are among world’s youngest fold mountains so the subterranean Himalayans are geologically very active.  The Himalayan frontal arc, flanked by the Arakan Yoma fold belt in the east and the Chaman fault in the west make one of the seismically active regions in the world.


TSUNAMI

Tsunami refers to the displacement of a large volume of a body of water such as Ocean. Most Tsunamis are seismically generated, result of abrupt deformation of sea floor resulting vertical displacement of the overlying water.
The Tsunami waves are small in amplitude and long wavelength (often hundred of kilometers long). The east and west coasts of India and the island regions are likely to be affected by Tsunamis generated mainly by subduction zone related earthquakes from the two potential source regions, viz. the Andaman-Nicobar-Sumatra Island Arc and the Makran subduction zone north of Arabian Sea.


LANDSLIDES 

Landslides are common in India in Himalayan region as well as Western Ghats. The Himalayan ranges are among the youngest fold mountains of world. They comprise a series of seven curvilinear parallel folds running along a grand arc of around 3400 kilometers. The landslides in this region are probably more frequent than any other areas in the world.
The Western Ghats, particularly Nilgiri hills also are notorious for frequent landslides.

INDUSTRIAL, CHEMICAL & NUCLEAR DISASTERS

The industrial and chemical disasters can occur due to accident, negligence or incompetence. They may result in huge loss to lives and property. The Hazardous industries and the workers in these industries are particularly vulnerable to chemical and industrial disasters.
The most significant chemical accidents in recorded history was the 1984 Bhopal Gas disaster, in which more than 3,000 people were killed after a highly toxic vapour, (methyl isocyanate), was released at a Union Carbide pesticides factory.
 

India’s Hazard Profile India is prone to disasters due to a number of factors; both natural and human-induced, including adverse geo-climatic conditi

Structural and Non-structural solutions

STRUCTURAL AND NON-STRUCTURAL SOLUTIONS

There is a large gap between the groups who prefer “structural” solutions to disaster management and those who prefer “non- structural” solutions.

• Structural solutions include engineered solutions such as redesigning buildings and designing physical barriers to disaster events to reduce damage.  Non-structural solutions include social solutions such as early warning, evacuation planning, and emergency response preparedness.

• Structural groups, which are often comprised of engineers insist that only structural solutions can surely prevent countries from economic loss and can contribute to the development of the nation.

• Structural measures are any physical construction to reduce or avoid possible impacts of hazards, or the application of engineering techniques or technology to achieve hazard resistance and resilience in structures or systems.

• Common structural measures for disaster risk reduction include dams, flood levies, ocean wave barriers, earthquake-resistant construction and evacuation shelters

• Structural solutions can protect peoples lives and property 

• Structural measures refer to any physical construction to reduce or avoid possible impacts of hazards, or application of engineering techniques to achieve hazard-resistance and resilience in structures or systems

• Non-structural groups rely on early warnings, quick evacuations and emergency response

• Common non-structural measures include building codes, land-use planning laws and their enforcement, research and assessment, information resources and public awareness programmes.  

• Non-structural measures include any measure not involving physical construction that uses knowledge, practice or agreement to reduce risks and impacts, in particular through policies and laws, public awareness raising, training and education.

• Immediate emergency response after a disaster through non-structural solutions is a popular “investment” to get support without any financial expense

Factors affecting Vulnerability

FACTORS AFFECTING VULNERABILITY

The following factors affect vulnerability

• POVERTY

The widening gap between rich and poor, rural and urban incomes and hence the disparity in living standards can be witnessed in the flood plains of developing countries. landowners with marginal, degraded land, frequent flooding can decrease the returns from cultivating the land, thus reducing food security. The rural poor who depend on incomes from farming or other agricultural activities, with no savings to help them them get back on their feet after a disturbance or pay for basic needs, are often obliged to migrate to the cities and are driven into debt. Newcomers to an urban setting, not being able to afford safe locations in the city, are obliged to settle in makeshift dwellings in informal settlements on marginal lands near the river or other drainages that  are extremely vulnerable to flooding.

• LIVELIHOOD

 The principal livelihoods of communities living in rural flood plains are mainly farming and fishing. However, recurring floods threaten their stability of the their livelihoods owing to the loss of farm products or limited access to the markets for their products in the absence of adequate transport infrastructure. The landless poor, working as hired labourers, particularly during long flood seasons, have trouble finding jobs to meet their basic needs.

• CULTURAL BELIEFS:

Some cultural beliefs and fatalistic attitudes contribute to a community’s vulnerability. In some societies, natural disasters are considered to be acts of God and taken as if there is nothing human beings could do to prevent hazards from turning into disasters. Lack of faith in the social system and lack of confidence in the ability to manage flood risks manifests itself in resistance to any such change.  

• EQUITY:

Unequal distribution of resources and access to human rights can lead to conflicts and discontent, and in turn, the deterioration of social systems. For example, individuals who are denied the right to freedom of association and access to information may be precluded from discussing issues related to flood preparedness and mitigation planning, receiving essential fundamental services and taking preventive measures to protect themselves from flood hazards.In areas where flood diversion works are in place it may so happen that flood water are redirected into areas where poorer sections of the society with less political influence settle.

• GENDER

In societies where the decision-making power resides solely with the men of the family, ignoring the wisdom and experience of women and denying or limiting them the adequate access to knowledge and capacity development schemes, which otherwise may be available to men, can deny the society the use of such human resources and contribute to women’s vulnerability in terms of personal security, health and well being, economic security and livelihoods.

• WEAKER SOCIAL GROUPS

In a society made up of various social groups, the needs of each group differ. Children, women, elderly and disabled people have unique group features that may add to their vulnerabilities in particular situations, such as during evacuation, sheltering, relief distribution and the rehabilitation process.

Interrelationship between disasters and development

INTERRELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DISASTERS AND DEVELOPMENT

The severity of a disaster depends on both the physical nature of the extreme event and the nature of the human populations affected by the event. Different people, even within the same region, have different vulnerability to natural hazards. The important human factors that tend to influencedisasts er severity are-

• Wealth affects vulnerability in several ways
• The poor cannot afford housing that withstands extreme weather
• They do not have insurance policies and cannot afford resources needed for disaster response
• They do not have access to health care
• However, 
• Coastal areas have expensive beachside real estate populated by the rich making them highly vulnerable to tsunamis, storm surge and other coastal hazards
• The rich lose more money due to disasters since they have valuable property at stake
• Ex- Hurricane Katrina- wealthy people, higher monetary damage fewer deaths. Cyclone Nargis - poor people, lower monetary damage, heavy death toll
• Education is an important factor in hazard impacts
• Education teaches how to avoid or reduce impacts due to disasters
• Literate people can pass written messages and spread word about hazards or specific disasters
• literate people can educate a population about hazards in order to reduce its vulnerability
• If the community contains professionals trained in hazards, they can help populations in hazard preparation and response
• Governance
• Formal and informal governments can develop policies that reduce vulnerability
• The governmentcan establish agencies like NDMA that should be made responsible for reducing vulnerability
• Support education and awareness efforts and reduce poverty by economic development

• Technology
• Technology can be used to improve forecasting of extreme events, withstand and recover from the impacts
• Technology is closely linked to wealth, education and governance
• Wealthier and educated societies have more advanced technologies
• Age
• Childern and elderly  have less physical strength and are susceptible to diseases
• Elderly have declining vision and hearing leading to vulnerability and children have less education
• Children and elderly have limited financial resources and are dependent on others for survival
• Gender
• Women are more vulnerable to natural hazards than men as they are poor, less educated and politically marginalized
• Women face additional burden as caretakers of the family
• In case of a disaster, women are made responsible to take care of children and the aged
• All the above mentioned factors makes women less mobile and are likely to experience dangerous situations

1. Disasters hamper development as all resources are diverted in responding to a disaster.
2. A disaster is a signal to the community to develop resilient systems to face disasters in future. In this sense, disasters are a precursor to scientific advancement  that leads to development

Differential Impacts

DIFFERENTIAL IMPACTS

The term, 'differential impacts' refers to the discriminatory impacts experienced by different individuals, groups or communities when faced with an event with damaging consequences. With respect to the consequences of disasters (natural or man-made), a community or society can be broadly classified into the following groups-

• Females
• Males
• Affluent
• Poor
• Labourers
• Disabled
• Children
• Old people.

Each group has their weaknesses that make them vulnerable to disasters. Another aspect that complicates the issue of diiferential impacts is that the above classification is not rigid. A certain group can be sub-divided into groups or may fall within another group. For example, the group called 'females' consists of babies, girls, young ladies or old and infirm women. Also, all the groups fall under one broad group called 'human beings'. Hence the effects of a damaging event has different impacts on different individuals in different groups. A simple list of different impacts on different people is listed below-

1. Old people, the disabled and babies will not be in a position to save themselves against any disaster without support. This group of people are extremely vulnerable (health-wise) to the slightest adverse conditions
2. Young males can easily resist adverse conditions and help save others along with playing an important role in response, rescue, recovery and reconstruction work. The labourers could be male or female and have better survival instincts due to extensive physical work in the open
3. Among the affluent and the poor, the poor are continuously exposed to stressful living conditions and are better adapted to face the hardships encountered in disasters while the affluent are adapted to a luxurious lifestyle and will not be able to adjust to the harsh environment in the aftermath of a disastrous event.

Climate change

CLIMATE CHANGE

• Climate change occurs when changes in Earth's climate system result in new weather patterns that last for at least a few decades, and maybe for millions of years. The climate system is comprised of five interacting parts, the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere.
• The climate change phenomenon refers to seasonal changes over a long period with respect to the growing accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
• Global climate  has been changing and the trends indicate that the world might experience the increasing intensity of climate change in the form of hotter and longer summers coupled with shorter and warmer winters.
• Some of the climate change indicators are-
• Average national and global temperatures
• Global precipitation trends
• Drought
• Ocean heat
• Sea surface temperature
• Melting glaciers, Arctic sea ice and Antarctic sea ice
• Heat related illnesses and deaths
• Lyme disease
• West nile virus
• Wildfires
• Climate change has brought many environmental risks to human health, such as ozone layer depletion, loss of biodiversity, increased pressures on food-producing systems and spread of infectious diseases. The three main categories of climate change impact on human health are:
  (a)   Direct impact (e.g. as a result of heatwaves, large-scale air pollution, natural disasters).
  (b)  Impact on ecosystems and environmental relationships (e.g. damage to agricultural crops, overabundance of mosquitoes, depletion of marine species).
  (c)   Indirect impact (e.g. poverty, displacement, conflict over resources such as water, post-disaster epidemics).
    
• Hence it is evident that trend with respect to climate change is  incresingly intense.

Complex emergencies

COMPLEX EMERGENCIES

A complex emergency is a major humanitarian crisis that is often the result of a combination of political instability, conflict and violence, social inequities and underlying poverty. Complex emergencies are essentially political in nature and can erode the cultural, civil, political and economic stability of societies, particularly when the situation is worsenes by natural hazards and diseases such as HIV and AIDS, which further deteriorate livelihoods and worsen poverty.

• For example, in Somalia, more than two decades of civil conflict resulted in loss or damage.
• Some disasters can result from several different hazards or, more often, to a complex combination of both natural and man-made causes and different causes of vulnerability.
• Examples being, food insecurity, epidemics, conflicts and displaced populations

A humanitarian crisis in a country, region or society where there is total or considerable breakdown of authority resulting from internal or external conflict and which requires an international response that goes beyond the mandate or capacity of any single agency and/or the ongoing UN country program (Inter-Agency Standing Committee).

Such “complex emergencies” are typically characterized by:

• -extensive violence and loss of life;
• -displacements of populations;
• -widespread damage to societies and economies;
• -the need for large-scale, multi-faceted humanitarian assistance;
• -the hindrance or prevention of humanitarian assistance by political and military constraints;
• -significant security risks for humanitarian relief workers in some areas.

On a national level, conflict may involves warlike encounters between armed groups from the same country which take place within the borders. Such outbreaks of war may pose large-scale medical problems such as epidemics, lack of water, accumulation of rubbish, displaced persons, refugees, food shortage, hunger etc.

Internationally, war may break out between two or more armies from different countries. Similarly such conflict may cause large scale mass movements of refugees and displaced persons.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of war and internal violence and to provide them with assistance. It directs and coordinates the international relief activities conducted by the Movement in situations of conflict. It also endeavours to prevent suffering by promoting and strengthening humanitarian law and universal humanitarian principles.

A complex emergency is an emergency situation where government services have broken down. These situations don’t have to be caused by conflict, but conflict is often a part of the problem.

Emergencies are challenging by nature, but  become especially complicated when there’s no (or very little) government structure. 

That means NGOs [non-governmental organizations are missing their most important partner, and people often can’t access the help they need to recover.

The global trend in the case of complex emergencies have generally shown an increasing trend as evidenced by the statistics. This can be justified by:

Population explosion

 For example: